ORDINANCE NO. Z

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "ORDINANCE NO. Z"

Sandra Williamson
5 years ago
Views:

1 ORDINANCE NO. Z AN ORDINANCE ALLOWING BEEKEEPING IN THE TOWN OF WELLINGTON WHEREAS, the Twn f Wellingtn has histrically prhibited the keeping f bees with in the Twn,and WHEREAS, the Twn Bard f Trustees have reviewed beekeeping practices and risks including practicesadpted by ther lcal municipalities,and WHEREAS, the Twn Bard f Trustees recgnize the benefits assciated with maintaining bees in the Twn and the ability t limit risks t residents fthe Twn, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Bard f Trustees f the Twn f Wellingtn, Clrad, take the fllwing actin: f Chapter fllwing prvisinsfchapter 7 f the Twn Cde are amended t read as fllws: SECTION 1: Sectin fthe Twn Cde is repealedand reenactedt read as fllws and the fllwing Divisin 5.5 related t Beeping is adpted and made a part f Chapter 7 fthe Twn Cde: Sec Beekeeping. It is unlawful t keep r harbr any bees in the Twn except in strict cmpliance with Divisin 5.s f this Chapter 7 f the Twn Cde, is declared t be a menace t the health and safety fthe residents fthe Twn and is hereby declared t be a public nuisance and is prhibited and subject t abatement Any bee clny nt residing in a hive structure intended fr beekeeping, r any swarm f bees, r any clny residing in a standard r hmemade hive which, by virtue fits cnditin, has bviusly been abandned by the beekeeper, is hereby declared t be a menace t the health and safety f the residents f the Twn and is hereby declared t be a nuisance and is prhibited. Any bee clnies kept in the Twn nt in cmpliance with this Divisin r therwise declared t be a nuisance pursuant t this Sectin may be summarily destryed r remved frm the Twn by the Twn Administratr/Clerk, the Twn's Cde Enfrcement fficer r any designee f the Twn Administratr/Clerk. In each instance in which a bee clny is destryed, all usable cmpnents fthe hive structure that ate nt damaged r rendered unhealthy by the destructin fthe bees shall upn the beekeeper's request be returned t the beekeeper, prvided that the beekeeper agrees t beat all transprtatin expenses fr their return. Bees Divisin 5.5

2 Sec Definitins. The fllwing wrds, terms and phrases, when used in this Divisin, shall have the meanings ascribed t them in this Sectin: Apiary shall mean a place where bee clnies are kept. Bee shall mean any stage fthe cmmn dmestic hney bee, apis mellifera species. Clny shall mean a hive and its equipment and appurtenances, including bees, cmb, hney, pllen and brd. Hive shall mean a structure intended fr the husing f a bee clny. Tract shall mean a cntiguus parcel f land under cmmn wnership. Undevelped prperly shall mean any idle land that is nt imprved r actually in the prcess f being imprved with residential, cmmercial, industrial, church, park, schl r gvernmental facilities r ther structures r imprvements intended fr human use r ccupancy, and the grunds maintained in assciatin therewith. The term shall be deemed t include prperty develped exclusively as a street r highway r prperty used fr cmmercial agricultural purpses. Sec Certain cnduct declared unlawful. (a) The general purpse f this Divisin is t establish certain requirements f sund beekeeping practices, which are intended t avid prblems that may therwise be assciated with the keeping f bees in ppulated areas. (b) Ntwithstanding cmpliance with the varius requirements fthis Divisin, it shall be unlawful fr any beekeeper t keep any clny r clnies in such a manner r f such dispsitin as t cause any unhealthy cnditin, interfere with the nrmal use and enjyment fhuman r animal life fthers, r interfere with the nrmal use and enjyment fany public prperty r prperty fthers. Sec Hives. All bee clnies shall be kept in hives with mveable cmbs, which shall be kept in sund and usable cnditin. Sec Fencing f flyways. In each instance in which any clny is situated within twenty-five (25) feet fa public r private prperty line fthe tract upn which the apiary is situated, as measured frm the nearest pint n the hive t the prperty line, the beekeeper shall establish and maintain a flyway barrier at least six (6) feet in height cnsisting f a slid wall, fence, dense vegetatin r cmbinatin theref that is parallel t the prperty line and extends ten (10) feet beynd the clny in each directin s that all bees are frced t fly at an elevatin fat least six (6) feet abve grund level ver the prperty lines in the vicinity f the apiary. It is a defense t prsecutin under this

3 Sectin that the prperty adjining the apiary tract in the vicinity f the apiary is undevelped prperty fr a distance f at least twenty-five (25) feet frm the prperty line f the apiary tract. Sec Water. Each beekeeper shall ensure that a cnvenient surce f water is available at all times t the bees s that the bees will nt cngregate at swimming pls, bibccks, pet water bwls, birdbaths r ther water surces where they may cause human, bird r dmestic pet cntact. Sec General maintenance. Each beekeeper shall ensure that n bee cmb r ther materials that might encurage rbbing are left upn the grunds fthe apiary site. Upn their remval frm the hive, all such materials shall prmptly be dispsed f in a sealed cntainer r placed within a building r ther bee-prf enclsure. Sec Queens. In any instance in which a clny exhibits unusually aggressive characteristics by stinging r attempting t sting withut due prvcatin r exhibits an unusual dispsitin twards swarming, it shall be the duty fthe beekeeper t requeen the clny. Queens shall be selected frm stck bred fr gentleness and nnswarming characteristics. Sec Clny densities. (a) It shall be unlawful t keep mre than the fllwing number f clnies n any tract within the Twn, based upn the size r cnfiguratin fthe tract n which the apiary is situated: (1) One-quarter (Y) acre r less tract size - ne (1) clnies; (2) Mre than ne-quarter (Y) acre but less than ne-half (II,) acre tract size - tw (2) clnies; (3) Mre than ne-half (II,) acre but less than ne (I) acre tract size -three (3) clnies; (4) One (I) acre r larger tract size - fur (4) clnies; and (5) Regardless f tract size, where all hives are situated at least tw hundred (200) feet in any directin frm all prperty lines fthe tract n which the apiary is situated, there shall be n limit t the number fclnies. (b) Fr each tw (2) clnies authrized under clny densities, Subsectin (a) abve, there may be maintained upn the same tract ne (I) nucleus clny in a hive structure nt exceeding ne (1) standard nine-and-five-eighths-inch depth, ten-frame hive bdy with n supers attached as required frm time t time fr management f swarms. Each

such nucleus clny shall be dispsed f r cmbined with an authrized clny within sixty (60) days after the date it is acquired. Sec. 7-4-558. Marking hives, presumptin f beekeeping.

4 such nucleus clny shall be dispsed f r cmbined with an authrized clny within sixty (60) days after the date it is acquired. Sec Marking hives, presumptin f beekeeping. (a) In apiaries, the name and telephne number fthe beekeeper shall be branded, painted r therwise clearly marked upn the structure f at least tw (2) hives and placed at ppsite ends fthe apiary. Instead fmarking the hives, the beekeeper may cnspicuusly pst a sign setting frth the name and telephne number f the beekeeper. It is a defense t prsecutin under this Subsectin that a clny is kept n the same tract upn which the wner resides. (b) Unless marked in accrdance with Subsectin (a), it shall be presumed fr purpses f this Divisin that the beekeeper is the persn r persns wh wn r therwise have the present right fpssessin and cntrl fthe tract upn which a hive r hives are situated. The presumptin may be rebutted by a written agreement authrizing anther persn t maintain the clny r clnies upn the tract setting frth the name, address and telephne number fthe ther persn wh is acting as the beekeeper. Sec Inspectin and registratin Any keeper f an apiary shall register such apiary annually with the Twn Administratr/ Clerk and shall btain a business r ther mdified apiary business license established by the Twn shall and prvide such reasnable infrmatin relative t the peratin f the apiary as the Twn Administratr/Clerk reasnably require and the Twn Administratr/Clerk r the Twn Administratr/Clerk's designee shall have the right t inspect any apiary between the hurs f 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Where practicable, prir ntice shall be given t the beekeeper ifhe r she resides at the apiary r ifhis r her name is marked n the hives. Sectin Z. Validity. The prvisins f this Ordinance are hereby declared t be severable and, if any sectin, prvisinr part theref shall be held uncnstitutinal r invalid, the remainderf this Ordinance shall cntinue in full frce and effect, it being the intent f the Bard f Trustees that this Ordinance wuld have been adpted even if such uncnstitutinal r invalid matter had nt been included herein. It is further declared that if any sectin, prvisin r part f this Ordinance r applicatin theref t any persn r circumstances, if held invalid, the remainder f this Ordinance and the applicatin theref t ther persns r circumstances shail nt be affected thereby. Sectin 3. Certificatin. The Twn Clerk shall certify t the passage f this Ordinance and make nt less than three (3) cpies f the adpted Cde available fr inspectin by the public during regular business hurs. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Bard f Trustees f the Twn f Wellingtn and rdered published by title this ll- day f April, 2014, t becme effective thirty (30) days fllwing publicatin.

5 ArrEST: Jack Brinkbff, Mayr i#( L PUBLISHED,) I.A tj -4? BY

Texas: Texas Transportation Code link: TRANSPORTATION CODE TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

Texas: Texas Transportation Code link: TRANSPORTATION CODE TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC Texas: Texas Transprtatin Cde link: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=tn TRANSPORTATION CODE TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC (17) "Semitrailer" means a vehicle with r withut mtive pwer, ther than