The Birds and the Bees – Much Ado About Nothing?

Last December, after an arduous 2 and ½ year process, the Council adopted an ordinance allowing for the keeping of bees on residential properties.  In the years prior to the ordinance’s adoption, the City conducted several community outreach meetings and the matter was heard before City Commissions, Committees, and even numerous times by the Council itself.  In preparation for those meetings, City staff compiled information numbering in the hundreds of pages.

At nearly every meeting on the issue, you could count on dozens of urban farming advocates showing up to speak in favor of the proposed ordinance.  Many of those even confessed to already harboring bees illegally on their properties while expressing hope that their bees would one day be deemed legal by the City.  The topic was also quite the buzz on social media generating many lively discussions and hundreds of comments.

With so many residents already keeping illegal bees, one might have envisioned a rush of people to City Hall seeking special animal permits after passage of the ordinance.  The reality, however, has been a lot less buzzworthy.

In fact, a recent public records request revealed that in the months since the ordinance passed not even a single resident filed a special animal permit for bees.  The response from the Planning Division was as follows:

“A Special Animal Permit would be processed by the Planning Division, we simply have not had any filed as of yet.”

What happened to all those illegal bee keepers and the would be urban farmers yearning for that sweet honey?

To be fair, many of the proponents of the measure had advocated that bee keeping be allowed as a matter of right just as one would keep a dog or cat. Perhaps then many were deterred by the additional obligations imposed by the ordinance. Those obligations include:

• $80 filing fee for Special Animal Permit;
• Notice requirement to all surrounding neighbors with any objections received resulting in automatic denial of the permit;
• Proof of registration with LA County Agricultural Commissioner;
• Site plan to include hive placement, setback to adjacent property lines, and proposed number and size of hives;
• Property that has 6 foot tall solid perimeter barrier and water source for bees.

Whether it be because of these conditions or something else, it would appear that the 2 and ½ year undertaking by the City that led to the passage of the ordinance has had little to no measurable impact to Torrance residents. Nobody has filed a permit for bees.  Those that were keeping bees illegally, are still keeping them illegally.

Does this mean the ordinance is a failure?  What does this say about all the energy spent by City officials, staff, and urban farming advocates?   Has it been a waste of time?

The City is supposedly slated to hear a similar ordinance for chickens in the coming months.