Council approves urban bees

By Dan DuChene
Nov. 18, 2009    ·    12:39 p.m.

City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on first reading Tuesday allowing Ypsilanti residents to keep bees.

The ordinance had been considered by City Council last month, but decided a permit process should be included with the original language and postponed the matter before a vote was taken.

If approved on a second reading the ordinance would give residents the opportunity to apply for a permit to keep no more than two bee hives on a parcel of land.

It also requires the resident to maintain a 6-foot-tall fence, wall or vegetation growth around a property that has a hive within 25 feet of a property line. The hive must bee 10 feet away from the wall or fence.

The vertical requirement of the wall or fence establishes a “flyway” and forces bees leaving the property to do so on an upward trajectory. It was brought up that the height requirement of the fences could restrict bee-keeping in historic districts due to limitations on fence height.

The ordinance also requires residents keeping bees to maintain a water source for the insects, so the bees don’t look to neighboring pools or bird baths for their water.

Finally, if a hive becomes more aggressive and stings without provocation, then the resident is required to provide the hive with a new queen. The new queen must be a domesticated European honey bee and “bred for gentleness and non-swarming characteristics.”

Lois Richardson, D-Ward 1, was the only councilmember to share reservations with the ordinance. During the meeting Tuesday, she reiterated statements she had made when Council first discussed the matter in October, where members of the audience had stated honey bees are docile and rarely sting people.

At the meeting last month, it was suggested she may be confusing honey bees with wasps or yellow jackets.

“I do know the difference,” Richardson said Tuesday.

As proof, Richardson offered the usual protective clothing worn by professional beekeepers. She said those who keep bees wouldn’t need the head-to-toe protection if bees did not sting.

“The stings do hurt, and some people are allergic to them,” Richardson said Tuesday.

Regardless of her reservations, Richardson voted in favor of the ordinance.

During the public hearing on the ordinance, 11 members of the audience spoke out in favor of passing the ordinance. No one spoke against it.

One resident who spoke in favor of the ordinance, Brian McEwen, said he is a biologist with a strong interest in the study of insects. He restated the stance many of those in favor of the ordinance have upheld, that honey bees rarely sting people. He said it is actually possible to pet a bee as it feeds on a flower.

“Honey bees are focused on the flower,” McEwen said. “If it’s bothering you, it’s probably not a honey bee.”

An amendment was also passed on the resolution. Suggested by City Attorney John Barr and passed by Council unanimously, the amendment struck language that would have not allowed bees to be kept on a property if a neighborhood association disallowed the practice in its bylaws.

Barr said the language in the ordinance would have allowed neighborhood associations in the city to supersede the wishes of City Council. He said the language already takes deed restrictions into account, and the change would not require the ordinance’s language to be republished.

Related Article:
Honey bee decision postponed