City council wants to explore backyard beehives

CELINA - City officials are in the process of drafting legislation that would permit residential beekeeping in Celina.

Almost two years ago, city officials were on the verge of taking action on the issue, directing city administrators to produce an ordinance for their consideration. For whatever reason, the policy never materialized and the initiative fizzled out.

However, before the push for legalizing residential beekeeping ran out of steam, city officials did rule out the prospect of backyard chicken farming in Celina, saying the idea generated much negative feedback, including concerns about manure, foul odors and predators such as raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and other feral and/or disease-carrying creatures.

Worries also surfaced about the potential spread of avian flu among chickens, especially given the area is home to a large poultry industry.

At this week's Committee of the Whole meeting, city councilors once again asked city administrators to develop legislation and present it to them at another meeting scheduled for 6:45 p.m. March 23, right before the next regular council meeting.

City administrators may look to similar bee ordinances in Norwood, Stowe and Lakewood, as well as the Ohio State Beekeepers Association, for guidance in crafting their own policy.

"There's definitely some major benefits, and I like the freedom part of it that people are allowed to do it," said councilman Thomas Sanford. "We just have to regulate it so it is safe for everyone. I like that people are able to have a side income as well, because you could sell the honey, you can have fresh honey there, and the bees are good for the environment, good for the plants, good for everything around here."

A policy should also address safety concerns, he added.

"The bees that I've seen have been around the hives. They're pretty docile," Sanford noted. "They're not really out to attack at all, the honeybees aren't. And so from everything I've heard about and seen, it seems like they're pretty easy to deal with."

Mayor Jeff Hazel confirmed that legislation must be approved before residents can set up a hive in Celina.

"I'm not against bees and honey, because I use probably 400 pounds of honey at the shop every year that's local. So I use a lot of honey," said Hazel, who owns Hazelnut Coffee in Celina. "I think this is a great idea, but we've got to think about … reactions for kids and people that would get stung. I'm not saying they're going to go out and attack anybody, but if a child would wander in that yard, what happens?"

With that said, Hazel pointed to the Greater Grand Lake Beekeepers Association as being a local provider of bee training and education.

Councilman Joe Wolfe said a policy would have to designate appropriate beekeeping areas.

"I don't really think you want to put them in the middle of a densely populated residential section," Wolfe said. "On the outskirts of town would work, but I don't think back in the Kessler Addition where the houses are really tight."

He also cautioned against allowing beee hives in utility easements and questioned the public demand for a policy.

"I think it's going to just open up a can of worms. We haven't had a whole lot of people asking for them. I mean, it's not like we've got 50 people wanting to put hives in town. It's very few," Wolfe said.

Councilman Chris Doseck said he likes the idea of giving people the freedom to have beehives, as stated by Sanford. But he would like to know if other small towns have had problems with residential beehives.

The question of enforcement also arose during the meeting.

"The designated city official, whoever that might be," answered city law director George Moore.

City safety service director Tom Hitchcock said a permit structure would be necessary.

"Otherwise, we have no idea where they are," he said of beehives.

According to the Ohio State Beekeepers Association, the Ohio Revised Code regulates beekeeping and provides for inspection. However, it noted that some practical guidelines are required for residential beekeeping, including providing a water source, offsets and flyway barriers, such as walls, fences, dense vegetation "or a combination thereof such that bees will fly over rather than through the material to reach the colony between the hives and the adjacent lots."

The association offers a model beekeeping ordinance covering standards of practice, colony density and compliance. One of the provisions states that no colony shall be kept closer than 10 feet from any lot line or within 30 feet of any public sidewalk or roadway. The front of the hive, according to the model ordinance, shall face away from the property line of the residential lot closest to the beehive.

City council meets next at 7 p.m. March 23 in council chambers on the second floor of the city administration building.