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<br />The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional <br />service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br />Request for Action <br /> <br /> <br />To <br />Planning Commission <br />Item Number <br />4.2 <br />Agenda Section <br />Public Hearings <br />Meeting Date <br />April 24, 2018 <br />Prepared by <br />Chris Leeseberg, Senior Planner <br />Item Description <br />Joseph Eiler – 21268 York St. NW <br /> Conditional Use Permit – Beekeeping, Case No. <br />CU 18-08 <br /> <br />Reviewed by <br />Zack Carlton, Planning Manager <br />Reviewed by <br /> <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />Approve, by motion, a Conditional Use Permit with the following conditions to satisfy the standards set <br />forth in Section 30-654: <br />1. No more than eight (8) bee hives shall be allowed on the subject property. <br />2. The apiary shall be setback 20 feet from side and rear property lines. <br />3. The apiary shall be setback 30 feet from any right-of-way. <br />4. Honey bee colonies shall be kept in hives with removable frames, which shall be kept in sound <br />and useable condition. <br />5. Each colony on the apiary site shall be provided with a convenient and adequate source of water <br />which must be located within ten feet of each active colony on the applicant’s property. <br />6. Materials from a hive such as wax combs or other materials that might encourage robbing by <br />other bees shall be promptly disposed of in a sealed container or placed within a building or other <br />bee and vermin-proof enclosure. <br />7. For each colony permitted to be maintained, there may also be maintained upon the same apiary <br />lot, one nucleus colony in a hive structure not to exceed one standard nine and five-eights (9-5/8) <br />inch depth box, ten frame hive body with no supers. <br />8. Beekeeping equipment must be maintained in good condition, including keeping the hives free of <br />chipped and peeling paint if painted, and any unused equipment must be stored in an enclosed <br />structure. <br />9. Hives shall be continuously managed to provide adequate living space for their resident <br />honeybees in order to prevent swarming. <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />The applicant is seeking a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to keep up to eight bee hives on the subject <br />property (property). The property is zoned Single Family Residential (R1-a) where the keeping of bees <br />requires a CUP on parcels which are smaller than five acres. The property is 4.21 acres in size which <br />contains approximately 2 acres of wetland out of a larger wetland complex. <br /> <br />The keeping of bees should not impact the wetlands and city staff has no concerns, in regards to <br />wetlands, at this time. Fences are not encouraged to be placed within wetlands. The ordinance requires <br />fenced pasture land for agricultural animals. Obviously fencing would be ineffective with bees and is not <br />proposed to be required.