San Francisco Property Tax Incentive For Urban Agriculture Takes Effect

 

During a press conference at the 18^th and Rhode Island Permaculture Garden last month, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and Assembly member Phil Ting announced a new Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Ordinance that could provide a tax incentive to private landowners in the city when they dedicate a portion of their land for urban agriculture and education.

The proposed tax break comes is a result of The Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act (Assembly Bill 551), which took effect January 1, 2014. The original bill set out to incentivize the use of privately owned land for gardening, while also legitimizing and supporting current urban agriculture projects.

According to SPUR, Assembly member Ting, “wrote the state bill partly as a way to prevent urban blight, since gardens are added to otherwise empty lots, to increase green spaces, and to offer opportunities for education about healthy food.”

To accomplish these goals, the legislation sanctions city governments to designate what are being called “urban agriculture incentive zones.” Private landowners who agree to the ordinance must commit their land to urban agriculture for at least five years. As a result, landowners’ property tax assessment is then based on the agricultural value of the land rather than the market-rate value of the land. Therefore, overall property taxes for the tract are reduced.

However, if a landowner prematurely terminates their enrollment in the program, the legislation will require them to pay back the tax benefits they received.

According to the bill, “the state has worked to address the negative impact of property taxes on farm enterprises near urban areas through passage of the Williamson Act (California Land Conservation Act of 1965). This legislation uses a similar strategy but within urban areas.”

After Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law last September, San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance commented saying, “one of the biggest obstacles to expanding the number of Californians who enjoy these benefits of urban agriculture is access to land – both its supply and cost in urban jurisdictions. This legislation provides an incentive to private landowners to make more land available for urban agriculture, while at the same time enabling them to do so at a lowered cost.”

Because private landowner participation for this program is voluntary, and the original legislation passed does not create the specific ordinances themselves, cities must create the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones through their own local authorities. The 18^th and Rhode Island Permaculture Garden is in line to be the first space utilizing the tax break in San Francisco.

In addition, to qualify for the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act, the designated land must be between 0.1 and 3 acres, completely dedicated to agricultural use, and cannot contain any physical structures unrelated to the on-site gardening.

To keep the garden alive and members active, the space invites children and community members to various workshops and day camps. These agricultural zones also permit bees and livestock to be raised within the space, giving visitors a glimpse at what it takes to bring a meal to the table.

At the 18^th and Rhode Island Permaculture Garden, what was once an empty 5,000 square foot lot is now a garden flourishing with fruits and vegetables, almost all of which is donated to local food banks and neighbors.