Twin Cities Agricultural Land Trust Feasibility Study - Planner Survey

This report on the feasibility of facilitating community agricultural use of public land was Commissioned by the Twin Cities Community Agricultural Land Trust (TCALT) and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota and includes my recommendations based on a survey of planners in the Twin Cities metro region of Minnesota at the local, county, and regional level. This survey was intended to address concerns about the challenges presented to sustainable urban food cultivation by local land use designations and land management practices, including taxation, zoning, and communication relating to land access processes and programs. The surveys conducted also provided great insight into the value of engaging these policymakers. My specific recommendations include: 1. Identify remnant, undevelopable, and/or publicly owned vacant parcels suitable for urban food cultivation, particularly those outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul but within the urban core. 2. Engage with policymakers in communities where desirable parcels have been located with proposals for easements held by TCALT to facilitate urban food cultivation. 3. Engage with policymakers in communities that currently lease publicly owned farmland for conventional row cropping on a yearly basis with long-term proposals for easements held by TCALT for urban food cultivation.Conducted on behalf of Twin Cities Community Agricultural Land Trust (TCALT). Supported by the Kris Nelson Community-Based Research Program, a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota