DIRECTING CDMP AMENDMENT RE VERTICAL FARMING

Recreation, Tourism, and Resiliency Committee · 2026-07-14 · resolution

A resolution directing the County Mayor to consider recommendations in an agriculture report and file an application to amend the Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) to allow or encourage greater allowances inside urbanized areas for high-intensity, closed agricultural production systems such as vertical farming. The resolution was introduced on 6/23/2026, forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation by the Recreation, Tourism, and Resiliency Committee on 7/14/2026, and is scheduled for the Board agenda on 9/1/2026 as item 11A3. The prime sponsor is Roberto J. Gonzalez. The resolution cites a report projecting a need for a minimum of 64,800 acres of agricultural land by 2030 and 56,300 acres by 2050, and notes that 93 percent of the County's farms are under 50 acres and 73 percent are under 10 acres. It also states that over 70 stakeholders expressed frustration with overlapping regulations and a lack of County support for agriculture, with many citing the need for more flexible policies such as enabling vertical agriculture in urbanized zones.