The Rock Island City Council discussed potential changes to urban agriculture regulations at their meeting on Monday, Oct. 13. The proposed ordinance aims to restrict crop production in residential areas, raising concerns among locals who maintain community gardens.
On Oct. 9, Community Engagement Manager Sarah Hayden announced in an email to local media outlets that council staff had agreed to edit the proposed ordinance after receiving community feedback on the approval of the first reading of the ordinance.
The first draft of the proposal stated that all lots, including vacant ones, were not allowed to grow plants that exceed four feet in the front yard or within 10 feet of any side or rear property line. In the updated ordinance, staff decided to eliminate the rule stating that lots with buildings cannot have crops that exceed four feet in the front yard and cannot be planted within 10 feet of any side or rear yard property line.
The current ordinance allows residents to garden on their own property and grow any non-invasive or non-noxious plants in a front yard. There are no height restrictions on plants in occupied lots; plants can be any height on vacant lots. There can be gardens on vacant lots as long as it is placed 10 feet from all property lines, and vacant lots with the 10-foot buffer from the garden must be grassed.
Fifth Ward Alderman Dylan Parker said the ordinance would directly affect the 1st ward, the West End of Rock Island. He said many refugees live in the West End and grow their own produce to sustain their families.
“I oppose the ordinance as it has been written,” Parker said. “I understand that this is a balancing act, balancing the right of private property owners to grow food on their property… with the contrasting interests of their neighbors.”
Parker said that crops grown in town can lead to increased rodent populations and the risk of tall crops obstructing drivers’ visibility on the streets. He also said there are potential issues with cleanliness and sanitation.
However, Parker said there is a need to consider different perspectives on the issue, as balancing them is crucial to ensuring that immigrant populations have access to food and residents can continue to foster a sense of community.
Senior Ian Empen is the president of Augie Acres, a student-run garden that grows produce for the campus and local community. Although Augie Acres would not be affected by the ordinance because of the college’s zoning, Empen said the proposed ordinance, if passed, would negatively affect many local farmers.
“I think there are better ways to… work with the community members and gather feedback, or [work] on a case-by-case basis rather than putting this whole blanket ordinance on the entire city,” Empen said.
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Augie Acres and the Sierra Club hosted a city council meeting recap at 7 p.m. in Hanson Hall of Science. Grounds Vice President, senior Christian Gonzalez, spoke about the potential impact on local urban growers, with the potential for fines and having their materials seized if not within city guidelines.
“[Local gardeners] are already in a struggling financial position. They likely will not be able to afford hundreds of dollars of costs in fees,” Gonzalez said.
Associate Professor of Geography and Co-Coordinator of Food Studies at Augustana, Chris Strunk, said this ordinance is “the exact wrong approach” that the city should be taking. He said that for a long time, the city of Rock Island has tried to be a welcoming place for refugee and immigrant families to settle down and buy homes, and that this decision would be regressive for the city, specifically affecting these populations.
“Food is a really important part of that,” Strunk said. “A lot of the refugee folks that come to the Quad Cities have agricultural backgrounds. So they are very skilled urban farmers that come from rural backgrounds.”
Food insecurity is a significant issue for residents of Rock Island, he said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the end of Household Food Security Reports, which will make it more difficult to measure community hunger and plan relief efforts.
Tapestry Farms is one organization in the Quad Cities that works to combat the food insecurity crisis. The nonprofit urban farm system grows fresh produce and flowers at its various farms throughout the Quad Cities.
Ann McGlynn, founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms, said volunteers work closely with refugees to harvest and distribute food throughout the local community. She said the proposed ordinance will restrict immigrants’ ability to grow their own food.
“Growing food is incredibly important to many refugees in our community,” McGlynn said. “These are skills that they learn in their home countries or in refugee camps, and it’s a skill that they bring with them, especially going into a time where we anticipate increased food insecurity due to federal law changes; this skill is going to be more vital than ever before.”
Senior Phoebe Fuller, a Rock Island native and social vice president of Augie Acres, said that the ordinance could have lasting consequences for refugee communities on the West End of Rock Island. Fuller said that many residents in those neighborhoods rely on urban farming for both food and cultural preservation.
“A lot of refugees and immigrant communities that [Rock Island has] live in the West End,” Fuller said. “People of different cultures in our community deserve to grow food the way they know and grow their own culturally appropriate food.”
The Rock Island City Council will review and vote on the ordinance at its meeting scheduled for Jan. 1, 2026.
