(A) Permit required. No person shall keep, maintain or allow to be kept any hive or other facility for the housing of honeybees on or in any property in the city without a permit.
(1) Any person desiring a permit for the keeping of honeybees shall make application to the city. Approval of the application is subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by City Administrator or designated authority. All permits issued shall expire on January 31 of the year following issuance unless revoked sooner. The initial fee for such permit shall be $25, which shall be paid at the time of application. The annual renewal thereafter for such permit shall be notification to the city of the continuance to maintain a colony. The city shall inspect the premises annually or as deemed necessary. Should the permit be refused, denied or revoked, the fee paid with the application shall be retained by the city.
(2) The number and location of hives, colonies and/or facilities for the housing of honeybees permitted by this section shall be noted on a permit issued by the city. The permit shall specify any restrictions, limitations, conditions or prohibitions required by this section, as necessary to safeguard public health and general welfare, and to protect abutting property owners. Subject to a hearing to be held by a committee of the Council or other designated hearing examiner, if requested within five days of the notification, the City Administrator or designated authority may deny, suspend or revoke any permit applied for or granted pursuant to this section, if any condition or requirement is violated or if the keeping of honeybees becomes a public nuisance.
(3) The City Administrator or designated authority may grant a permit pursuant to this section only after the applicant has met any educational requirements as established and published by the city.
(4) The City Administrator or designated authority shall enforce the provisions of this section.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
APIARY. The assembly of one or more colonies of honeybees at a single location.
BEEKEEPER. A person who owns or has charge of one or more colonies of honeybees.
BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT. Anything used in the operation of an apiary, such as hive bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards and extractors.
COLONY. An aggregate of honeybees consisting principally of workers, but having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs and honey.
HIVE. The receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured for that purpose.
HONEYBEE. All life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera species of European origin.
LOT. A contiguous parcel of land under common ownership.
NUCLEUS COLONY. A small quantity of honeybees with a queen housed in a smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose.
SUPERS. Any box above the brood box or boxes for storage of surplus honey.
UNDEVELOPED PROPERTY. Any idle land that is not improved or actually in the process of being improved with residential, commercial, industrial, church, park, school or governmental facilities or other structures or improvements intended for human occupancy, with the grounds maintained in association therewith. The term shall be deemed to include property developed exclusively as a street or highway or property used for commercial agricultural purposes.
(C) Standards of practice. Any person obtaining a permit pursuant to this section shall comply with the following standards of practice.
(1) Hives shall be located not less than 20 feet from the property line and located only in the rear yard.
(2) Honeybee colonies shall be kept in hives with removable frames, which shall be kept in sound and usable condition.
(3) Each beekeeper shall ensure that a convenient source of water is available to the colony prior to and so long as colonies remain active outside of the hive.
(4) Each beekeeper shall ensure that no wax comb or other material that might encourage robbing by other bees are left upon the grounds of the apiary lot. Once removed from the site, such materials shall be handled and stored in sealed containers, or placed within a building, or other insect-proof container.
(5) For each colony permitted to be maintained under this section, there may also be maintained upon the same apiary lot, one nucleus colony in a hive structure not to exceed one standard nine-and-five-eighths-inch-depth, ten-frame hive body with no supers.
(6) Each beekeeper shall maintain his/her beekeeping equipment in good condition, including keeping the hives painted, and securing unused equipment from weather, potential theft or vandalism, and occupancy by swarms. It shall be a violation of this section for any beekeeper's unused equipment to attract a swarm, even if the beekeeper is not intentionally keeping honeybees.
(7) Each beekeeper shall enclose hive area with a latching fence.
(D) Colony density. Any person obtaining a permit pursuant to this section shall comply with the following restrictions on colony density.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, in each instance where a colony is kept less than 25 feet from a property line of the lot upon which the apiary is located, as measured from the nearest point on the hive to the property line, and any entrances to the hive faces the property line, the beekeeper shall establish and maintain a flyway barrier at least six feet in height. The flyway barrier may consist of a wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination thereof, such that honeybees will fly over rather than through the material to reach the colony. If a flyway barrier of dense vegetation is used, the initial planting may be four feet in height, so long as the vegetation normally reaches six feet in height or higher. The flyway barrier must continue parallel to the apiary lot line for ten feet in either direction from the hive. All other sides of the area encompassing the colonies shall consist of fencing, a wall, dense vegetation or combination thereof at least four-feet tall. The area encompassing the colonies need not entail the entire property. A flyway barrier is not required if the property adjoining the apiary lot line is undeveloped, or is zoned agricultural or industrial, or is a wildlife management area or naturalistic park land with no horse or foot trails located within 25 feet of the apiary lot line. A flyway barrier is not required if the hives are located on the roof of a structure containing at least one full story, if all hives are located at least five feet from the side of the structure, and at least 15 feet from any adjacent and occupied structure. A flyway barrier shall be required if an undeveloped adjoining property becomes developed.
(2) No person is permitted to keep more than the following numbers of colonies on any lot within the city, based upon the size or configuration of the apiary lot.
(a) One-half acre or smaller lot: two colonies;
(b) Larger than one-half acre but smaller than three-quarter acre lot: four colonies;
(c) Larger than three-quarter acre lot but smaller than one acre lot: six colonies;
(d) One acre but smaller than five acres: eight colonies;
(e) Larger than five acres: as determined by the City Administrator or designated authority.
(3) Regardless of lot size, so long as all lots within a radius of at least 200 feet from any hive, measured from any point on the front of the hive, remain undeveloped, the maximum number of colonies may be increased by City Administrator or designated authority.
(Ord. 12-05-01, passed 5-17-12) Penalty, see § 92.99