Borough of Wanaque, NJ Chapter 60 Bees, Domestic

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Wanaque 8-12-1981 as Ord. No. 9-0-1981. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 60-1 License required; compliance with provisions.

No person, firm, corporation, association, society or partnership shall engage, for profit or otherwise, in the propagation, keeping or sale of domestic bees unless he has first obtained a license for that purpose, and every person so engaged shall comply with all of the provisions of this chapter.

§ 60-2 Application for license.

Application for a license under § 60-1 of this chapter shall be made in writing to the Board of Health of the Borough of Wanaque and shall state the name of the applicant, description of the premises to be used by the licensee for beekeeping, the name of the owner of the premises, and such other information as shall be determined to be reasonably necessary by the Board of Health for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.

§ 60-3 Conditions for beekeeping.

The aforesaid license shall be issued upon compliance with the following terms and conditions:

A. Only the keeping of honey bees shall be permitted.

B. No more, than three colonies of honey bees, plus three nucleus hives, shall be permitted on any fifty-by-one-hundred-foot lot. For each additional 1,000 square feet of area of property only one additional colony of honey bees shall be permitted.

C. No hive of any type shall be located within 10 feet of any property line of the applicant's property, nor within 25 feet of any inhabited building nor within 25 feet of any road or sidewalk or area which is used by the members of the public.

§ 60-4 Issuance of license.

The Board of Health shall issue a license upon application made pursuant to § 60-1 of this chapter, and each license so issued shall be signed by the duly designated representative of the Board of Health. Said license shall bear the date of this issuance, the name of the person so licensed, description of the premises covered by the license, number of hives to be permitted on the premises and be prominently displayed in and about the area of the said place where the bees are kept and maintained. Every license shall be nontransferable and shall cover only the licensed premises and the named licensee.

§ 60-5 License fee; expiration and renewal of licenses.

For every license issued under this chapter, a fee of $5 shall be charged. All licenses under this chapter shall automatically expire on the 31st day of December in the year in which they are issued. Thereafter upon the application for the renewal of a license, the applicant shall in addition to the terms and conditions above referenced exhibit to the Board of Health, a certificate of the New Jersey State Department of Agriculture or such other governmental agency having jurisdiction thereover certifying that the applicant bee colonies are free from disease and meet the standards of beekeeping promulgated by any said state agency. In the event that any other governmental entity has jurisdiction or concurrent jurisdiction over the keeping and maintenance of bees, then and in that event each licensee shall be required to demonstrate and provide to the Board of Health evidence and compliance with all regulations and requirements of said governmental agency.

§ 60-6 Compliance with regulations; inspections.

All keepers of bees, licensed as aforesaid, shall comply strictly with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Agriculture and/or such other state or county agency insofar as they affect the keeping of honey bees. The licensee shall freely admit to his premises inspectors from any and all governmental agencies with jurisdiction and authority to make reasonable inquiry or otherwise enforce the laws of and pertaining to the maintenance and keeping of bees.

§ 60-7 Extermination of wild bees.

In the event that the Borough of Wanaque, and specifically the Board of Health, ascertains that there are nondomesticated wild bees at the licensed premises, the Borough of Wanaque shall have the right to take and/or exterminate any wild bee colony found within the licensed premises, or in the event that such wild nondomesticated bee colonies are found off a licensed premises and in either event, the borough may, upon securing permission from the owner to enter upon the lands, exterminate or remove the said bees with the permission of the owner. In the case of a licensed premises, the Borough of Wanaque may give written notice to the licensee of the intent of the borough to exterminate and remove the bees, and unless the said licensee removes or exterminates the said bees, then the licensee shall be deemed to have given the borough permission to enter upon licensees premises for removal or extermination of said bees. In the event that said wild nondomesticated bees are situate upon unlicensed premises, nothing in this chapter shall preclude the Board of Health or other proper governmental authority to take reasonable action in the lawful exercise of its police powers.