Council OKs revision of ordinance to allow practice by residents

Despite some concerns aired Tuesday night, Benicia City Council voted unanimously to allow urban beekeeping in residential areas.

Resident Jeff Brooner said his friends and neighbors supported the move to lift restrictions that previously had banned beekeeping in Benicia except in open areas.

But he said he was worried about the well-being of his own family and property, particularly if those living on quarter-acre lots can keep up to three colonies.

“That density is a bit much,” he said, and would be more appropriate to agricultural and open-space areas.

Brooner told the Council that each colony could have 60,000 bees, and if hives are put on the five lots adjoining his home he could have “900,000 bees near my yard.”

He said each colony needs an acre of land for its food source, and that a colony can produce 30 pounds of honey. Bees can travel up to seven miles, he said.

Brooner told the Council that if statistics are accurate for Benicia, 3 percent of the population — or 800 people — may be seriously allergic to bees.

He recommended reducing the allowable concentration to one colony on a quarter-acre lot.

However, the matter has been raised before the Council for more than a year as multiple residents have sought to restore the right to keep bees, and Council members were prepared to do just that Tuesday.

The right to keep bees in residential areas was lost nearly a decade ago when the city revised its animal control ordinance. Following Riverside’s ordinance as a template, the Council adopted a new law that banned urban beekeeping, restricting it to open space zones, amid fears of the spread of so-called “Africanized” bees.

At its Jan. 20 meeting, the Council asked employees to draft an amendment to the Benicia Municipal Code to restore the opportunity to keep bees in other zoning districts besides open space.

The matter was given public hearings by both the Planning Commission, which endorsed the change with some modifications, and the Council, which approved it on first reading July 7. Changes to the municipal code require two votes and the second came Tuesday.

Those wanting to keep bees need a $50 city permit, and must be registered with Solano County. As in other animal cases, complaints will be handled by Benicia Police Department.

Certain lot sizes and shapes prevent some residents from being able to keep bees, and colonies won’t be allowed to be kept in apartment complexes, mobile home parks, condominiums or other “common interest developments,” the amendment specifies.

A person also must follow appropriate practices for keeping the bees, including providing barriers that guide the bees’ flight. The city limits colonies to three on up to a quarter-acre of land; five on lots between a quarter and less than a half-acre; seven on lots from a half-acre to less than an acre; and 10 per acre on larger parcels.

In another decision Tuesday night, the Council voted unanimously to change Benicia Municipal Code provisions to restrict construction in residential and downtown mixed-use districts to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends.

From UC-Davis News Service:

So you want to be a beekeeper … but you don’t know where to begin.

You’re in luck.

Bee experts at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California-Davis are planning two short courses in September — the first on Sept. 13 and the second on Sept. 20.

The courses will be the inaugural “Planning Ahead for Your First Hives,” taught by UC apiculturist Elina Niño and staff research associate Bernardo Niño at the Laidlaw facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. Each course will be limited to 24 participants and registration is now under way.

“The short course will include lectures and hands-on exercises,” they announced. “This course is perfect for those who have little or no beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical skills to move on to the next step of owning and caring for their own honey bee colonies.”

Lecture modules will cover honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, how to start your colony and maladies of the hive. The practical modules will cover how to build a hive, how to install a package, how to inspect your hive and how to monitor for varroa mites.

“Participants will have the opportunity to learn about and practice many aspects of what is necessary to get the colony started and keep it healthy and thriving,” they said. “At the end of the course, participants will be knowledgeable about installing honey bee packages, monitoring their own colonies and possible challenges with maintaining a healthy colony.”

The $95 registration fee covers the cost of course materials (including a hive tool), lunch and refreshments. For more information, email Bernardo Niño at elninobeelab@gmail.com.