Until today, it wasn’t looking good for the Stevens family’s dreams of farming a large tract of unused land on the city’s East Side. The proposed farm was surrounded in controversy, as outlined on Broadway/Filmore.org and in The Buffalo News. Today, however, Mayor Byron Brown issued a statement saying that the city would seek a land use agreement with the Buffalo Common Council to allow the Stevens family to create an urban farm on 27 parcels on Wilson Street that have sat shovel ready but unused.
The statement is as follows:
My Administration today filed
with the Buffalo Common Council a request to authorize the use of 27 unimproved
parcels on Wilson Street in the City of Buffalo for an urban farming pilot
initiative.
As I have previously stated,
I do not oppose the concept of urban farming, but it must be done in a manner
that makes sense from a long-term planning standpoint. As urban farming is not contemplated in
the city’s zoning code and comprehensive plan, my Administration had to devise
a creative mechanism to initiate an urban farming initiative in the City of
Buffalo.
The city will enter into an
agreement with the Stevens family for the use of the 27 parcels for an urban
farming pilot initiative. They
will be responsible for maintaining the properties, conducting gardening
activities in a neat and orderly appearance, and any produce from the parcels
shall be offered or sold in the City of Buffalo. They will pay the City of Buffalo the annual sum of $1 and
are fully indemnifying the city as part of this 5-year agreement.
It is my hope that the
Common Council will approve this creative measure.