Florida Preempts Local Zoning Laws That Prohibit Gardens

Laurel Wamsley reports on Florida's Senate Bill 82, which "nullifies local bans on vegetable gardens at residential properties."

The law went into effect on Monday, thanks to a longtime legal battle by homeowners Tom Carroll and Hermine Ricketts, who live in Miami Shores, Florida. That city had a zoning law that forced the couple to tear up a garden.

Wamsley focuses on the efforts of Ricketts, especially, in pushing for the state preemption of local zoning laws that ban gardens.

A separate article by Samantha J. Gross, written in May when the law was approved by the Florida Legislature, provides more of the political history and details of the new state law.

As for the great tug-of-war between state preemption and local control inextricable from the law, Gross provides this context: "While other concerns over too much preemption came up in committee, the bill specifies that the language does not apply to other regulations like limits on water use during droughts, regulated fertilizer use or the control of invasive species."