This chapter is intended to provide for the control and management
of bees and other vectors, and to enable the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito
and Vector Control District and certain authorized City representatives
to abate or require abatement of feral bees and other vector infestations
from public and private property and structures when necessary for
the public health and safety.
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For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the same meanings respectively ascribed to them by this
section.
means a place where bees are kept.
shall mean, for the purposes of this chapter, an officer,
director, employee, or agent of a licensed private pest control company
with whom the City has entered into a contractual agreement for the
control and abatement of vectors.
mean honey-producing insects of the species Apis mellifera,
including the adults, eggs, larvae, pupae, or other immature states
thereof, together with such materials as are deposited into hives
by their adults, except honey and rendered beeswax.
shall mean the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control
District.
shall mean any wild bees, including, but not limited to,
the Africanized honey bees.
mean any receptacle or container made or prepared for the
intended use of bees and/or storage of honey or brood, or box or similar
container of which bees have taken possession.
shall mean, for the purposes of this chapter, any insect
that poses a nuisance or danger to the public health safety, and that
potentially may transmit a disease-producing organism from one host
to another, including, but not limited to, the Africanized and European
honey bees, mosquitoes, midges (chronomids), and black flies (simulids).
means any colony of bees which becomes established upon a
lot or in anything other than a hive.
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The placement, keeping, or maintenance of an apiary or hive of bees on any lot or parcel within the City is permitted only in the Open Space (O) District and with the prior approval of a special use and development permit granted in accordance with Chapter 16.306 of the Claremont Municipal Code.
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The approval of any special use and development permit for placement
of an apiary or hive of bee shall be subject to the following conditions,
and any failure to adhere to said conditions shall be a violation
of this chapter.
A.
The
applicant shall be registered as a beekeeper with the County of Los
Angeles Department of Agricultural Commissioner.
B.
The
applicant, if not the owner of the property, shall provide to the
City written evidence that the property owner has granted permission
to the applicant to maintain an apiary on the subject property.
C.
Any
apiary or hive shall be located a minimum of 300 feet from all public
streets.
D.
Any
apiary or hive shall be located a minimum of 500 feet from all structures
used as dwellings or as places of business. An apiary may be placed
closer than 500 feet to such a structure if the owner and persons
having control or possession of said structure gives written permission
to the applicant to do so, and evidence of such permission is furnished
to the City.
E.
Any
apiary or hive shall be maintained in a manner or location that does
not cause the bees to cross over adjacent property in such a number
that endangers public health or safety, or creates unreasonable interference
with the comfortable enjoyment of life or use of such property by
others.
F.
The
owner or person having control of any apiary or hive of bees shall
at all times furnish and continuously keep available a plentiful supply
of fresh water for such apiary or hive of bees. The supply of water
shall be within 200 feet of the apiary or hive of bees.
G.
Any
owner or person having control of an apiary or hive of bees shall
prominently display a sign stating, in letters not less than one inch
in height on a background of contrasting color, the name, address,
and phone number of the owner or person having control or possession
of the apiary or hive. Such sign shall be a maximum of four square
feet in size and no more than four feet in height.
H.
The
Community Development Director may apply additional conditions as
part of the special use and development permit if determined necessary.
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A.
No person
shall maintain or permit a wild swarm of bees or other infestation
of other vectors to exist on any property. The property owner shall
clean all premises and apply effective pesticides as often as necessary
to prevent the infestation of feral bees or other vectors. The district
and/or the City may prescribe the type of pesticides, their manner
and frequency of application, and the manner and frequency of cleaning
for such purpose.
B.
Any
buildings, structures, premises, or any parts thereof that are found
or reported to be infested with feral bees or other vectors shall
be deemed a public nuisance and shall be abated by the property owner
or by the district or authorized City representative as set forth
in this chapter at the expense of the property owner. The district
and/or City are authorized to determine how and whether to abate the
nuisance in the manner provided in this chapter.
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A.
The
district is authorized pursuant to Section 2270(f) of the California
Health and Safety Code to enter upon any property in the City without
hindrance or notice for any of the following purposes.
1.
To
inspect to ascertain the presence of vectors or their breeding places.
2.
To
abate public nuisances either directly or by giving notice to the
property owner to abate a nuisance.
3.
To
ascertain if a notice to abate vectors has been complied with.
4.
To
treat property with appropriate physical, chemical, or biological
control measures.
B.
The
district is authorized to abate and remove feral bees and other vectors
on private property except in the event vectors are located within
or attached to a private structure. Abatement of feral bees and other
vectors within or attached to a private structure shall be referred
to authorized City representatives. All or part of the district's
cost of abatement shall be repaid to the district by the owner of
the property subject to the abatement, as determined by the district.
Provisions for recovery of the abatement costs are set forth in Sections
2283 through 2289 of the California Health and Safety Code.
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The City's authorized representative may abate and remove feral bees and other vectors on a property pursuant to the City's public nuisance abatement procedures as set forth in Chapter 8.16 of this Code. The expenses and costs of abatement shall be paid by the property owner. The City may utilize the cost recovery provisions of Chapter 8.16 or Chapter 1.15 of this Code to recover expenses and costs incurred by the City in abating the bees or other vectors.
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