Abuzz over potential ordinance in Centerville

Keeping bees may soon be an option for Centerville residents.

The Centerville City Council is close to approving a city ordinance that would allow residents to keep honeybees within city limits.

"Bees are in our community already," City Council Member Ben Fehrenbacher said. "We're not introducing wild African killer bees. Why not support it?"

Centerville resident Terry Johnson proposed changing the animal control ordinance to allow beekeeping to the Planning and Zoning Commission in December.

"I've been doing a lot of study on this, and I saw that our city didn't allow beekeeping," Johnson said. Johnson has been gardening for three years and hopes to create an edible forest garden in her three-quarter-acre back yard. She became interested in keeping bees after reading a book about skills that had gone out of use, one of which was beekeeping.

"I've planted a lot of fruit and berry bushes and trees in the back yard, so I would like to have them [bees] for pollination, and the honey is an added bonus," Johnson said.

Under the proposed law, to obtain a beekeeping permit, residents would have to complete an educational course, place the hives an appropriate distance from neighboring property lines, and obtain their neighbors' permission.

"Once they get over the initial shock they say, 'Oh yeah, that would help my garden.' Or they've heard of the CCD [Colony Collapse Disorder, which is threatening hives around the country], and they realize this would be a good thing," Johnson said.

Johnson's next-door neighbor Kevin Amundsen is supportive of her decision.

"If they were some exotic thing I'd be against it," Amundsen said. "It's a natural species to the country, to the area. They're not like the flying carp we're getting."

Amundsen added that although he would be concerned for people with allergies to bees, he believed the insects would benefit his garden.

Johnson said her fifth neighbor wants to do some more research on beekeeping before consenting.

Balancing concerns

In creating the new ordinance, the Planning and Zoning Commissioners looked to the Minneapolis city ordinance that had been changed to allow beekeeping there in 2009, according to Commissioner Olaf Lee.

"If you read the Minneapolis ordinance, you'll find that we pretty much mimicked it almost word for word," Lee said.

Which is one reason the ordinance wasn't passed by the City Council at its meeting Feb. 9.

"By looking at other ordinances, you are making an assumption that they do their homework. Before I pass something, I want to make sure it's correct," Fehrenbacher said.

The proposal was tabled after the council reviewed some of the setback requirements and decided "we're not comfortable assuming that's the right number," Fehrenbacher said.

City Attorney Kurt Glaser said he planned to consult entomologists at the University of Minnesota in determining the appropriate required distance from hives to a adjacent neighbor's property.

"These kinds of ordinances need to protect both sides," beekeepers and neighbors alike, Glaser said. "Is there scientifically or agriculturally a good distance that would be recognized by somebody in the beekeeping world?"

Gary Reuter, an apiculture technician who teaches beekeeping courses at the University of Minnesota, said 25 feet from the property line actually would be a safe distance for somebody occasionally walking by the property.

"The distance could be shortened if there is some sort of barrier -- generally we say a 6-foot barrier. It can just be a hedge or something that makes the bees fly up," Reuter said. Reuter explained that if bees need to fly up 6 feet to get over a hedge, they would stay at about that height.

Benefits of bees

Fehrenbacher, who lives a few houses down from Johnson, said his initial concerns were assuaged after reading the proposed ordinance. He said safety, issues of neighbor consent, limits on the number of hives, and the education of potential beekeepers are all addressed in the ordinance.

"A lot of times people initially assume the worst, just as I did. When you sit back and learn a little, it's hard to find rationale why you wouldn't support this," Fehrenbacher said.

He said that honeybees would benefit his garden.

"But that doesn't weigh into my decision. That's just icing on the cake," he said.

"If people see a mass of bees, they can call the city, who can call the beekeeper to take care of it," she said.

Looking ahead

The City Council will discuss the ordinance again on Wednesday, when Mayor Thomas Wilharber said he expects the proposed changes will pass.

"I kind of think it will because the only issue was the distance from the surrounding property owners," Wilharber said.

In order to keep bees this summer, Johnson would need to order the equipment and bees by the end of the month. But whether she has bees or not, she looks forward to tending her garden.