tax incentives to promote urban agriculture
The City of Sacramento Community Development Department will re-launch the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Program in August this year. The purpose of the program is to promote urban agricultural use of otherwise vacant, unimproved, and blighted parcels by providing tax-incentives for properties that produce food and agricultural products.
How can I participate?
An Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Agreement (“UAIZ agreement”) is a voluntary contractual agreement between the City and a landowner whereby the property owner agrees to maintain the entire parcel in active agricultural production for a period of five years in exchange for reduced property taxes during the contract period.
Can I participate if I don't own property?
Yes, if you can find a property owner of eligible property (see below) who is willing to enter into a contractual agreement with the City to maintain the entire parcel in active agricultural production for a period of five years.
How can I determine if my property is eligible?
Property owners may apply for a UAIZ Agreement if their property meets the following criteria:
• It is at least 0.10 acres (4,356 sq. ft.) and not more than 3 acres (130,680 sq. ft.) in size;
• The entire property must be dedicated to urban agriculture;
• It is blighted, unimproved, or vacant;
• It was blighted, unimproved, or vacant but has been converted to an urban agriculture use;
• It does not include any dwelling units;
• It includes only structures that are accessory to the agricultural activity, including, but not limited to toolsheds, greenhouses, produce stands; and,
• It has a metered water service connection or approved water well;
• Any land use approvals which are required for the use have been approved.
Please note that urban agriculture activity must commence on the property within 30 days of execution of a UAIZ agreement or it will be terminated. Therefore, in cases where a land use approval is required in order to commence the agriculture activity, it must be approved prior to submitting an application for a UAIZ agreement. This is because land use approvals are often discretionary (not guaranteed), and may take more than a month to complete the process).
If you have questions, email them to Planning Helpline: planning@cityofsacramento.org
APPLICATION PACKET
The next submission window will be September 1 through November 1, 2023. Interested applicants are encouraged to review the application packet and make the necessary preparations ahead of the submission window to ensure eligibility. The application packet is available here:
Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Application Packet
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
There are no meetings scheduled currently. Please check back for updates.
informational sessionS: august 25 & september 29, 2022 @ 5:30PM
Thank you to those who were able to attend the online pre-application informational session on August 25, 2022 and the second informational session on September 29, 2022. These online sessions covered the details of the program and application process for the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (UAIZ) Program and provided an opportunity for community members to have their questions answered.
To view the slides from the August 25th pre-application informational session, click here.
To view the recording of August 25th pre-application informational session, click here. Passcode: D0Sc1X@?
To view the slides from the September 29th second informational session, click here.
To view the recording of the September 29th second informational session, click here. Passcode: y6FaKw.9
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