Fiscal Note
Fiscal note pending.
Title
Authorizing the use of a Farmland Lease Master Template for those City-owned lands being rented for farming, the administrative approval of City staff to negotiate lease terms, and the execution of lease documents by the City’s Director of the Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development, or assigns. (City Wide)
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Madison (“City”) owns various properties located within the City and surrounding areas (“City Properties”) that have been historically farmed, yet are now being held in the interim for future uses, most often stormwater and/or park purposes; and
WHEREAS, leasing the City Properties for farming purposes, where there is interest from farmers to do so, is a use that not only generates revenue for the City but alleviates the cost and staff time that would otherwise be required by the City, as the City Properties must be maintained during the interim period; and
WHEREAS, the City’s current lease template had not been comprehensively reviewed in years until, as a result of a discussion at an April 2019 Common Council meeting, the Mayor directed City staff and the Madison Food Policy Council’s established Regional Agriculture & Food Sovereignty (successor to Urban Agriculture) Work Group (“Work Group”) to review, update, and revise the City’s farm lease terms and conditions to reflect current best practices; and
WHEREAS, on March 5, 2024, the Common Council approved Resolution File ID #81655 directing Economic Development Division staff to revise the farmland lease template language in accordance with the findings and recommendations determined by the Work Group, with the understanding that many of the terms and conditions would be subject to case-by-case negotiations based upon the specific needs and conditions of each individual lease; and
WHEREAS, City staff from the City’s Economic Development Division and Attorney’s Office have prepared the attached master template for far...
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