Can bees be in city?

One item on the Pea Ridge City Council agenda was the city's animal ordinance. The meeting was scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 21.

Dan Peters said he requested to be on the council agenda because the city's inspector, Tony Townsend, had come to him and told him it was against the law to have bees in the city limits.

Peters said he got a copy of the city's ordinance and didn't find anything about bees in the ordinance. He has bee hives on his two and a half-acre lot on West Pickens Street. His property is surrounded by Standing Oaks subdivision.

"He said bees weren't allowed," Peters said. "I want to go to the City Council meeting to talk about bees."

Peters said Townsend told him someone had complained to the mayor. The state does require bee hives to be inspected if bees are to be sold, Peters said.

Mayor Jackie Crabtree said he received an email from a resident of Standing Oaks complaining about the bees. The resident wrote: "I am a resident of Standing Oaks POA. Part of our neighborhood surrounds the property at 1325 Pickens, we noticed that the owner is placing bee hives on the lot... I would like the city to look into the placement of bee hives within the city limits. These particular hives are close to small children, pools, parks and the schools. Bees can travel up to 3 miles, this places the neighborhood residents and our children in danger. They are a nuances (sic) and can carry disease that affect humans and animals. Bees cannot be contained nor controlled. They can be aggressive and swarm."

The mayor said the city does not have an ordinance governing beekeeping and he did not know Townsend had told Peters he couldn't keep bees in the city.

Patrick Edwards, president of the Benton County Beekeepers Association and northwest regional director of the Arkansas Beekeepers Association, has acquired copies of the Bentonville apiculture laws and the Bella Vista zoning code concerning bees. He said he plans to attend the Pea Ridge City Council meeting to discuss beekeeping inside the city limits.

"Bees are extremely important to our culture. Their pollination affects three out of every five bites of food humans eat," Edwards said, adding that if Pea Ridge city officials are considering an ordinance governing bees, he would like to work with them and provide information to help.

General News on 07/22/2015