Smart Local Urban Agricultural Zone Laws Go Into Effect

***PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***

SMART LOCAL URBAN AGRICULTURAL ZONE LAWS GO INTO EFFECT

SAN FRANCISCO – On January 1, 2015, San Francisco will be the first county in California to provide property tax relief for property owners who participate in local Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act.

Working closely with Supervisor David Chiu, Assessor Carmen Chu strengthened San Francisco’s local authorization to ensure that only lands used for urban agriculture received property tax relief.   

“The property tax San Francisco would forego is significant and I am proud that we were able to amend the law to ensure that the program had safeguards against abuse,” stated Assessor Chu.  She adds, “With multiple conditions in place, we can avoid loopholes for taxation while still promoting urban agriculture and the benefits to locally produced food.”

The State of California adopted the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act which authorizes local governments to enter into agreements with property owners to provide property tax relief in return for a commitment to a sustainable urban farm enterprise in an urban area.  San Francisco voted to participate in UAIZ with the goal of promoting the use of vacant, undeveloped land for sustainable urban agriculture.  The program is locally administered by the City and County of San Francisco Agricultural Commissioner.

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