DIRECTING CDMP AMENDMENT RE VERTICAL FARMING

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

Resolution directing the County Mayor or designee to consider recommendations in the Agriculture Report and file an application to amend the Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) to provide for 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, was 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 document does not state a specific project site, address, parcel, acreage, or dollar amount. The document references a report projecting a minimum of 64,800 acres needed for agricultural use by 2030 and 56,300 acres by 2050, and states that 93 percent of the County's farms are under 50 acres and 73 percent under 10 acres. The document states that over 70 stakeholders interviewed for the Report expressed frustration with overlapping regulations and a lack of County support for agriculture, with many citing the need for more flexible policies such as those enabling vertical agriculture in urbanized zones.