DIRECTING CDMP AMENDMENT RE VERTICAL FARMING

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

A 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 before the Board with an agenda date of 9/1/2026, and was forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation by the Recreation, Tourism, and Resiliency Committee on 7/14/2026. The prime sponsor is Roberto J. Gonzalez. The document does not state a specific project site, address, parcel, acreage, or applicant. 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 the 2017 USDA Census reported 78,543 acres of farmland. The document states that 93 percent of farms are under 50 acres and 73 percent under 10 acres. The document states that over 70 stakeholders expressed frustration with overlapping regulations and a lack of County support for agriculture, citing the need for more flexible policies such as enabling vertical agriculture in urbanized zones. The document also states that those involved in the vertical agricultural sector reported the sector has grown substantially in the last few years to meet growing demand, especially in Miami's restaurant scene.