Community gardens may be eligible for a 100% discount on their stormwater charges.
By providing all of the documentation referenced below and in the application, as well as meeting all of the eligibility criteria, a community garden may be considered for the discount.
Section 203 of the Philadelphia Water Department Regulations and Chapter 19-1600 of the Philadelphia Code provide details concerning the eligibility criteria of the discount.
In order to qualify, the garden must:
- Be operated for public benefit and appropriately maintained so as not to cause blight
- Be actively tended by individuals or an organization
- Grow crops that are harvested for consumption, sale, or donation
- Be primarily devoted to regularly-planted crop beds or uses necessary to growing crops
If your garden meets these criteria please submit Form G and related documentation.
If your garden resides on one or more parcels you do not own, you can use Form G‑1 to demonstrate your right to use the land.
Community Garden Stormwater Discount applications must be renewed every four years. Download and submit Form G‑R to renew your discount.
Instructions for applying
- Step 1: Determine the parcels that make up the Community Garden by looking online at PWD’s Stormwater Parcel Viewer. These parcels must be listed in Section 2 of the application
- Step 2: Make sure you have documents to support the organizational requirement. Any of the following would be accepted by PWD, but minimally one of these must be submitted with the application:
- Articles of incorporation
- Community garden rules or bylaws
- List of active gardeners identifying at least one proud leader
- Letter attesting to the applicant’s organization from an associated affiliate such as a civic organization, faith-based organization, community development corporation, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, or the Neighborhood Gardens Trust
- Step 3: Make sure you have documents to support the right to use requirement. Any of the following would be accepted by PWD but minimally one of these must be submitted with the application:
- Deed in the name of the organization or applicant
- Lease or license between property owner and organization or applicant
- PWD Form G-1 (required to include along with Form G if applicant is not the land owner)
- Letter from affiliated civic organization, faith-based organization, community development corporation, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, or Neighborhood Gardens Trust demonstrating the applicant’s right to possess the parcel and use it as a community garden
- Step 4: Find a recent photo of the garden or take one to be submitted with the application
- Step 5: Create a map of the garden either by printing out an aerial photograph or by drawing the cross streets and areas where the community garden exists. Aerial photographs can be found using PWD’s Stormwater Parcel Viewer or an online mapping application like Google Maps or Bing Maps. Hatch or outline areas to show the different land cover types and make sure to show the garden boundaries.
Example Garden Map:
- Step 6: Download and complete Form G.
- Step 7: Submit Form G and the required documentation detailed above to PWD
- by emailing it to PWD.StormwaterAppeals@phila.gov
- or by mail:
- Stormwater Billing Program
Philadelphia Water Department
1101 Market St., 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
- Stormwater Billing Program