Clinton Council considers changing beekeeping ordinance
Apr. 24—No one spoke out against bees on Tuesday at the Clinton City Council meeting, but there was caution.
The Council at its regular meeting gave first consideration to amending a city ordinance pertaining to beekeeping. Presented by Councilmember Gregg Obren. The biggest point of change will be on where to locate bee hives, he said.
"In the biggest picture, we just want to keep the hives in the backyard, OK, not in the front yard," he told the Council. "If you have a corner lot, we don't want to have it next to a sidewalk ... We want it to be in the backyard so bees are actually more so in the areas that are not fronting public walkways and that sort of thing. In our existing ordinance, it kind of said that, but it really didn't emphasize that. So that's probably one of the biggest pieces that we want to upgrade."
He also expects minor changes to the proposal before its second consideration by the Council because the "we have had several more pieces of information that have come to light that we want to incorporate."
Resident Janet Turpen, spoke up favorably on beekeeping in the city, noting she is a home gardener. She does not keep bees due to the ordinance, she said before addressing concerns about "bee aggression."
"First off, bees are not aggressive by any means," she said. "I'm highly allergic to bees, and it's something that I want in my yard. Bees are one of our biggest pollinators that we have, and over the past few years we've been having bees just lying dead on concrete all over town. Last year, I probably cleaned up over 100 bees just in my neighborhood.
"Our ecosystem is not thriving here in Clinton because of a lot of the chemicals that have been killing bees. And beekeeping, honestly, is going to help this city."
Obren said that he is also allergic to bees and agreed with Janet about the importance to the Clinton ecosystem.
"That needs to have big asterisks and big stars next to it because it really makes a difference," he said
Working on this ordinance amendment, Obren said he has learned a lot.
"If they're doing their honeying in the proper way, then it's not going to affect me at all as somebody that lives right next door," he said.
But still, he'd rather not have bee boxes pushing up against his property line.
"If it's in the middle of your property and you put up the right screening so that bees are flying higher than lower, all of a sudden it makes me a lot more at ease," he said. "And there actually is a state beekeeping association that helps people run beehives and gives them how-to's."
Proposed ordinance changes include making the $30 permit required for beekeeping a one-time setup permit, and tenants must provide written permission from their landlord to get it.
A property can't have more than four hives on any lot size of two acres or less, but up to two extra hives may be provided on a temporary basis of up to 60 days for the purposes of rescuing a swarm or accommodate dividing colonies.
Another addition to the ordinance is defining commercial honey operations as those exceeding 15 hives or more. These operations would be prohibited on residentially zoned property.
The amendment establishes that a "minimum 6-foot-high solid flight barrier on the side of the hive entrance and away from foot traffic shall be installed not less than three (3) feet from the hive entrance to be a flight inhibitor."
Hives must be at least 20 feet away from any property line or public sidewalk and are permitted in the side or back yards not fronting on a street.
It also establishes enforcement procedures and recommends beekeepers incorporate national and state best standards of operation, which include education.
