Contracts and Codes: What Land Banks Should Know About Community Gardens

Community gardens are a popular strategy for vacant land reuse and are a priority for many residents—especially in food deserts. Unfortunately, residents who want to transform a vacant lot in their neighborhood into a community garden often don’t have the resources to buy a land bank property. So too, many land banks find it uniquely challenging to safely transition a vacant lot for food production or community-shared green space. 

The Houston Land Bank’s solution? Allow residents to lease land bank properties for urban gardens.  

Houston Land Bank’s LaTosha Okoiron will get into the weeds of how the land bank developed the program, specific lease requirements and clauses, and examples and case studies that demonstrate how to set up a successful urban garden leasing program. This webinar is intended for land bank and community revitalization professionals interested in developing similar programs in their communities.  

Join this webinar to: 

• Understand the land development policy considerations that go into an urban garden contracting program, including improving food access, agricultural skill development, and environmental planning  
• Learn to identify different land options agreements to facilitate urban gardening 
• Dive into the details of urban garden contracts, from obligations and liabilities to performance and reporting  

Speakers:  

• LaTosha Okoiron, General Counsel and Compliance Manager – Houston Land Bank 
• Brian Larkin, Director, National Land Bank Network – Center for Community Progress