Agenda Packets - 2015/07/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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St. Paul Park Beekeeping Ordinance Sec. 10-11. - Limited keeping of honeybees. (a) Intent and purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to set standards for the limited keeping of honeybees in urban settings as a non-commercial hobby independent of the requirements found in section 10-5. (b) Definitions. (1) Beekeeping equipment means anything used in the operation of keeping honeybees, such as hive bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards and extractors. (2) Colony means an aggregate of honeybees consisting principally of workers, but having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs, and honey. (3) Hive means the receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured for that purpose. (4) Honeybee means all life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera species of European origin. (5) Nucleus colony means a small quantity of honeybees with a queen housed in a smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose. (c) Conditions. The limited keeping of honeybees may be permitted as an accessory use to a single family residence subject to the following: (1) The property shall be occupied with a single-family home. The owner of the honeybees shall live in the dwelling on the property. The property owner shall be in receipt of a license as required by this Ordinance. (2) Honeybees shall be kept in hives with removable frames, which shall be kept in sound and usable condition. (3) A convenient source of water shall be available to the colony prior to and so long as colonies remain active outside of the hive. (4) No wax comb or other material that might encourage robbing by other bees shall be left upon the property. Such materials once removed from the site shall be handled and stored in sealed containers, or placed within a building or other insect-proof container. (5) For each colony, there may also be maintained upon the same lot, one nucleus colony in a hive structure not to exceed one standard nine and five-eighths inch depth ten-frame hive body with no supers. (6) Beekeeping equipment shall be maintained in good condition including keeping the hives painted and securing unused equipment from weather, potential theft or vandalism and occupancy by swarms. It shall be a violation of this section for any unused equipment to attract a swarm, even if the property owner is not intentionally keeping honeybees. (7) All hives shall be enclosed with a latching fence. (8) Hives shall be located not less than 10 feet from the property line and located only in the rear yard. In each instance where a colony is kept less than 25 feet from a property line of the lot upon which the apiary is located, as measured from the nearest point on the hive to the property line, and any entrances to the hive faces the property line, there shall be established and maintained a flyway barrier at least six feet in height.