Proposed changes to the city ordinance dealing with the keeping of agricultural animals on city properties has agitated bee and chicken keepers.
Burgh Bees, a 375-member nonprofit, has put out a “call to action” via e-mail for attendance at a public hearing before the city planning commission at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 “to show how many beekeepers and beekeeper supporters there are” in the city. The hearing is at 200 Ross St., Downtown.
Legal wording currently is confusing and leaves room for abuse of privilege, city officials have said. But bee and chicken raisers say the proposed changes could create unintended ill-effects.
The hearing is the public’s chance to offer input, said Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
“We support urban farms and groups like Burgh Bees,” she said, “but we have to make sure we are balancing their interests with the safety needs and concerns of other residents.
“There has been a disconnect between what is and isn’t allowed, so we need an ordinance that clearly outlines how we should proceed.”
Under current law, residents must get a variance to raise chickens on properties of less than 5 acres or if their lots don’t allow 200 feet between the coop and a property line, but it’s vague as to whether a five-animal limit means pets are included. In addition, enforcement is driven by complaints.
A proposed 15-foot setback from any property line and 2,500-square-foot minimum per hive would in effect ban beekeeping in many of the city’s dense neighborhoods, “where our members have been safely keeping bees for years,” said Meredith Grelli, founder and director of Burgh Bees.
It’s been a little over a month since it was last warm enough to pop in and see how the girls are doing. Today when it broke 52 degrees, I conducted a brief spring inspection at the Brooks yard.
Brooks 1 – Bit the dust. The pollin patty was about 90% intact, and there was still syrup in the feeder. The (now dead) cluster was down to the size of a fist so I can only imagine that they never warmed up enough to break cluster and get some grub. Pisser.
Brooks 2 – Looks really good. Patty was completely consumed and feeders were empty. Cluster spanned 5 frames and was the depth of the super (bees were active all the way to the bottom of the frame). Brood pattern was very good, with larve in all stages of development. Added 2nd deep using drawn comb from the now deceased Brooks 1. Put 2 patties between hive bodies and topped off feeders with 2:1 syrup.
Brooks 3 – In good shape. Patty was completely consumed. Both feeders were empty. Cluster was large – spanning 6 frames. Brood pattern looked good with brood in all stages of development. Maintenence Needed: The top deep super is rotting out on the left side and needs to be replaced.
Brooks 4 – Still Dead.
Brooks 5 – Similar to Brooks 3. Patty was consumed and both feeders were empty. Topped off both feeders with 2:1 syrup. Cluster was large and busy spanning 6 frames. Lots of brood. Added another patty on top bars. Maintenence Needed:Screened bottom board and bottom deep need to be replaced.
I’ve read over on Linda’s Beekeeping blog that the Red Maple is already blooming. We have some red maples and I can’t report that, but they look darn close. Time to get the honey supers ready – fingers crossed.
Here’s an interesting article about a study conducted on bees that attempted to determine to what extent bees can recognize patterns and to some degree faces. This isn’t really news to anyone that has been keeping bees for any length of time, but it is good to see this kind of research getting some press.
Anyone who has ever popped the top off a pissy hive during a dearth can tell you that those bees know exactly where your face is.
Bees can learn to recognize human faces, or at least face-like patterns, a new study suggests.
Rather than specifically recognizing people, these nectar-feeding creatures view us as “strange flowers,” the researchers say. And while they might not be able to identify individual humans, they can learn to distinguish features that are arranged to look like faces.
The results suggest that, even with their tiny brains, insects can handle image analysis. The researchers say that if humans want to design automatic facial recognition systems, we could learn a lot by using the bees’ approach to face recognition.
In Columbia, realtors are claiming that allowing people to keep chickens is going to lower their property values. Wha?? Seriously??
You know, there are plenty of other places where ordinances allowing backyard poultry have been introduced, and I’ve yet to hear anything about declining property values. Nada. Zip. (And I actually keep up on that sort of stuff)
You can’t tell me feeding a stupid chicken is going to cost less than buying a dozen eggs at the store…they’re a dollar at Wal-mart,” said Van Gorp. “If you don’t like your neighbor in the first place, now they’re keeping chickens, it might the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
Obviously, these people just don’t get it. People don’t keep chickens because they’re trying to save money. They do it to know where their food comes from or they do it because they want to live a more sustainable life, among many other reasons.
“It’s going to make it more difficult for buyers to find the house they want, and sellers to sell their homes,” said Radman.
Last I checked, this is one of the most flooded real estate markets in recent history. People are having no problems whatsoever finding houses.
Arbico Organics (the good folks that I get my fly-controlling parasitic wasps from) are offering a free garden planner until Jan 31. Use code NEWSITE at checkout.
A real treat for you guys today. I get my beautiful wife and garden diva, Laura, in on the podcast action. We go through some updates, catch you up on the latest weimaraner suicide attempt, talk about a pending new addition to the farm, take some great feedback, and finally break the hour mark talking about seeds and gardening.
Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM
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One of our podcast listeners, Josh, sent me this sweet video he did of him building a goat stanchion. For those not familiar with the term, a stanchion is basically a milking stand that holds the goat in place while you milk it or perform other tasks such as hoof care, vet checks, etc. Awesome Job Josh! Thank you for sharing!
