Darryl Rouson, Lindsay Cross file bills to add commercial uses to urban ag projects

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Sen. Darryl Rouson and Rep. Lindsay Cross, both representing parts of St. Petersburg, have filed identical bills in their respective legislative chambers to expand the definition of “urban agriculture” to include new commercial agricultural uses.

The bills (SB 404 and HB 397) would add new commercial agricultural uses to a Florida state statute that allows for urban agriculture pilot projects in areas where agricultural uses aren’t necessarily part of the zoning.

The existing version of the statute applies the term “urban agriculture” to noncommercial uses. The bills would also clarify that the statute section “does not apply to an urban agriculture project that is not a pilot project.”

Under the existing statute, the Legislature intended to allow local governments “to create urban agriculture pilot projects to regulate urban agriculture under certain conditions and to determine the effectiveness and impact of the pilot projects on the arming operations in the selected dense urbanized land areas of the state.”

Simply put, local governments can authorize particular agricultural activity under a pilot project in dense areas not typically zoned for agricultural uses. The legislation is helpful to expand access to healthy foods in areas that might otherwise have a lack of access.

The existing statute does not apply to vegetable gardens, and the bills filed for the 2024 Legislative Session would not change that.

If approved, the change would take effect July 1.

The 2024 Legislative Session begins Jan. 9. Committee meetings ahead of the Legislative Session are already underway. Neither bill has been heard.