Robbinsdale’s First Beekeeping Permit Approved
Residents in one Robbinsdale neighborhood could hear the buzz of honeybees this summer.
This week, the Robbinsdale City Council approved a request by a resident who wants to keep a colony of honeybees on his property.
The resident, who lives in the 4300 block of Abbott Ave. N., told the council that he recently completed a University of Minnesota course called “Beekeeping in Northern Climates” and fell in love with the insects.
The resident will have to renew his beekeeping permit on an annual basis and adhere to a list of conditions on proper maintenance of the colony.
In addition to crop pollination services, honeybees are responsible for producing all U.S. honey.
According to Robbinsdale City Manager Marcia Glick, this is the first beekeeping permit approved by the city council and the first to apply since the code was updated.
Robbinsdale updated the city code in 2016. Heightened awareness of the importance of pollinators had led to some resident interest. The city code at the time required hives to be 300 feet from any neighbor – essentially making it impossible for anyone to consider having a hive. The city looked at other cities with more recent code language and shared language with residents who had expressed interest in pursuing beekeeping.
The conditions, according to city documents, are as follows:
a) Colonies shall be kept in hives with removable frames
b) Colony shall be provided with convenient source of water within one foot of active colony
c) Materials from a hive, such as wax combs, shall be promptly disposed of in a sealed container, or placed in a building, or other bee and vermin-proof enclosure
d) For each colony maintained, there may also be on the lot, one nucleus colony in a hive structure not to exceed one (1) standard 9-5/8” depth box, ten (10) frame hive body with no supers
e) Equipment must be maintained in good condition and any unused equipment must be stored in an enclosed structure
f) Hive shall be continuously managed to provide adequate living space for the resident honeybees in order to prevent swarming; and,
g) If the colony exhibits unusual aggressive behavior, the beekeeper must promptly re-queen the colony.
