Greening Kingston’s acres: Better urban agriculture through zoning changes

Volunteer silkscreen printer Lindsay Duvall hangs up T-shirts she printed. (Photo: Phyllis McCabe)

Schwartz Berky, who formerly worked for Ulster County as deputy planner and is a local resident, said Family of Woodstock is serving as the fiscal sponsor for the KUAC initiative. She plans to present the study, which will be completed by Dec. 1, at a panel at Pace’s LULC’s annual conference on urban agriculture, as well as host a regional roundtable attended by town supervisors invited by Pace. “This is a great opportunity for Kingston to be a leader,” said Schwartz Berky, noting an ultimate goal would be to publish a guide for communities in the state that similarly want to promote urban agriculture.

Here comes the future

Besides promoting better health within the community and boosting the economy, improving the environment is another obvious reason for more local farms and food production within cities, she noted. Climate change will eventually force municipalities to absorb the costs of carbon offsetting, and the immense waste of plastic, paper and shipping costs of the current food system will eventually carry a heavy cost as well. “The current system is efficient for production but very damaging environmentally and health wise,” she said. “The Hudson Valley is poised to be on the forefront of change. Plus, we have a huge appetite just to the south of us for local food,” she said, referring to New York City, where many Hudson Valley farms sell produce to New Yorkers ravenous for natural food. “We can grow food to support ourselves as well as supply that lucrative market.”

 Committee to convene Oct. 22

A public visioning session to expand the existing Urban Agriculture Committee is set for Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 6-8 p.m. at the Kingston Public Library, 55 Franklin St. The group, led by Corrine Wolcott, will discuss Kingston’s current and future farming needs as well as to discuss a  democratic leadership structure for the committee.

“Three years in a non-hierarchical organization gave me plenty of experience using a democratic meeting structure,” says Wolcott. “I valued the opportunity for consent and inclusively that the structure creates. With practice, patience, and support, I found this style of meeting to be the most productive in creating informed action and making safe space for personal growth and respectful relationships.”

The goal of the evening will be for all of those interested in Urban Agriculture to help to develop a strong foundation for continued success of the current Urban Agriculture Committee. Since formed in January, the group has raised funds and created new partnerships for The Dig Kids urban farming program; helped to situate a new farmer at the South Pine Street City Farm; launched the Kingston Urban Agriculture Zoning Project, an effort to update Kingston’s farm zoning and code; and raised funds and helped to successfully launch the YMCA Farm Project that broke ground in September.

For more information about the event, contact Rebecca Martin at [email protected].