[Adopted 8-19-1981 by Ord. No. 2584; amended in its entirety 7-15-2020 by Ord. No. 3080]
That the findings contained in the preamble of Ord. No. 3080
are hereby adopted as a part of this article.
As used in this article, the following words and terms shall
have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context of their
usage indicates another usage.
The assembly of one or more colonies of bees at a single
location.
A person who owns or has charge of one or more colonies of
bees.
Anything used in the operation of an apiary, such as hive
bodies, supers, frames, top and bottom boards and extractors.
An aggregate of bees consisting principally of workers, but
having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs,
and honey.
The receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured
for that purpose.
All life stages of the common domestic honey bee, apis mellifera
species.
A contiguous parcel of land under common ownership.
A small quantity of bees with a queen housed in a smaller
than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose.
Any idle land that is not improved or actually in the process
of being improved with residential, commercial, industrial, church,
park, school or governmental facilities or other structures or improvements
intended for human occupancy and the grounds maintained in associations
therewith. The term shall be deemed to include property developed
exclusively as a street or highway or property used for commercial
agricultural purposes.
A.
The purpose of this article is to establish certain requirements
for beekeeping within the Township, to avoid issues which might otherwise
be associated with beekeeping in populated areas.
B.
Compliance with this article shall not be a defense to a proceeding
alleging that a given colony constitutes a nuisance, but such compliance
may be offered as evidence of the beekeeper's efforts to abate any
proven nuisance.
C.
Compliance with this article shall not be a defense to a proceeding
alleging that a given colony violates applicable ordinances regarding
public health, but such compliance may be offered as evidence of the
beekeeper's compliance with acceptable standards of practice among
hobby beekeepers in the State of Pennsylvania.
A.
Honey bee colonies shall be kept in hives with removable frames,
which shall be kept in sound and usable condition.
B.
Each beekeeper shall ensure that a convenient source of water is
available to the colony so long as colonies remain active outside
of the hive.
C.
Each beekeeper shall ensure that no wax comb or other material that
might encourage robbing by other bees are left upon the grounds of
the apiary lot. Such materials once removed from the site shall be
handled and stored in sealed containers, or placed within a building
or other insect-proof container.
D.
Each beekeeper shall maintain his/her beekeeping equipment in good
condition, including keeping the hives painted if they have been painted
but are peeling or flaking, and securing unused equipment from weather,
potential theft or vandalism and occupancy by swarms. It shall not
be a defense to this article that a beekeeper's unused equipment attracted
a swarm and that the beekeeper is not intentionally keeping bees.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, in each instance where
a colony is kept less than 25 feet from a property line of the lot
upon which the apiary is located, as measured from the nearest point
on the hive to the property line, the beekeeper shall establish and
maintain a flyway barrier at least six feet in height. The flyway
barrier may consist of a wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination
there of, such that bees will fly over rather than through the material
to reach the colony. If a flyway barrier of dense vegetation is used,
the initial planting may be four feet in height, so long as the vegetation
normally reaches six feet in height or higher. The flyway barrier
must continue parallel to the apiary lot line for 10 feet in either
direction from the hive, or contain the hive or hives in an enclosure
at least six feet in height. A flyway barrier is not required if the
property adjoining the apiary lot line 1) is undeveloped, or 2) is
zoned agricultural, industrial or is outside of the Township limits,
or 3) is a wildlife management area or naturalistic park land with
no horse or foot trails located within 25 feet of the apiary lot line.
The flyway buffer shall comply with any applicable regulations of
fences under the Township's Zoning Ordinance and any other applicable
ordinances.
B.
No person is permitted to keep more than the following numbers of
colonies on any lot within the Township, based upon the size or configuration
of the apiary lot:
C.
If the beekeeper serves the community by removing a swarm or swarms
of honey bees from locations where they are not desired, the beekeeper
shall not be considered in violation the portion of this article limiting
the number of colonies if he temporarily houses the swarm on the apiary
lot in compliance with the standards of practice set out in this article
for no more than 30 days from the date acquired.
A designated Township official shall have the right to inspect
any apiary for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this article
between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. once annually upon prior notice to
the owner of the apiary property, and more often upon complaint without
prior notice.
Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions
of this article or fails to correct, within the time set by the Chief
Administrative Officer or his or her designee, the violations for
which such person has been cited shall be fined not less than $100
nor more than $1,000. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or
continues. The Township is also authorized to enforce the provisions
of this article by equitable action for injunctive relief.
