Agenda Packets - 2015/07/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Bee Proof Your Property – Minimize sources of food, such as plants with honey and pollen, as well as shelter attractive to bees. Respect Bees - To minimize the risk of being stung, do not go barefoot. If a bee is near you, move away. Do not swat at the bee, which may aggravate it, instead, blow it off you if it lands on you. Rationale Other Pet Risks – The risks posed by honeybees are no greater than those posed by other pets permitted in Edina. The City allows dogs, which pose a small risk of mauling or of rabies, as well as cats, which present a risk of toxoplasmosis. Honeybees present a similarly small risk and should be permitted absent a documented anaphylactic allergy to them. Registration Revocation is Ineffective - Prohibiting a resident from having an apiary will not eliminate honeybees in the local neighborhood because they forage within an area of two square miles and up to five miles in extreme cases. All cities on Edina’s border allow honeybees with the exception of Richfield such that they are in our back yards already. Similarly, registration revocation will not eliminate native bees in a neighbor’s yard either. Minnesota has over 400 species of native bees, many of which are already in our back yards. Recreational Fires – Edina permits recreational fires despite the risks inherent in fire and despite the risk of smoke injury to sensitive persons. When an Edina resident applies for a recreational fire permit under Sec. 18- 65 (b) (307.2) (5), the City does not require neighbor notification within 200 ft of the lot line. Those with a documented wood smoke allergy or asthma, or other breathing disorder do not have the option to cause the recreational fire permit to be denied. This is in spite of wood smoke being a significant health hazard to those with breathing disorders, causing them to close all their doors and windows and stay inside until the smoke subsides. Even then, the smoke sometimes enters the home. More residents burn wood in their back yards to the detriment of neighbors with breathing disorders than the number of residents who will ever raise honeybees, which have very low probability of causing any harm to a neighbor. This is in contrast to recreational fires, which to some degree will always harm those with breathing disorders. Those with an allergy to bee stings do not feel the need to stay indoors when flowers are blooming out of fear of injury. In contrast, those with breathing disorders, when presented with smoke, must stay inside. Recommendation Dr. Marla Spivak, Director of the University of Minnesota Bee Lab, recommends that the policy on apiary registration revocation “simply state that documentation must be provided that the person has had an anaphylactic response to honey bee stings.” The Energy and Environment Commission recommended that Council require that neighbors show a documented past anaphylaxis specifically due to a honeybee (Apis mellifera) sting before revoking an apiary registration due to past anaphylaxis. Residents should make every effort to protect and encourage honeybees and native bees while overcoming unfounded prejudices against them. Council is respectfully asked to adopt EEC’s recommendation of revoking an apiary registration permit upon a showing of medical documentation stating that you, or another person who is permanently resident in the household, have suffered past anaphylaxis specifically due to honeybee (Apis mellifera) stings. 3