I want to plant my parking strip for a vegetable garden. Do I need a permit from the city? And if so where do I get a permit?
The City of Seattle has revised its guidelines for parking strip gardening as of May 2009. Client Assistance Memo (CAM) #2305 provides the details.
To quote, "a street use permit (from the Department of Transportation) is not required for gardening activities in the planting strip. However, a street use permit is required when planting a tree or installing hardscape elements like raised planting boxes or pavers." The permit is free.
A local gardening blog, Greenwalks, includes a letter from Linden Mead, a Seattle Department of Transportation arborist, addressing one of the concerns I would have about planting edible crops next to a street:
"Although the list may not be exhaustive, and gardeners are encouraged
to be creative, they do need to follow some parameters. Plants grown
within the area equal to or less than 30 feet from an intersection
may not exceed 24" (2 feet) in height at maturity. This is so that
visibility is adequately maintained (cars and pedestrians visible
to each other). When a planting strip is 5 feet wide or less, plants
may not exceed 36" (3 feet) in height at maturity. This is to help
assure pedestrian safety/visibility as well as to maintain pedestrian
walkways and the roadway clear of overgrowth which may impede travel
on the right-of-way. With wider strips, it is possible to put in scattered,
taller plants, if planted in the middle of the strip.
There are also regulations about 'hardscape' - which may include
planting beds in the strip. Raised beds may be constructed from
timber but rocks or bricks that are easily moved (read here 'picked
up and thrown') are not allowed. Permits are required for raised beds.
Permits are also required to plant, prune or remove trees.
Concerning food gardening, while there are no regulations prohibiting
it, SDOT does not recommend growing food in planting strips because
of safety concerns. The concerns include the proximity of gardening
activity to roadways/traffic and unanswered questions regarding soils
and contaminants. I would, at a minimum, recommend a comprehensive
soil test before considering food gardening in planting strips."
Season
All Season
Date 2009-03-12
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