With topics like backyard hens up for debate, the City of Kamloops is hoping a pair of public-input sessions will get the community clucking about urban agriculture.
The city will host two open houses — on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Northills Shopping Centre and on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Aberdeen Mall.
Both sessions will run from noon to 3 p.m. and will feature live entertainment, food demonstrations and a chance to comment on the city’s developing local food plan.
Social and community development supervisor Carmin Mazzotta said the aim of the plan is to ensure Kamloopsians have a supply of fresh, local food.
There’s a lot of people in our community who don’t have access to healthy food, or don’t have the know-how to prepare healthy food, and this is about how can we make Kamloops more food secure, more food sustainable, and how can we develop more urban agriculture, whether it’s a community garden or a backyard garden sharing program,” he said.
Depending on public feedback, Mazzotta said the plan could lead to changes to city bylaws to allow urban hens and backyard bees, an increase in community gardening spaces, curbside compost pickup, or other food-friendly programs.
A city-launched survey, which can be filled out at the open houses or online at kamloops.ca/letstalk, also asks residents whether they would like to see pigs allowed on properties under 20 acres, and to gauge their interest in edible landscaping, community gardening, a year-round farmers’ market, and community food initiatives such as a storage and distribution centre for local foods.
So far, Mazzotta said interest in the plan has been impressive. A few days after launch, nearly 150 people had already filled out the survey online.
“It’s very tangible things: Do you want hens in your back yard or your neighbour’s back yard? Do you support the idea of a year-round farmers’ market? Do people have interest in a back yard sharing program and opening up their back yards? Do you support a food share program?” he said.
“These are all really tangible things that effect everyone in the community depending on what comes out of this plan and what direction we move forward with.”
Once public consultation wraps up, Mazzotta said council will take a look at a draft urban agriculture plan in April, with another round of residential input to follow. The city hopes to have a finalized plan in place by early summer.
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