A local farmer is feeding the Springfield community through three urban farms located in the neighborhood.
It’s fresh, affordable, local food.
As Nathan Ballentine expands, he says he’s getting pushback from the city. He has been told that it’s not allowed because commercial agriculture is not allowed in the city.
Nathan Ballentine has been an urban farmer for several years, he saw a need Springfield and decided to help through food. However, he is worried that as a third farm growing right now, won’t go to the people that will need it the most due to city rules.
In Duval County you are not allowed to have an urban farm. If you do, you will need a PUD, A Planned Unit Development or COU known as a Certificate of Use. The only other example is Eartha White’s farm; it has a COU.
When you talk to Nathan Ballentine its obvious he knows food.
I asked Nathan Ballentine why he started farming. He told me he started farming because the great recession hit and he didn’t know how to fix the economy but he knew how to grow food.
He now has three farms: one in his backyard, another leased through a private owner and a third that he also owns. The first was started in his backyard. People get a subscription monthly and come and pick unlimited produce at a cheaper price. The idea exploded during COVID.
Now, with this third farm there have been a few complaints and Ballentine believes the city could be more supportive. Ballentine’s believes some would rather use the land to build homes instead of food.
He is currently feeding 120 families through the farm subscription program.
Ballentine said he told he needed a PUD or a COU to have this third urban farm. Ballentine has started a petition to get more support. He believes urban farms are very common and there needs to be more policy that supports it. Ballentine says he has received some citations, one for a storage issue and another for trash but not for the overall farm.
Ballentine said he was encouraged to apply for a PUD. However, Ballentine said after that he says they said a PUD is mandatory. He has since got a citation to get a COU. Either is considered a license to operate. The COU cost 85 dollars. A PUD cost 5-thousand dollars to apply.
Farm three is under a purpose driven LLC.
According to the city:
“Mr. Ballentine is not only proposing urban agriculture at his location in Springfield. There are several event and retail activities taking place at the site, which is bringing hundreds of people into the middle of a residential neighborhood where there is not adequate parking.
The petition is misleading in that it does not mention any of these activities. The city’s evaluation regarding the use of a PUD is for all the uses that he currently uses the site for, which is more than urban agriculture and growing food.
At the last meeting we had with him in June 2025 – he seemed to understand and accept that a PUD was needed... In fact, there was even an entity that volunteered to pay for the PUD application fee. To date, the Planning Department has not yet received an application," City of Jacksonville said.
The City of Jacksonville shared a memo regarding the land identified as “Farm 3″. The memo is dated November 5, 2024.
The memo states that the city was asked to evaluate the use of the parcel for commercial agricultural use. The property is currently zoned CRO-S which stands for Commercial Residential Office- Springfield. The memo states a “commercial agricultural use is not listed as a permitted or permissible use and is therefore prohibited”. The city was after if Florida Right to Farm Act would preempt the city’s zoning and the response was - no. Further, the memo says the Right to Farm Act does not apply to this land because it was written to protect existing farm not new farms.
There are couple people in the neighborhood against the urban farm idea but there are also many supporters. They say this farm is needed more than ever before.
I asked do you think its simply a matter of a rule being put on the books and Jennifer Leggett, the chair of Urban Agricultural Committee said, “I think its because its something that has never been investigated and laid out and properly approached.”
Doctor Laureen Husband, chair of the Duval Food Policy said she was not surprised about the reaction from the city saying, “I was not surprised because as the chair of the food policy council I have been working in trying to change policies in Duval county since 2010.”
Doctor Husband says its okay for homeowners to have up to five chickens in the county but that was not always the case. It took people working for policy change and she believes it will be the same for this issue.
STATEMENT FROM THE CITY
I reached out to the city and they send me the following statement:
Mr. Ballentine is not only proposing urban agriculture at his location in Springfield. There are several event and retail activities taking place at the site, which is bringing hundreds of people into the middle of a residential neighborhood where there is not adequate parking. The petition is misleading in that it does not mention any of these activities. The city’s evaluation regarding the use of a PUD is for all the uses that he currently uses the site for, which is more than urban agriculture and growing food.
At the last meeting we had with him in June 2025 – he seemed to understand and accept that a PUD was needed. It’s unclear what has changed since then. In fact, there was even an entity that volunteered to pay for the PUD application fee. To date, the Planning Department has not yet received an application.
In addition to the statement I asked the city the following questions:
1. Why is a PUD necessary to get the zoning to grow more food?
A Planned Unit Development (PUD) is necessary because the property is located within the Springfield Historic Overlay and will include multiple uses proposed by Nathan “Man in Overalls.” These uses include urban agriculture, commercial retail sales, outdoor community events, cooking classes, training workshops, and a church. To properly address each of these uses, along with the additional development standards applicable to them and the regulations of the Springfield Overlay, Planned Unit Development is the appropriate path forward.
2. Would a COU (certificate of use) work?
Every business in the City is required to submit a Certificate of Use (COU), which is reviewed by the Zoning, Building Inspections, and Fire Marshal sections. However, submitting a Certificate of Use alone will not resolve the zoning issues associated with the proposed use of the site and the existing zoning district. Rezoning the property to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) will allow Nathan to properly address the existing zoning violations and accommodate all intended future uses.
3. The right to farm act - is that an option for them to grow?
HB 211 won’t have any effect on the rest of the property uses he’s seeking, so it won’t have an impact on the need for a PUD. The attached memo from the Office of General Counsel outlines the finding that the Right to Farm Act does not preempt the City’s zoning code, which precludes the owner’s preferred use.
4. What could be the solution for urban ag in Jacksonville?
The Planning Department, with the Office of Sustainability, are working to address long term solutions to Urban Agriculture within the City of Jacksonville. Phil Perry, Chief Communications Officer, City of Jacksonville | Office of Mayor Donna Deegan
In the meantime, Ballentine says he believes the real solution should be a ‘Free to Garden Act’. He has created a petition and has already received 1,000 signatures. He does not plan to remove the crops that are already growing and won’t let it die for a community that needs healthy affordable food.