Prepare to meet your future, Portlanders.

Starting soon, you could see more planter boxes springing up in parking strips between sidewalks and city streets.

And folks who embrace this form of urban farming will have Jordan Benner to thank in part.

In 2009, Benner built the planter box pictured at left. But

, calling it an obstruction of the public right of way. Had he refused, Benner would have faced a hefty fine.

Benner explains now that he put the box in the parking strip -- rather than his front yard -- because he thought his plants would get better light near the street. He also imagined it would be difficult to mow the front lawn with a wooden box running perpendicular through it. "It seemed like I was killing two birds with one stone," Benner said Tuesday. "Turns out, I was shooting myself in the foot."

In 2009, when Benner asked transportation officials what he could build in the parking strip instead, they had no clear directions for him, he said.

of the dispute after it appeared in the media, and the mayor granted Benner permission to build a smaller planter box. The mayor's office also waived Benner's $180 permit fee.

Now, two years later, new administrative rules spell out what Benner sought in 2009. Those rules could go into effect this fall, according to the Transportation Bureau. And if would-be front-yard farmers follow the new guidelines, they won't need permits to build the boxes.

These proposed changes come as Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability seeks to

according to an Aug. 23 article in

The Oregonian

.

So what's Benner growing in his parking strip these days? Blueberries, strawberries, currants and ligonberries, he says.

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Reading:

The Oregonian:

Daily (Boulder, Colo.) Camera:

Daily (Boulder, Colo.) Camera:

Daily (Boulder, Colo.) Camera:

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