Backyard Beekeeping Comment Deadline Extended
We have received a request to extend the deadline for public comment regarding the Backyard Beekeeping Ordinance in City
of Los Angeles, and for the powerpoint presentation from the Hearing Officer Hearing on March 19th, 2015. Attached is a pdf of the presentation from that hearing.
As a reminder, the City Planning Commission date is scheduled for May 14, 2015. Public comments to be considered by staff in preparation for that hearing are now welcome up through April 17th, 2015.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Katie
Katherine E. Peterson
Code Studies
City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning
Phone: 213-978-1445
19 thoughts on “Backyard Beekeeping Comment Deadline Extended”
I am all for it! What a great idea! Keep the bees alive. Without bees there is no food. If people are willing to give it a go in a responsible manner than of course it should be allowed.
I am the Chair person of the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness, as well as the Educational Representative on the Board of the Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC). I would like to sound my clear and resounding objection to this ordinance.
In residential areas such as ours, where there is a high density of schools and our neighborhoods are replete with small children and elderly, this ordinance is an accident waiting to happen. While some may find it fun to keep bees as a hobby, and other see the environmental good that ideally may come of it, the reality in tight neighborhoods is that the most vulnerable among us are most likely to have severe allergic reactions to the inevitable bee sting, which may land people in the hospital. No hobby needs to be sanctioned by local government, if it poses a health risk to the most vulnerable in our society.
Further, the homeless population in the Palisades live in make shift encampments where they often team up with other homeless to create a small compound or community. This ordinance threatens to enable them to set p bee hives and keep bees as a food source as well as perhaps an income source. This threatens to entrench homeless even further in areas where their presence already poses a threat to the safety of our community, as they are designated as high fire severity zones.
For these reasons and more, this ordinance is an outrage for the Pacific Palisades, and likely many other residential areas populated by families and the elderly, who wish to enjoy a quiet and safe existence, away from the threat of harm.
Please do not pass this ordinance.
Best,
Maryam Zar, J.D.
I think it would be great if we could have backyard beekeeping. It would help demystify bee behavior.
With careful regulation & licensing – families should be allowed to keep bees in R1 neighborhoods. They are supportive to a healthy environment. There is much to learn from these little, very hardworking members of society —
Makes for a great school project!
I kept bees for 6+ years in our backyard in the hills of Studio City. Perfect location. We were not the only beekeepers in the neighborhood.
It’s a welcomed concept !
PLEASE do not allow bee hives in the city of LA – and in the town of Pacific Palisades. WE do not grow food here – we do not need pollination here. Kids (and adults) have severe bee allergies and this will make it so difficult for them. It’s a terrible idea.
I think the backyard beekeeping ordinance is a poorly thought out seemly-harmless idea that will have wide reaching negative unintended consequences.
This idea is fantastic! We need bees – for our economy, for our own survival! Without bees, we would have no food. And bees are dying off at an alarming rate.
It’s interesting that note that many major cities across the globe are currently adopting similar urban beekeeping programs, Paris, Seuol, Melbourne and Chicago among the list.
This is a win win situation for us all. Please pass this ordinance.
Here’s a good article that outlines some basic points of urban beekeeping.
http://blog.outdoornation.org/the-pros-and-cons-of-urban-beekeeping/
Hi Katie,
The Wolfbergs support any changes necessary to legalize “backyard” beekeeping. In addition, education of landscapers and homeowners is necessary to reduce/eliminate toxins that kill bees. Without bees we are all in big trouble.
We had a neighbor about 30 year’s ago who had several hives in his yard. Nobody noticed. This is a no-brainer.
I am totally against this proposal…it is weak on so many levels that it is truly laughable…I have spent the past day reading about raising bees, breeding bees, the plight of bees, feral bees, gentle bees, bee removal, bee relocating, aggressive bees, other cities’ bee policies. I feel pretty confident that multiple bee hives living at multiple homes in our neighborhoods, surrounding our parks and schools, is not a good idea. Anyone that lives with or near children, pets, elderly people, allergic people, people who do not like getting stung, phobic people, are also going to hate this proposal once it gets widely known. The City of LA can’t even afford a dedicated LAPD patrol car in Pacific Palisades. The sidewalks are a mess and the trees need trimming. Believe me when I tell you that there is simply NO MONEY in the City coffers to enforce Backyard Beekeeping rules and regulations. ZERO. NADA. Please remove this proposal from consideration and let’s move on. Thank You.
I am appalled that it’s legal to harbor bees in any LA city neighborhood. Many are petrified, alergic and downright annoyed with bees. How could a potentially dangerous insect be allowed to be harbored at a residentail house. You are opening yourself up to a lawsuit. No one in my family is alergic, but if I had a child that was and he got stung by a bee which put him in a dangerous situation, I would totally sue. And for the record, I am not like the normal litigious sue happy people that dot LA. I have never sued anyone in my life, but when stupidy or negligence is the result of a life threatening situation, you better believe I am for it.
It doesn’t seem that enough thought has gone into the beekeeping proposal. There doesn’t apoear to be any restrictions regarding, neighbors, children with allergies, proximity to parks, schools, churches, the elderly, pets, and people who like to enjoy their outside pools. This really needs a lot of work before it can come to any vote.
Concerned palisadian,
Sussn Mackston
This proposed ordinance is not well thought out. We know so many adults and children who have life threatening allergies to bees, and their lives are put at risk with this proposed ordinance. Please do not pass this.
Please do not allow bee keeping in the Palisades. I have two children who are extremely allergic. We see massive swarms of bees all the time in our neighborhood. My allergy doctor told me that the reason we have so many bees in the Palisades is due to irresponsible bee keeping in the Alphabet streets.
Thank you.
If not a hazard to the neighboring area, I am strongly in favor of bee keeping. In Israel, my family’s kibbutz keeps bees and has done it successfully for many years.
I am in favor of backyard beekeeping to maintain pollination in our area. I see fewer and fewer bees in my neighborhood. Care to avoid Africanized bees is important, however.
We should absolutely allow beekeeping. The biodiversity of our environment requires it and we are loosing bees at an alarming rate. Beekeeping is harmless and safe. I know someone who has bees and no one has reported being accidentally stung nor have the bees gone rogue and attacked outside of their habitat. Bees are peaceful and will only attack when attacked.
With that being said, we should have restrictions put into place as to how to manage, the number of hives/hutches allowed and how close to human dwellings, etc., as some people are allergic or overly fearful of bees. People are very confused and uneducated about bees. Bees are not a public menace or a nuisance, those are wasps! More bees is what we need!! Thank you!
I’m writing to show my support for making urban beekeeping legal within R1 Districts in Los Angeles. With so many commercial beekeeping operations succumbing to Colony Collapse Disorder, I believe that the urban beekeeper will soon be the only safeguard against losing these important pollinators completely. In addition, I strongly urge you to change the city’s current policy of exterminating wild honey bee populations to instead allow only the removal and relocation of live bees. Thank you.
I have many concerns about the beekeeping ordinance. First, it does not regulate how many hives per square mile – is there a limit? It does not require a permit which would help the city regulate beekeeping. It does not address beekeeper training or safety. It is silent as to the potential negative impact on neighbors, children, allergic persons, the elderly, outdoor pets, schools, parks, sports fields, and camps. It is also silent as to the potential added stress to city emergency services, such as fire stations. The ordinance is poorly written and offers no parameters to beekeeping or penalties to those in violation.
Los Angeles should allow backyard beekeeping.
To keep things under control — simply limit the number of hives (supers) per lot size square footage. (Start with a minimum of one) that way you wouldn’t have a giant apiary on a tiny plot with bees everywhere…
What’s the exact number or hives? Best to ask Bill http://billsbees.com/
Make sense?