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Model Beekeeping Ordinance March 12, 2018 <br />2.4 "Colony" means an aggregate of bees consisting principally of workers, <br />but having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs <br />and honey. <br />2.5 "Hive" means the receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured <br />for that purpose. <br />2.6 "Honey bee" means all life stages and castes of the common domestic <br />honey bee, apis inellifera species. <br />2.7 "Lot" means a contiguous parcel of land under common ownership. <br />2.8 "Nucleus colony" means a small quantity of bees with a queen housed in a <br />smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose. <br />2.9 "Undeveloped property" means any idle land that is not improved or <br />actually in the process of being improved with residential, commercial, <br />industrial, church, park, school or governmental facilities or other <br />structures or improvements intended for human occupancy and the <br />grounds maintained in associations therewith. The term shall be deemed <br />to include property developed exclusively as a street or highway or <br />property used for commercial agricultural purposes. <br />2.10 "Swarm" means a group of bees, usually calm, with a queen that have left <br />a hive to find a new home. <br />Section 3. Purpose of Ordinance. <br />3.1 The purpose of this ordinance is to establish certain requirements for <br />beekeeping within the City, to avoid issues which might otherwise be <br />associated with beekeeping in populated areas. <br />3.2 Compliance with this ordinance shall not be a defense to a proceeding <br />alleging that a given colony constitutes a nuisance, but such compliance <br />may be offered as evidence of the beekeeper's efforts to abate any proven <br />nuisance. <br />3.3 Compliance with this ordinance shall not be a defense to a proceeding <br />alleging that a given colony violates applicable ordinances regarding <br />public health, but such compliance may be offered as evidence of the <br />beekeeper's compliance with acceptable standards of practice among <br />hobby beekeepers in the State of Minnesota. <br />Section 4. Standards of Practice. <br />4.1 Honey bee colonies shall be kept in hives with removable frames, which <br />shall be kept in sound and usable condition. <br />4.2 Each beekeeper shall ensure that a convenient source of water is available <br />to the colony so long as colonies remain active outside of the hive. <br />4.3 Each beekeeper shall ensure that no wax comb, syrup for feeding honey <br />bees, or other material that might encourage robbing by other bees are left <br />upon the grounds of the apiary lot. Such materials once removed from the <br />site shall be handled and stored in sealed containers, or placed within a <br />building or other insect -proof container. <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />