The Vancouver Urban Farmers Society is researching the impact of the City of Vancouver’s new regulations for urban farms. The regulations implemented in March 2016 include Urban Farming Guidelines as well as amendments to zoning, development and business license by-laws. The project will examine the regulatory requirements for Class B urban farms and document the experiences of urban farms that have sought to apply for business licenses and meet building codes.

The goal of the project is to understand the on-the-ground impact of the regulations and provide recommendations for changes that may be required to make them more compatible with urban food production. The City’s policy and by-law changes were intended to provide more security for long term investment and planning for urban farming operations and we would like to ensure they are successful in this goal.

If you are operating a Class B urban farm, or are considering starting an operation that would fall under this category, please contact us to be a part of this research. Your experience will help VUFS understand and advocate for the needs of urban farmers! email: hello@urbanfarmers.ca

For a primer on the City’s existing business licensing requirements for urban farms,

and guidelines, check out out the following link.