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Back-yard beekeeping approved in Brooklyn Park

The practice had been limited to large properties. Now it will be allowed more broadly, with conditions.

By Karen Zamora

June 3, 2015 at 2:37AM

Molly Foss lifted a frame from one of two beehives that she and her husband, Cole, maintain in Corcoran. The Fosses live in Brooklyn Park but weren’t able to keep the hives there because of city restrictions. They made a request that led to an ordinance change. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Brooklyn Park is about to get sweeter.

Despite mixed opinions, the City Council voted 4-3 recently to approve an ordinance change allowing back-yard beekeeping in residential neighborhoods.

Previously, the ordinance limited beekeeping to properties with a minimum of 5 acres.

Cole Foss, who lives in a single-family-home neighborhood, was the person who got things going.

Foss started beekeeping a few months ago to help pollinate his fruiting trees, but with the city's regulations, he couldn't pursue the hobby in Brooklyn Park. So he has kept his two hives on a friend's property in Corcoran, 13 miles away.

"I like to garden," Foss said. " … The main purpose, at least for me, was to expand upon the hobby I already enjoy. And making honey is just a great extra."

Last fall he spoke to the City Council during a public comment portion and asked for a change to the ordinance. After a few meetings, presentations with an allergist and public comments, the council approved the new regulations, which will go into effect by July 1.

Brooklyn Park joins a number of suburbs and cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, that allow beekeeping in residential neighborhoods. Eagan changed its ordinance in March, and Eden Prairie changed it last year. Beekeeping is allowed as long as residents have a permit and follow certain regulations. Other cities either don't have a specific ordinance on beekeeping or they prohibit it or limit it to rural properties — as was the case in Brooklyn Park.

As part of the change in Brooklyn Park, permit-holders have to go through "beekeeping training and education," and neighbors within 200 feet of the hives must be notified. Hives must be kept in the back yard and set back from property lines.

A permit costs $75, and there will be no charge for renewals, said Michelle Peterson, the neighborhood preservation specialist working on the ordinance.

Peterson said she has received a few calls from residents ready to fill out forms for permits.

During council discussions, bees' swarming and stinging people, especially children, was a topic of concern and a reason several council members voted against the change.

At the second-to-last meeting, the council spoke with an allergist, and language is in the ordinance addressing bee allergies. An application for a hive will be denied if a neighbor within the 200-feet radius sends a written objection to the city that includes medical documentation of a honeybee allergy.

Foss is an avid gardener. He has a few raised beds and six fruiting trees on his property. Knowing that bees are pollinators that could help his garden, he enrolled in a beekeeping class at the University of Minnesota last year to gauge his interest. He researched the ins-and-outs of beekeeping, and watched "how to's" on YouTube.

He purchased two hives of hygienic Italian honeybees, one of the most common honeybees, from California, and shipped them to Stillwater before moving them to Corcoran.

The Fosses visit the hives at least once a week, often during the weekends.

"The main thing I'm looking for is egg and larvae, that the queen is laying [eggs]," he said.

Foss has been stung, but it was his fault, he said: "The bee thought it was getting squished and attacked."

Happy about the change

Foss and his wife, Molly, are happy about the new change, he said.

Bees are beneficial for pollinating and a "general sense of betterment," Foss said.

They are planning to register for a permit, get through the application process and then figure out how to move the bees to their home in Brooklyn Park.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647

Twitter: @KarenAnelZamora

Cole and Molly Foss have an estimated 15, 000 bees between their two hives in Corcoran. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Cole Foss pointed to capped brood (sealed pupae) in a beehive frame held by his wife, Molly. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)