This Thursday, the city of Oakland will undertake the final step in an effort to modernize its rules and regulations regarding urban agriculture.

Whether you raise tomatoes, would like to raise goats or just want to know more about the process, the Planning and Zoning department invites you to a community meeting to help the city make those decisions.

The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., this Thursday, July 21, at the North Oakland Senior Center at 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

How did we get to this point?

The city updated the citywide zoning code in March of this year. This was the first update since the code was adopted in 1965. Before March, people were allowed to plant gardens behind their homes. People could keep fowl (ducks, geese, chickens, etc.), too, as long as the structure was more than 20 feet from any house, church or school. Roosters were forbidden for noise concerns.

After March, anyone wanting to raise livestock (rabbits, goats, etc.) would be able to get a conditional use permit. Would-be urban farmers could grow larger "crops" as long as they didn't use mechanized farm equipment. The crops still had to be on a piece of property with a house - so no vacant lots. Famously, urban agriculture author and Oakland resident Novella Carpenter was warned that keeping rabbits on an empty lot she owed would require a $2,500 conditional use permit. According to Carpenter, the fee for operating without a permit was $5,000.

This new conditional use permit was not a suitable expectation, according to City Slicker Farm's executive director Barbara Finnin.

"A conditional use permit might make sense for 40-acre farms," Finnin said in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. "But not when the farm occupies one-tenth of an acre and beets sell for $2 a bunch."

In April, Phase I of the urban agricultural zoning update expanded the definition of "occupied" property to include a property with a garden. This means that the lot Carpenter farmed was no longer "vacant," so she wouldn't need a $2,500 permit to grow chard. She would still need a permit to raise rabbits (a livestock).

Phase II continues this week with the first of two community meetings. In this week's meeting, the city invites concerned residents to identify the issues that the city should consider in its new urban agricultural policy. In a future meeting, residents will have the opportunity to offer feedback to a draft policy.

There are a lot of issues for these meetings to address.

How should the city regulate livestock? Requiring a $2,500 permit for a few rabbits seems steep, but there's more going on here. Initially, rumors swirled that Carpenter was reported by local animal rights activists because she was raising rabbits for meat. Animal rights advocates argue that livestock is more challenging and expensive than many novices expect, which can lead to neglected and unwanted animals. Urban homesteading advocates counter that backyard gardens are a humane alternative to factory farms and therefore should be allowed.

The final policy will also likely address the issue of selling products (vegetable or livestock) raised in Oakland. Carpenter's warnings eventually settled on her selling food without a business permit. These permits are currently $40, which may be a high margin for someone looking to sell or trade some surplus tomatoes. How should the city scale this fee to encourage small homesteaders to operate legally?

What about selling jams and jellies, or offering classes for a fee? More questions remain.

The city of Oakland's zoning code is a long way from addressing the nuance of modern urban agriculture. Can you help it catch up?

July 21, from 6:30-8:30 pm in the North Oakland Senior Center at 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.