Today, the City of Seattle’s new land use code governing urban farming and community gardens takes effect allowing "urban farms" and "community gardens" in all zones providing some limitations in industrial zones, and giving residents the ability to sell food grown on their property.  As jurisdictions become increasingly committed to sustainability as a public policy, measures such as these are an excellent example of relatively minor code changes that support such efforts.

While some of the measures adopted in the Seattle ordinance merely formalize what have become increasingly common practices, which benefitted from spotty enforcement—such as the number of chickens per lot, informal farmers markets in some areas, and community gardens—other elements of the ordinance are more proactive.   For example, measures allowing agricultural uses in commercial and industrial zones, and allowing mini-farms in residential zones are departures from previous and perhaps outdated restrictions on agricultural uses.   

As citizens and the market take advantage of these more expansive measures, it will be interesting to see what if any use conflicts arise and what other jurisdictions considering similar measures might learn.