The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to legalize urban beekeeping within city limits, reversing a law that has stood on the books since 1879. With Wednesday’s vote, beekeeping will now be allowed in the backyards of single-family homes, as long as they adhere to specified buffer zones, register with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commission, and provide water for the hives.
Under the ordinance, one hive will be allowed for every 2,500 square feet, with a barrier of 6 feet between the hives and neighboring lots. Hives will still be banned in front yards and within 5 feet of any lot lines, however.
City officials have had a bee in the bonnet over this issue for quite some time. A nonprofit known as HoneyLove first pushed for the ordinance in 2011, arguing that urban beekeeping would promote local agricultural health. The city council then directed staff to explore the idea in 2014, but an intrinsic fear of bees appears to have delayed a vote until now.
In the end, council members decided that the benefits of urban beekeeping far outweigh the risks.
"To bee or not to bee, that is the question. But there is no question. We must have bees," Council Member Paul Koretz said before the vote.
Los Angeles now joins cities like New York, San Francisco and others which given backyard beekeepers the green light.
Read more about the council’s decision here.
Image Credit: Flickr User blumenbiene, https://flic.kr/p/7UdYb1 via (CC BY 2.0)