TITLE
Documenting Policies for Food Production on City-Owned Land
BODY
RECOMMENDATION
Review and approve Council Resolution (File # 91152 - Documenting Policies for Food Production on City-Owned Land)
SUMMARY:
The City is interested in exploring ways to expand food production on city-owned land. Food production could take the form of community gardens, edible landscapes, market gardens, or other forms of urban agriculture. Some of the barriers to increasing production of food could include assessing the demand for new garden or agricultural space by community members, identifying possible soil contamination, and other site suitability factors like slope or shade.
On 12/19/2025, the Common Council approved Resolution # 91152 (Attachment - A) to allow City staff to compile existing resources from departments that control land alongside national best practices on food production and ultimately create a process that all City departments can use to manage requests from interested parties.
This resolution has been referred to the Water Utility Board (Board) since Madison Water Utility owns certain parcels of land. It has also been referred to the Sustainable Madison Commission, Board of Public Works, Board of Parks Commissioners, and Madison Food Policy Council.
To date, no city-wide policy that impacts the Water Utility or land in its control has been adopted. Approval of this resolution by all the agencies mentioned above will allow City staff to develop and document policies for growing food on City-owned land and communicate to the public. Once developed, the Board will have an opportunity to review it and provide inputs, if any, before final adoption by the Common Council.
ATTACHMENT:
A. Common Council Resolution File # 91152