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Potential Risks of Beekeeping While honey bees are considered docile, they will sting when they feel threatened, which is the most obvious risk of being near a bee. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that two percent of people are hypersensitive (have life-threatening reactions) to bee stings. All bee stings can hurt and it is a natural experience to have swelling, itching, and redness after being stung and these are considered normal (not allergenic) reactions. Other potential risks are summarized below: • Swarming. Bees have a natural desire to swarm, which is a common occurrence for feral colonies or colonies that are not properly maintained by a beekeeper. Swarming typically occurs in the late spring when hive populations become congested and hives fill with honey. Beekeepers can monitor their colonies to help prevent swarming; however, the beekeeper cannot always prevent swarming and some of the colony may willingly leave the hive to find a new location. While swarming is not as common for diligent beekeeping hobbyists, swarming may occur if bees are not able to pollinate. • Colonization by nuisance species. Colonization by other nuisance species (including Africanized bees and wasps) is also a potential problem, but would be unlikely to occur due to the natural defense mechanisms of domestic bees and best practice apiary maintenance. Africanized bees, originally produced by breeding African honey bees with European domestic bees, are more defensive and aggressive than domestic bees, but have not spread to the Bay Area and are thought to be unable to survive well in climates that are subject to frosts/freezes. In addition, hives colonized by nuisance species (or any species other than Apis mellifera) would be explicitly prohibited by the draft ordinance. The following discussion describes the process and performance standards that are integrated into the proposed PMC amendments, and are based on research, data collection, interviews, and site visits conducted by staff. Process For beekeeping to be safely conducted, staff believes the City should establish clear requirements for information to be submitted with each application for beekeeping and apply standards relating to what zoning districts and areas permit beekeeping, the number of hives allowed, setbacks, colony maintenance, and preventative swarming measures. Beekeeping would be subject to a staff level permit process that will allow staff to ensure that community interests and City standards will be protected. In order to allow neighbors an opportunity to comment on beekeeping applications, the staff level process would require public notification to tenants and property owners within 100 feet of the subject site. Prospective beekeepers will be advised to discuss their desire to undertake beekeeping with their neighbors prior to submitting a beekeeping application. With the information submitted with each application for beekeeping, staff would determine if the standards in Section 18.103.080 (Attachment 1) are met. Page 4 of 9