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  • From: Terri Buckner <tbuckner AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: NC Beekeepers Orange County <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Petition to allow bees inside city limits
  • Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:41:44 -0400

Randall,

According to the Town's code of ordinance (article 3), bees are treated as livestock and are legal as an "accessory" use only in zoning districts R-LD5 and RT. That's why we are submitting the petition. While the town probably wouldn't enforce this ordinance on the typical homeowner, the university cannot knowingly support students in breaking the law.

Terri


Randall Austin wrote:
Before petitioning for an ordinance change, it would be useful to get the opinion of the Town Attorney (or other appropriate figure) regarding your particular situation. Chapel Hill allows "incidental uses" of land (uses not designated for a zone) without any need for exemptions etc.as long as those uses aren't specifically forbidden in the zoning regulations (these specific exclusions apply to things like waste dumps). This means that you can do things on your property that aren't specifically in the zoning if they are trivial with respect to the purpose of the property. So you should be able to keep a few hives, although you cannot run a commercial operation.
If you know that the Town has ruled otherwise then a petition is in order. But if you are simply assuming that bees are prohibited based on the livestock clause of the regulations, you should confirm the Town's interpretation of that first. And please let us know what you find out!

Randall Austin


Terri Buckner wrote:
Chapel Hill's land use ordinances classify bees as livestock and, as such, does not allow them within residential zoning districts. One of the students with the Carolina Garden Coop and I will be submitting a petition to the Chapel Hill Town Council on Wednesday night (April 15) to have this ordinance revised. We want the town to allow 1-2 hives in backyards. If any of you have the time or interest in coming to support the petition or writing to the town council members, we would appreciate your support. I know there are hives in town, but the University cannot knowingly break the law. The meeting is on Wednesday this week and there is a public hearing on the budget before they open the floor to citizen petitions. So there's no way of estimating what time we may be allowed to present.

Terri Buckner

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