At the farmers market selling vegetables and fruit

Urban farming and growing food to sell

Urban farms may be operated on a for-profit, non-profit, and/or a social enterprise model.

Urban farming supports many of our green initiatives including improved biodiversity, making use of under-utilized spaces, reducing food import impacts, and enhancing Vancouver's green enconomy.

Next steps for your urban farm

If you are interested in urban farming, you should review the following guides and complete the necessary documentation.

Find your farm classification

There are two classes of urban farms, Class A and Class B. Regulations for your farm will depend on the class.

	Class A	Class B
Description	Small scale Integrated into existing neighbourhood Likely outdoor in yards Growing in soil	Larger in scale May be in in a building or greenhouse (in part of whole) May sell produce from the site Soil or soiless growing
Allowed zones	Residential	Industrial, commercial, and historical area zones (Chinatown, Gastown, and Yaletown)
Size Limit per parcel	Max. planting area: 325m²*	Max. planting area: 7000m²**
Size Limit for combined parcel area	Max. planting area: 7000m²	Max. planting area: 7000m²
Farm sales limits for leased land	None	None
Farm sales limits for owned land	$9,999 per organization or business	None
Business license	$10/year	$136/year
Development permit	Not required***	Required ($279)
Building permit	Accessory building up to 10m² allowed without building permit	If in part or wholly within a building, permit is required
Farm gate sales	Only allowed if on institutional land	Allowed

Notes:

*May be larger if farm is on Institutional land and demonstrates strong social impact (may be increased to ;max. 7000m²)
**May be larger if farm demonstrates strong social impact
***Unless over 325m²

Get a printable chart

Documents and background

Access guides, council documents, checklists, and find background information about urban farming regulations.
Urban Farm Guidelines

Guidelines have been prepared to assist the development of safe, neighbourly and productive urban farming and create more sustainable food system for the city.

The purpose of the guidelines is to assist both urban farm applicants to apply as well as city staff to evaluation applications. Please review the guidelines before submitting your application.
- Get the guidelines
Urban farm checklist

Be sure to review this checklist for information and procedures about applying for business licences and development permits related to urban farms.
- Get the checklist
Guide to reduce health risks

This guide outlines ways to reduce contamination of soil and fresh produce by unhealthy bacteria, acid soluble metals, petroleum products, or volatile organic compounds sometimes present in the urban environment.

To assist gardeners and farmers in reducing risk in the planting, growing and harvesting of fresh produce the guide is divided in two categories – reducing fresh produce contamination, and soil assessment and testing.
- Download the guide

Vancouver Urban Farming Census

The Urban Farming Census provides a unique study of the growing urban farming sector in Vancouver. The in-depth research shows the growth of land in production, employment, and food sales from 2011 to 2016.

Highlights of the study include:

13 self-identified urban farm operations
7 acres of urban land under food production
$750,000 in food sales in 2016
35 FTE jobs created by urban farms in 2016
15,000 residents involved in farming and food activities on just 4 farms
0 complaints from Vancouver residents about negative impacts of urban farms

Read the full Urban Farming Census PDF file (3.18 MB)

More resources for urban farming

Vancouver Urban Farming Society

The Vancouver Urban Farming Society is an organization that supports the shared interests of urban farmers. Check out their website for more resources, events, workshops, and updates.