Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The city council along with some citizens are buzzing about a proposal for tighter restrictions on beekeeping in Clarksville. A resolution is before the council requesting the Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission amend the zoning code to regulate Honey Bee Hives.
The resolution is asking the planning commission to state in the zoning code that Honey Bee Hives would be allowed only in specifically zoned areas where the hives would have to be located 200 feet or more from the property line.
The resolution was brought before the council after a complaint from a neighbor of a beekeeper who contacted the Clarksville Building and Codes Department and reported two bee hives were in the backyard of an R-2 Single Family Residential district lot.
The residence in question is the home of Elizabeth Hood and her family on Yankee Drive. Hood said she has had the bees about five weeks and feels the 200 foot restriction is above and beyond what the city needs to do because bees fly three to five miles to get their pollen so it’s not going to matter.
Charles Cook with the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association says there are about 150 members who have bees and two-thirds of them live in the city. Cook added that if the 200 foot restriction is adopted many people will have to give up their bees because they won’t have enough property to meet the regulation.
Tennessee has set regulations on beekeeping and City Councilwoman Deanna McLaughlin has been seeking feedback from the community on the issue of beekeeping and says people seem to be fine with what the state law lists as guidelines.
The city council meets in their regular session on Thursday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. at 102 Public Square and is expected to vote on the proposed resolution.