Last year the San Diego Board of Supervisors began considering changes to the current County beekeeping ordinance. The board is considering reducing the space requirements and possibly opening public lands for beekeeping use. They are considering these changes in order to promote safe beekeeping and protect bees.
At the last meeting in October of 2014, The Dept. of Agriculture Weights, and Measures presented to the board, a proposed bee ordinance amendment. The amendment they presented to the board was written to promote beekeeping and at the same time protect public safety.
So what did the Dept of Agriculture, Weights, and Measures propose? Firstly they outlined 3 main points that they consider essential for safe beekeeping. They are:
1. Only managed, docile, European bees should be kept.
2. There will be limitations to the number of hives that can be kept depending upon if you are a hobbyist or a small scale commercial beekeeper.
3. The proposed safety zones will be reduced from the current ordinance. The zones will be vary depending upon if you are a hobbyist, or a commercial beekeeper. The safety zones dictate the safe distance a hive can be placed next to a road, a residence, and a sensitive site.
Take a look at their Proposed Tier Bee Ordinance Ammendment for the proposed distances and number of hives.
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In addition to distances and number of hives, the AWM outlined four components to bee ordinance that would be required in order to maintain public safety. They are: 1. Registration, 2. Best Management Practices (BMP’s), 3. Outreach, 4. Compliance Inspections.
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At the end of the presentation The Board of Supervisors voted to accept the proposal and directed staff to conduct a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review. Take a look at the footage of the meeting here. Scroll the progress bar to 43:20 in order to bypass discussions of other county business.
So what does all this mean for San Diego beekeepers? It means change is most likely coming, but it’s a slow process. We here at Bee Best Bee Removal are excited that space restrictions will likely bee loosened. We agree with the AWM that Re Queening feral bees is of utmost importance. Take a look at the clip below. Its a compilation of what speakers had to say at the meeting. At the end of the video Jeff (The Bee Whisperer) Lutz discusses the need for safe beekeeping practices, the availability of queen bees to hobbyists, and reducing the safety zones in the County.
