BONNYVILLE – A beekeeping land use bylaw was given second and third reading by MD of Bonnyville council during a regular meeting on Dec. 14.
The amendments to the MD's Land Use Bylaw establishes beekeeping as discretionary or permitted use under smaller residential, commercial and industrial districts within the municipality.
The changes made to the bylaw did not affect commercial apiaries, but rather introduces new guidelines for residents wanting to keep honeybees for personal use.
Previously, the municipality had no regulations to allow for beekeeping on a smaller scale. Beekeeping was only regulated for intensive and extensive agricultural land use on parcels of 20 acres or more.
The new beekeeping bylaw is listed as a permitted use for agricultural parcels greater than or equal to 4.04 hectares, and a discretionary land use for agricultural parcels less than 4.04 hectares.
Beekeeping is considered discretionary use in all Country Residential zones except for those designated as estates, which beekeeping is not permitted. On properties considered Rural Commercial and Rural Industrial, beekeeping is a permitted land use.
For Beekeeping to be permissible on any of the listed properties, it must adhere to eight municipal regulations.
A hive must be located a minimum of 30 metres from any property line adjacent to a school or other public meeting space.
Hives must be located within the rear yard of a property. Hives shall be located a minimum of 3 metres from all property lines.
A maximum of two Hives may be allowed per property. An additional temporary third hive may be allowed for hive management for a one-month period.
A solid barrier of 1.8 metres tall, or other suitable buffer, shall surround the hive(s) leaving sufficient space to properly maintain the beehive.
On Dec. 14, MD planner Scott Purich explained to council that the addition of “suitable buffer” was included in the updated drafts to indicate tree lines or hedges may qualify as an acceptable buffer.
Hive entrances must be located away from walkways and adjacent properties to the greatest extent possible.
The final regulation is that a hive must be a maximum of 4m2 in size. It was added between the first and second readings to close a loophole that may have seen beekeepers construct larger hives to stay within the bylaw’s two hive limit.
A notable element left out of the municipality’s beekeeping bylaw relates to an educational component for landowners seeking a permit from the MD to keep honeybees.
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw inquired as to why no educational requirements were included in the bylaw following the requests by local beekeepers to do so after the bylaw’s first reading.
In response, Purich stated, “That is something that we don't typically do and it's something that the MD wouldn't want to get into... If they are coming in and applying it should be on the applicant's own onus to have their own responsibilities and training in order so that when they go out, and if they are approved for the beekeeping use, that they are able to maintain and protect their hives as well. That shouldn't be something that the MD is regulating. If they're beekeeping and they don't have those skills, it's something that they can learn on their own time.”
Purich also indicated that all beekeeper’s must adhere to the Government of Alberta’s Bee Act.
The provincial Bee Act outlines the nine diseases most commonly effecting local bee populations, as well as requires beekeepers of any size to register with the Provincial Apiculturist annually, and regulates the importation of bees into the province of Alberta.
Local Apiarists oppose elements of beekeeping bylaw
Following the first reading of the beekeeping bylaw, two local apiarists spoke in opposition of the bylaw during a public hearing on Nov. 23.
David Tharle, owner and operator of T’N’T Apiary located outside Ardmore since 1986, told council he wasn’t opposed to a beekeeping bylaw necessarily, but that he was opposed to the first draft of the bylaw as it was written.
Managing 2,400 hives, Tharle noted that the bylaw didn’t impede his operations but could have impacts if beekeeping mismanagement took place in the area.
Offering suggestions to council and administration, he said, “We are not the first down this road, many municipalities in the province have done this previously and one of the things that has been very successful is a requirement for an educational component.”
Tharle was referring to urban beekeeping bylaws in Edmonton and Calgary that require beekeepers complete a beekeeping course from an accepted organization and have the support of a beekeeping mentor during the first year.
“What I've seen in the last couple years with the resurgence of beekeeping is that people are walking into the CO-OP, Peavey Mart, Costco even sold them for a while, buying a kit and throwing it behind the house,” he said. “It's not like keeping chickens, it's not even as easy as keeping a pig or a cow in the backyard.”
Tharle suggested that beekeepers operating without proper training or knowledge could inadvertently cause harm to the area's bee populations.
“In the last five to 10 years, with the world having gotten smaller, there are more diseases [and] more parasites,” he said, adding that he has had to learn more about maintaining healthy hives now than he did 20 years ago.
“When I started in 1976, we had two bacterial infections and one gut fungus. Now we have multiple viruses – we have two parasites, one live on the outside and one on the inside, and we have variants that have jumped across species from Asian Honeybees, for example.”
Setting up hobbyists for failure
Beekeeper Roger Desnoyers also spoke out in opposition to the bylaw, citing that his 10-hobby hives would be in contravention of municipal beekeeping bylaw as presented.
“The bylaw does not appear to have any allowance for midsize beekeepers like me. Either you’re a hobby guy with two hives or you’re a commercial operation,” said Desnoyers, adding, “As far as I can read, the bylaw appears to overreach a lot.”
Desnoyers told council that he regularly moves his hives throughout the year, from field to field, depending on what is planted and where.
“It creates an awful lot of extra paperwork and bureaucracy, and [the] timely manner of which we would have to apply for that to move hives doesn’t seem right,” he said.
Desnoyers also shared his concerns that the bylaw’s two-hive restriction could prevent the sustainability of beekeepers’ colonies.
“We have a lot of winterkill. There are lots of things that kill bees, so half of your hive’s going to die on a yearly basis, and you’ll never have enough resources to replace them,” said Desnoyers. “You're really setting up the hobbyist for failure.”
He also echoed the importance of educating beekeepers, policy makers and those in charge of enforcing bylaws.
“I'd like to emphasize the education requirement that Dave brought up as well, not only for beekeepers so that they're not experimenting and spreading diseases, but for MD staff that are creating these bylaws, so they understand what they’re writing. And if the bylaw passes, that enforcement peace officers would be required to go through training, so they understand the industry.”
The beekeeping bylaw, Bylaw No. LU 574 Amending Land Use Bylaw (Beekeeping), was passed unanimously by MD council on Dec. 14.
