An Ordinance Change Could Have St. Joseph Residents Buzzing

ST. JOSEPH (WJON News) -- There's a topic getting a lot of buzz in St. Joseph in recent months.

During its meeting on Monday night, the City Council will consider a request for a zoning amendment to allow residents to have honeybees.

At its meeting earlier this month, the Planning Commission voted 6-0 to approve the ordinance amendment. They held a public hearing, but no one spoke about the issue. The Planning Commission has been discussing and reviewing drafts since June.

The ordinance amendment would add definitions to the city code, including apiary, beekeeper, colony, flyaway barrier, hive and honeybee. Permit beekeeping in all residential districts would be subject to setbacks for hives on properties, signage to notify the property has bees, limit the number of colonies one can have based on lot size.