Politics & Government
To Bee or Not to Bee, That Is the Question
If approved, new zoning regulations would prohibit beekeeping in residential districts.
The Aliso Viejo City Council will decide Wednesday if locals can keep bees in their backyards.
If approved, the ordinance would prohibit the keeping of beehives, also called apiaries, in all residential districts in the city.
Aliso Viejo Mayor Carmen Cave said that she was undecided on the proposed zoning amendment but that it was important to bring it before the residents for public comment.
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“There was a neighborhood issue where someone was keeping bees on a residential lot,” Cave said in a phone interview Monday. Cave didn’t cite specifics but said that the lot was probably less than 5,000 square feet.
Beekeeping is a sticky issue for many California residents.
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The insects pollinate many types of plants, helping garden and crop growth. Of course, bees produce honey as well. However, many people are allergic to bee stings. Because of an influx of the Africanized honeybees, some people, including Cave, are concerned about the dangers of the overaggressive bees taking over the normally peaceful European hives.
“Where I work, we have seen a tremendous number of Africanized-bee incidents,” said Cave, who works as a community development director for the city of Menifee in Riverside County.
While Africanized bees can be dangerous, a responsible beekeeper will keep the gentler European bees, according to Amy Cripps, secretary of the Orange County Beekeepers Association.
“We can focus on keeping more of the desirable bees in our neighborhoods,” Cripps said in an e-mail last week. “There will be honeybees in urban areas no matter what, so let’s invite the better ones to share our space.”
Survey Reports Honey Bee Losses
Currently, privately run beehives are not listed as permitted in the city zoning code, but they are also not specifically banned, according to Larry Lawrence, city consulting planner who helped developed the proposed zoning amendment.
If the zoning changes are approved, Lawrence said, people who wish to keep bees would have to do so in nonresidential districts.
To read the agenda for the upcoming meeting click here.
The City Council meets 7 p.m. Wednesday at 12 Journey in Council Chambers in City Hall in Aliso Viejo.
