City Hall staffers are looking to create some buzz around rooftop beekeeping.

The city's public safety committee will hear a proposal next Wednesday that would loosen restrictions on keeping bees on city rooftops. That's because none of the city's 28 bee permits are for rooftop hives, according to a staff report.

(They may have forgotten the rooftop apiary at the W Hotel (right), which Star Tribune reporter Rick Nelson wrote about in 2012).

Urban beekeeping has become popular in other cities. The staff report noted that the hives "provide critical, protected habitat – especially in commercial areas."

The Minneapolis Food Council and the Minneapolis Community
Environmental Advocacy Commission have asked the Municipal Building Commission, a joint agency that runs City Hall, to install beehives on the roof of City Hall.

The ordinance change would allow rooftop beekeepers (in buildings two stories or taller) to bypass a requirement to obtain consent from nearby residents. They would also not need to enclose the hives with a fence, which is required of ground-level hives.