HomeMy WebLinkAboutApiary Registration Revocation Policy
☐City Council Approved: 3/17/2015
☒City-Wide Revised: Click here to enter a date.
☐Department
APIARY REGISTRATION REVOCATION
Apiary registration is required under Edina City Code Sec. 8-311 (a) and serves to make the City aware of the
locations where beekeeping activities are being conducted. Any resident living within 200 feet of a lot line of an
apiary site may file a written appeal of an apiary registration to the City Manager, or their designee, (Sec. 8-311
(h)) at any time after receipt of an apiary registration. If an appeal is filed, the beekeeper will be notified in writing
by the City Manager or their designee (Sec. 8-311 (h)). The City Manager, or their designee, must then conduct a
hearing with the apiary registrant and the person appealing the registration (Sec. 8-316 (b)). The purpose of the
following principals and criteria is to guide the City Manager, or their designee as to those circumstances under
which an apiary registration can be revoked. After hearing all sides, the City Manager, or their designee, renders a
decision, which shall be final (Sec. 8-316 (b)).
A. Each registration appeal shall be evaluated on a case by case basis, recognizing its importance
and benefit to parties involved from all perspectives.
B. An Edina resident seeking to register an apiary does not need a neighbor’s signature of
approval.
C. During the hearing which is held pursuant to a written appeal of the apiary registration, the
City Manager, or their designee, can mediate between the parties by suggesting such
strategies as moving the apiary, constructing a flyway barrier (see definition below), or any
other suitable management techniques.
A flyway barrier is at least six (6) feet in height and may consist of:
1) A wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination thereof, such that honeybees will fly over rather than
through the material to reach the apiary;
2) If a flyway barrier of dense vegetation is used, the initial planting may be four (4) feet in height, so long
as the vegetation reaches a height of six (6) feet or higher within two (2) years of installation;
3) The flyway barrier must continue parallel to the lot line of the apiary site for a mutually agreeable
distance;
4) A flyway barrier is not required if the hive is located on a rooftop.
D. A medically documented bee sting allergy in a person who is a permanent resident of an
adjoining neighbor to the property where the apiary is present may be considered by the City
Manager as a reason for revocation. Medical documentation can consist of a letter, bill, or
other written statement from an emergency room, physician, pharmacist, nurse; or from a
licensed allergist with a diagnosis that you have tested positive for bee venom allergies; or a
prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector, such as an Epi-Pen, or other similar devices.
E. An apiary registration can also be revoked if the apiary can be shown to have become a
habitual nuisance due to improper maintenance, despite the City having asked the beekeeper
orally at least once, and in writing at least once, to rectify conditions. Such nuisance
conditions can include: inconsistent water source, swarming, inconvenient cleansing flight
trajectory, etc.
Because it is not possible to anticipate every situation, the City Manager or their designee must
retain the right, in their discretion, to revoke apiary registrations which may vary from the
principles and criteria of this policy.