SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Owners who turn empty lots in San Francisco into farms could soon begin getting a break on their taxes.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the city is set to become the first in California to enact a state law intended to encourage lot owners to turn their parcels into gardens.
The measure lets municipalities lower the assessed value - and therefore the property taxes - if owners dedicate them to growing food for at least five years. Among its aims is reducing urban blight.
San Francisco will be the first to enact it beginning Sept. 8 because the Board of Supervisors already approved the necessary local ordinance. The Chronicle reports that other cities, including Fresno and Sacramento, are watching San Francisco.
