Councillors in Quispamsis have directed staff to develop a bylaw related to backyard beekeeping in the town.
It comes after recent complaints from residents about bee droppings stemming from hives on a neighbouring property.
Jocelyn Smith and Joni Moore, who live on Cedar Grove Drive, told council in May that bee feces have taken over their property on Cedar Grove Drive.
“It really lands on everything,” Smith said of the droppings. “I’ve had it on my face, in my hair, on my clothes, siding, windows, doors. Anything you can think of that’s in our yard has bee poop on it.”
The yellow globs, which range from circular to linear in shape, are sticky and difficult to remove from surfaces, she said.
The issue, Smith said, appeared to stem from a nearby property on Pettingill Road that has several backyard beehives.
Smith and Moore said they are not against bees, but the quantity of them seems to be the contributing factor to the problems they are experiencing.
“I would ask that we need, as a community, some kind of regulation on this kind of agriculture, especially in our residential areas,” said Smith.
Several town properties have beehives
Gary Losier, director of engineering and works for the town, told council Tuesday night that the property in question has 10 beehives.
Losier said about a dozen properties in the town currently have beehives, with some containing as many as 40 of them.
But because the town has no reference to beekeeping in its bylaws, there are no restrictions on the number of beehives on a given property or where they must be located.
Coun. Kerrie Luck, one of several who spoke in favour of a bylaw, said there are a few things she would like to see in it.
“The number of hives, where they should be located on the property, the minimum size of a lot or, if it’s a certain size, you can only have so many,” said Luck.
Luck also asked that existing property owners be grandfathered in under any new legislation in order to be fair.
In response, Losier said that is something that normally takes place when any new bylaws come into place.
“We can’t retroactively penalize somebody,” he said. “As long as you stay where you’re at, you can’t get any bigger but you can get smaller.”
Town staff have already begun researching similar bylaws in other areas to get a sense of what would be reasonable for Quispamsis.
Several communities in New Brunswick already have bylaws that allow for backyard beekeeping.
Cease and desist letter issued
In May, council was informed that the owner of the property in question on Pettingill Road also appeared to be operating an online plant and garden store in contravention of the town’s zoning bylaw.
Losier said a cease and desist order was served on the property owner last week prohibiting any further business activities from the property.
In a letter to the town, the owner of The Gentlemen’s Backyard said he grows and sells plants as a hobby.
“This year the hobby grew to a size that is well beyond what I would like or had imagined,” Shawn Mallet wrote.
Losier said the property owners are welcome to submit a formal request to the town in order to amend the property for business activities.
