Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST JORDAN — The city of West Jordan is making some changes to an ordinance that would let residents keep bees on their property. They say the proposed ordinance was too strict.
Officials in West Jordan seem to be in favor of letting residents keep bees. City Council member Clive Killpack says they can be beneficial for agricultural areas within the city.
"Even the gardens in your yard can benefit," he said. But Killpack says the ordinance that set out guidelines about how people can keep bees on their property was too rigid.
"It contained an awful lot of restrictions and items which some members of the council felt were really restrictive. Some of us don't like the idea that government controls everything in a person's life," he said.
- Beekeepers must be registered with the state
- A water source is required to be placed next to the hive
- One hive for each 5, 000 sq. feet of lot area, maximum of 8 hives
- Yard must have wall or fence at least 6' high
- No hives in front yard
- Hives no taller than 5'
Source: West Jordan City
Killpack says they still have to work out certain details, like how large property housing the bees will have to be, and how far away hives have to be from neighboring yards. So, they put the ordinance on hold until the changes can be made.
"I was in favor of tabling it," Killpack said. "We also asked the code enforcement not to take any action on it until it came back before the council."
If the bees become a problem, Killpack says there are laws on the books that can help relieve the situation.
"West Jordan also has a nuisance ordinance that says that if they're not being taken care of properly and they are providing a nuisance, then the complaint can be made and additional action can be taken," he said.
Killpack says a lot of people blame bees for being a nuisance when really wasps or hornets cause the problems.
