Free to Garden Act
THE BIG IDEA
To make community and market gardens permissible by right in Jacksonville.
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WHY THIS MATTERS
Right now, there is no business-as-usual path for a community or market garden to legally operate in Jacksonville without rezoning, state-level agricultural exemptions, or political navigation.
That means many gardens exist in a gray area - vulnerable to shutdown despite providing clear public benefit.
The Free to Garden Act fixes this.
It creates a clear, administrative path for community-rooted food production in Jacksonville, while setting reasonable standards to ensure compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods & districts.
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WHAT THE ACT DOES
The Free to Garden Act establishes community gardens, market gardens, and similar small-scale urban agriculture uses as permissible by right across Jacksonville.
It allows for:
• Shared community gardens for personal use, donation, and limited sales
• Market gardens operated by small, local businesses
• Farmstands and on-site sales of goods grown on-site
• Basic infrastructure like raised beds, sheds, greenhouses, and wash/pack areas
• Educational programming and limited agritourism activities
At the same time, it sets clear standards around:
• Hours of operation
• Noise, odor, lighting, and visibility.
• Composting practices
• Scale of structures and site design
• Neighborhood compatibility
This is not deregulation — it is right-sized regulation.
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CONCERNS & COALITION RESPONSE
Vegetable Gardens in Yards: Florida’s 2018 Vegetable Garden Preemption, sponsored by Aaron Bean, already protects the right to grow food in residential yards.
Traffic, Hours & Noise: Both the Home Occupation Bill and the Free to Garden Act include standards for traffic, hours, noise, and related impacts so small-scale neighborhood enterprises remain good neighbors.
Delay: Deferring the FTGA until the State of the Food Plan keeps growers and community gardens in legal limbo. That costs active growing seasons causing real harm and delays access to healthy, low-cost food when food prices are already rising.
Home Occupation: While the Home Occupation Bill is a positive step, it is not a substitute for the FTGA. It misses roughly 80% of the FTGA’s scope by ignoring community gardens entirely and leaving vacant-lot, non-residential, and primary-use gardens in legal limbo.
By-Right Permission: Planning’s suggested PUD path for gardens on non residential property costs around $5,000 and requires a full City Council vote. That negates the by-right approach the FTGA is meant to create.
Corporate Farms: The FTGA is written for local, community-rooted agriculture, not corporate farming. Eligible applicants must have ultimate beneficial owners or directors who reside in Duval County.
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WHY NOW
This isn’t anything new. In spite of the lack of regulatory clarity, hundreds of market and community gardens have operated in the shadows across Jacksonville for decades. It’s time to normalize what’s already been working.
Jacksonville’s own Comprehensive Plan calls for encouraging community gardens as important open-space resources that strengthen community cohesiveness and improve access to healthy food.
At the state level, Florida law protects the right to grow food for personal use on residential property; it protects home-based businesses including market gardens, and it protects the rights of bonafide farmers to grow food to feed our communities. The Free to Garden Act builds on these foundations by creating a clear local path to legally grow food with and for neighbors.
At a time when food access, public health, and supply chain resilience are top concerns, this legislation addresses a clear gap in the middle — between backyard gardening and large-scale agriculture.
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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR JACKSONVILLE
• Activates vacant and underutilized land
• Expands access to fresh, local food
• Supports small, local businesses
• Strengthens neighborhood identity and cohesion
• Aligns local policy with existing community, precedent, demand and existing policy frameworks.
Research shows that community and market gardens can also increase nearby property values and improve neighborhood outcomes.
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THE DIFFERENCE: FTGA vs Home Occupation Bill*
While both initiatives move toward regulated permission for small-scale enterprises, they serve distinct operational needs.
Scope and Intent: The Home Occupation Bill focuses on businesses secondary to a residence, with a focus on largely unseen activity to protect residential character. Conversely, the FTGA modernizes outdoor, land-based production—including community gardens on vacant lots—where the productive landscape is the primary use.
Inclusivity: The Home Occupation Bill covers only ~20% of the FTGA's scope, failing to address community gardens or market gardens on non-primary residence & non-residential properties.
Operational Reality: Home Occupation rules significantly minimize visitors and visible activity. The FTGA expects and manages visitors for harvesting, sales, and education through standards for hours, noise, and traffic to ensure community and market gardens are good neighbors.
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TAKE ACTION
Make a public comment at City Council in support of the Free to Garden Act.
Contact City Council and ask them to support the Free to Garden Act.
Then ask others to do the same: will you text two people & then post your favorite Free to Garden Act artwork along with these talking points?
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Partners
The Free to Garden Act is backed by over a thousand neighbors, gardeners, farmers, homesteaders, community organizations, and good food advocates working to make community and market gardens legal, practical, and welcome across Jacksonville. Below you’ll find a far-from exhaustive list of business & organizational partners & supporters.
Duval Food Policy Council
Duval Ag Council
Blue Zones Project Jacksonville
Springfield Preservation & Revitalization Council (SPAR)
Duval Soil and Water Conservation District
UF/ IFAS Extension Duval County
Feeding Northeast Florida
Slow Food First Coast
Standard Feed & Seed
Eat Your Yard Jax
Northeast Florida Market Managers Coalition
Success Gardening
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WANT TO READ THE FINE PRINT?
Click here to find the full text of the proposed legislation.
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THANK YOU
This effort represents years of work by a broad coalition of community growers, neighborhood leaders, partner organizations, and public servants across Jacksonville.
Thank you to the Duval Food Policy Council for convening and facilitating community conversations around urban agriculture policy.
Thank you to the Duval Agricultural Council for helping engage the broader agricultural community and support this policy effort.
Thank you to UF/IFAS Extension Duval County and Blue Zones Project Jacksonville for contributing research, best practices, and policy insight throughout the drafting process.
Thank you to the Duval Urban Agriculture Council’s farmers and growers for continuing to cultivate food and community in Jacksonville despite unclear and inconsistent regulations.
Thank you to the Jacksonville Garden Club for hosting Garden Summits over the years, creating space for connection, learning, and surfacing shared challenges.
Thank you to SPAR and neighborhood leaders for bringing a neighborhood-first perspective and helping ensure this legislation was well crafted.
Thank you to the many organizations, partners, and individuals who reviewed drafts, provided feedback, and helped refine this legislation over time.
Thank you to the City of Jacksonville staff and leadership who have engaged in this conversation and are working toward a more resilient and community-supportive food system.
And thank you to the 1,350 signers of the Petition for Permission to Grow who have helped bring this effort to this point. Feel free to add your name.
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We’re not done yet.