A new proposal to regulate beekeeping in Alexandria is creating some buzz as it heads to the Planning Commission tonight (May 5).
The Planning Commission is slated to consider new rules that would limit the number of hives allowed on properties, create 5-to-10-foot setbacks for those hives, and allow beekeeping equipment as accessory structures.
There are no existing provisions that regulate beekeeping in Alexandria. The new language allows two hives on lots smaller than 5,000 square feet, and an additional hive for every additional 2,500 square feet of the property.
“Limiting the number of hives is intended to reduce the likelihood that beekeeping activities will create impacts on the surrounding community,” City staff said in a memo. “Staff also recommend that beehives be permitted only in side and rear yards. Prohibiting hives in front yards is intended to keep hives away from public sidewalks and streets.”
The proposal has gotten pushback from a notable former beekeeper — Alex Crawford-Batt, the wife of former Mayor Justin Wilson.
“Honeybees are pollinators and beneficial to the landscaping of our city,” Crawford-Batt wrote in an email on May 3. “The 2019 City Landscaping Guidelines encouraged pollinator-friendly landscapes, so needlessly discouraging pollinators, domesticated or native, is contradictory to the spirit as an Eco-City.”
Crawford-Batt said that she would like the city to clearly articulate a problem that needs solving, and that more thought should be put into the language of restrictions and method of enforcement.
“If a neighbor living next door to a beekeeper complains to the city, what constitutes a valid complaint? The noise of buzzing?” she wrote. “The scent and honey and wax? The free pollination for their gardens? A sting which could have come from any honeybee resident within several miles or a yellow jacket or native bee.”
In an email to the Planning Commission, local beekeeper Jessica Winesett said she appreciates creating clear, enforceable guidelines, but is concerned that limiting hive numbers could create unsafe conditions for bees and the surrounding community.
“Restricting hive numbers can increase swarm pressure, which may actually lead to more visible bee activity and neighbor concerns,” Winesett wrote. “I would love to better understand what types of issues or complaints the city is currently seeing related to beekeeping [and] whether those issues are tied to hive numbers or to management practices.”
City staff reviewed beekeeping regulations in surrounding jurisdictions, according to the memo. In Fairfax County, for instance, four beehives are allowed as an accessory use on any lot, with 10-foot setback. More hives can be kept with an additional 2,500 square-feet of space available for each hive, according to Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association.
More on the Alexandria proposal is available, below.
Staff proposes a 10-foot setback requirement for hives based on the Code of Virginia’s best management practices, as well as beekeeping regulations in surrounding jurisdictions. Because the City contains many lots, especially townhouse lots, where it would not be possible to meet the 10 feet setback due to dimensional constraints, staff also recommends allowing a lesser setback of five feet if there is some sort of flyway barrier installed between the hive and the lot line. Other nearby jurisdictions, such as Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Prince William County, all provide a similar reduced setback in their own beekeeping regulations.
Beekeeping and beekeeping equipment shall only be permitted subject to the following:
- No more than two beehives shall be permitted on any lot, except lots larger than 5,000 square feet shall be permitted one additional hive for every additional 2,500 square feet of lot area above 5,000 square feet.
- No hive shall be located forward of a front building wall or in any required front yard.
- No hive shall be permitted within 10 feet of any side or rear lot line.
- A hive may be located 5 feet from a side or rear lot line, if a flyway barrier that prevents the passage of bees is installed and maintained between the hive and the lot line. The flyway barrier shall consist of a solid wall or fence measuring 4 to 6 feet in height or a vegetative hedge measuring at least 6 feet in height.
