Bees And Chickens Cause A Major Buzz About Town Hall

Short on space and growing short on patience, there was still no lack of advice Tuesday night during the second round of public hearings on legislation regarding the keeping of bees and chickens within the Town of Corte Madera.

The Corte Madera Planning Commission spent two hours listening to people arguing the merits of having chickens and bees in their yards. The members of the Planning Commission were interested in writing and editing the language for legislation. That legislation might not be ready to go before the Town Council until next year however. 

The Planning Commission, faced with a midnight deadline and more items on the agenda, chose to continue the discussion of bees and chickens until Oct. 11.

"I'd like to point out and get back to very simple exorcisms of words that would result in much better regulation," said David Kunhardt, who suggested a few changes to the language in the proposed legislation. "It calls to mind … I landed at (San Francisco International Airport) a few years ago and the flight attendant said, "Welcome to San Francisco. Local time is 3:30 p.m. Please remain in your seats until the aircraft has fully stopped and refrain from smoking while in the State of California. I'm afraid what this regulation says, essentially, is yes, you can keep bees and chickens but not in the Town of Corte Madera."

Kunhardt suggested the 40-foot setbacks initially proposed for chicken coops and beehives would make be impossibly restrictive for most Corte Madera residents.

The commissioners were largely focused on whether to tighten or loosen the wording of the legislation, including how much space is needed to keep the animals; whether or not the care and cleaning of the chicken coops and beehives need to be specifically regulated; and what would constitute a violation of the nuisance ordinance.

Dan Bell, the Town's director of planning and building, pulled aspects of the ordinance from several other cities in California. Some people lauded his efforts, while others said there seemed to be no method to regulations. The issue of space and setbacks needed for chicken coops and beehives hit a nerve, but also inspired several suggestions. A group of people suggested that residents be allowed to keep one beehive per 1,000 square feet. The original language suggested the minimum lot size would be 7,500 square feet.

Ross resident David Petersen, who owns a commercial property in Corte Madera, would seemingly have preferred it if the Planning Commission left it up to the Marin Beekeepers Club to write the ordinance. He was heard repeatedly to call the Planning Commission members "idiots," while sitting in the front row of a crowded Town Hall. Petersen, who keeps bees and five chickens on his property in Ross, argued the committee members didn't know enough about keeping bees and chickens suggested they should ask experts on the subject.

Fortunately, there were a few experts in the audience with the credentials to back up their own claims.

Marin County Agricultural Commissioner Stacy Carlsen suggested easing restrictions people who might keep bees and chickens for their own use. He did suggest the Town needed to regulate commercial operations, since honey that isn't made under government guidelines could pose a health hazard, he said.

"As far as allergies go, very few people have an allergic reaction honeybees. Many people are allergic to other kinds of bees," Carlsen said.

Corte Madera resident Gretchen LeBuhn, an associate professor in biology at San Francisco State University, has been carrying the banner for beekeepers in the area. Her work focuses on the effects of climate change on bee species. She offered insight into the needs of bees and the effect of introducing more bee hives into the area.

"If you flooded the area with bees, you'd have a negative impact on the native bee population," LeBuhn said. "Having said that, not many are interested in keeping bees."

"There are not a lot of people who care to keep bees. We're blowing thing out of proportion here," pointed out Lucy Cherton, one of four Corte Madera residents who are active members of the Marin Beekeepers Club.

Commissioner Patrick Pagnillo could speak firsthand about keeping chickens. His father ran a feed and grain store in West Virginia and the family regularly raised chickens.

"I don't think chickens are an appropriate thing for residences here in Corte Madera," Pagnillo said.

Diane Fafoutis made her position clear. "Yesterday I had to call the police for 45 minutes straight. Chickens can't be tolerated. As far as bees, the proposed flyway barrier is useless on a steep hill. This can not be tolerated," she said sternly.