San Francisco benefits in a variety of ways from urban agriculture and access to land and land tenure are two of the most significant obstacles to its expansion in the city. This ordinance, by implementing state Assembly BIll 551 and allowing property owners to receive a property tax reduction in exchange for committing their land to urban agricultural use for at least five years, will help address both obstacles by providing landowners with an incentive to allow urban agriculture projects on their land for set periods of time. Other cities in California have indicated that they will be looking to San Francisco to set the example for how to establish an urban agriculture incentive zone. By adopting this ordinance, San Francisco can be a pioneer in promoting urban agriculture through policy.
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