Community Garden Documents
About Community Gardens
According to the ACGA (American Community Gardening Association), a community garden is any piece of land gardened by a group of people. Community gardens come in many shapes and sizes. They can be located with another use—like a church, school, or community center—or on a lot all by themselves. They can grow everything from fruits and vegetables, to herbs and decorative flowers, and everything in between. In Topeka, they could even be maintained by just one person. One thing all these gardens have in common is bringing people together and promoting a fun, healthy, engaging, and interactive neighborhood asset.
Within the City of Topeka there are three types of gardens, Accessory Gardens, Community Garden Type I, and Community Garden Type II. An accessory garden is any garden that is located on a property that already has a primary use on it (i.e. home, church, school, community center). Accessory gardens DO NOT require Community Garden permits, but must comply with standards within the zoning code. Community Gardens Type I & II are gardens that are located on a vacant parcel and managed by an individual or group of individuals. These gardens DO require an application, approval, and a permit to be issued with special use requirements for implementation. Type I Community Gardens are typically limited to a scale of less than two acres and allow for accessory structures like storage buildings, greenhouses, high tunnels, and hoop houses to be built. Type II Community Gardens are of a larger scale and allow for more intensive gardening and structures to be built.
What Other Cities Are Doing
Lawrence, KS
Kansas City
Springfield, MO – Springfield Community Gardens
Ft. Collins, CO
Portland, OR
Austin, TX
Learn More About Community Gardens