Community Gardens in San Diego

The Municipal Code defines a community garden as land used to grow crops, by people working individually or together, and possibly split into plots. The City does not run the gardens itself:

• The garden's organizers. Every garden must post a permanent sign at its main entrance with the name and contact details of the person or group responsible. Plot assignments, waiting lists, plot fees and gardeners' rules are theirs to handle.
• Gardens in parks. A volunteer garden group runs them under a Special Use Permit from the Parks and Recreation Department, which oversees them. See gardens in City parks.
• Finding a garden. The Parks Department's Community Gardens page links an interactive map of publicly accessible gardens. The San Diego Community Garden Network, a nonprofit that helps gardens start and grow, keeps its own map and a form for adding a garden; we could not tell how recently that map was updated.

San Diego Municipal Code section 141.0203 sets conditions for every community garden in the City. In short, as of November 7, 2026:

• Sign and access. A permanent sign at the main entrance naming the responsible party and how to reach them, and a clearly marked path at least 4 feet wide from the street or sidewalk.
• Hours. Open only from sunrise to sunset.
• Trash, tools and compost. A screened trash area near the middle of the lot, emptied at least once a week; enclosed storage for tools and materials; composting allowed only of material from the garden or brought by its active members, also near the middle of the lot.
• Water. All drainage kept on site; mulch, soil that holds water, watering at the base of plants and shut-off nozzles on hoses; watering only on the City's schedule.
• Sales. On-site sales of unprocessed produce grown there are allowed in commercial and industrial zones and, in residential zones, one day a week.

A garden in a public park must also meet the Parks and Recreation Director's requirements. A garden on private land that ignores these conditions is a zoning matter for Development Services' Building and Land Use Enforcement.

The Parks and Recreation Department's community garden instruction (in effect since 2013) sets the terms for gardens on park land. In our own words:

• A volunteer garden group runs the garden at no cost to the City, under a Special Use Permit; the department's checklist describes three-year terms that are renewed.
• The garden has its own water meter and the group pays the water bill; it may not tap into park water.
• Growing food or anything else for sale is not allowed, and plot fees need City approval.
• A fence about 5 feet high and a sign with the rules and hours are required.
• Gardens are not placed on sports fields, golf courses, beaches, campgrounds, cemeteries or joint-use school sites, or within 100 feet of picnic and play areas.

For a problem at a park garden, contact the garden group on its sign first. If that does not work, the Community Gardens page sends general questions to the department's "My Park" web comment form. As of November 7, 2026, we did not find a current phone line for park gardens.

• Dumping. Trash dumped at a garden or along its fence is reported like any illegal dumping: Get It Done or Environmental Services at 858-694-7000, and 619-527-7500 for urgent hazards after hours.
• Rats and insects. County Vector Control, 858-694-2888, handles rats, mosquitoes and flies and offers rat inspections.
• Pesticides. The County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures takes pesticide complaints at 858-694-8980 during business hours and 800-853-3754 after hours. Many gardens also ban pesticides in their own rules; the Parks Department's sample gardener contract does.
• Water. Runoff or watering at the wrong time is water waste (Get It Done, 619-533-5271); a broken pipe or meter goes to the Public Utilities leak line, 619-515-3525. See our water waste guide.
• A garden that ignores the rules. Building and Land Use Enforcement, 619-236-5500 or its online form. The City asks whether you have contacted the responsible party first, so try the name on the garden's sign.

An abandoned garden on a private lot that has turned into tall weeds or a trash pile is handled like any neglected lot; see our vacant lots guide. Chickens kept at a community garden follow the City's backyard chicken rules; see our farm animals guide.

• Check the zone. The City's zoning tables, for example the residential zone table, list community gardens as permitted with limitations in residential and commercial zones. Some industrial and open space zones require a Neighborhood Use Permit, and some do not allow gardens at all. Find out the zone of the lot before you start.
• City-owned land. The City's urban farming page says the Parks and Recreation Department provides the forms, checklist and instructions for a garden in a park or on other City-owned property.
• Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone. The City's UAIZ program lowers the property tax assessment of a vacant lot of 0.1 to 3 acres that the owner commits to farming use for at least five years, with no homes on it. Farming has to start within 60 days of the contract. Contact the Economic Development Department, 619-236-6700 or [email protected]. The County's program covers only unincorporated areas.