Community Bored

Oakland Still Doesn’t Take Kindly to Urban Farmers

Novella Carpenter, with friends.
Novella Carpenter, with friends. Photo: via Ghost Town Farm

Locally and nationally renowned urban homesteading evangelist Novella Carpenter, whom we just mentioned on Monday in regard to a recent event for her book Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, has fallen victim to a single NIMBY complaint and is being fined $5,000 for the urban farm on her property. The City of Oakland tells Carpenter that they are using her as an example, and that she needed a conditional use permit for her “agricultural activities” — even though they had previously told her the laws were in the process of changing. The single complaint about her activities actually went to animal control, perhaps having to do with Novella’s bunnies and chickens and things.

As Novella announces on her blog — which she’s now paranoid the City is reading — she’ll be suspending her pop-up farmstand until further notice for fear of being busted by the authorities. “I’m not going to post about my activities on this blog (I’ll still write about the farm, just not announce events). If you want to be added to my private email list to find out about events/tours/pop-up farmstands, email me at myname @gmail.com with a statement about who you are and why you want to be added.”

You got that? She’s taking the farmstand on the DL. The po-po is on to her game! It’s hard out there for an urban homesteader!

Farmstand Canceled Due to… the City of Oakland [Ghost Town Farm via SFist]

Oakland Still Doesn’t Take Kindly to Urban Farmers