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residential zoning districts. Napa and San Ramon permit residential beekeeping by right and Santa Monica requires registration through their respective animal control/services division. None of these three cities had incidents to report. Furthermore, larger, more densely populated cities such as San Francisco, New York City and London also permit beekeeping, and staff has not found evidence of significant problems. The proposed PMC amendments, which include specific performance measures designed to reduce swarming and other potentially adverse effects on neighboring properties, and require an inspection by the City of new hives, are more robust than many other beekeeping ordinances reviewed by staff, some of which have no specific permitting requirements. PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of this item was published in The Valley Times and was noted in the Pleasanton Weekly. At the time this report was prepared, staff had not received public comments beyond those already provided to the Planning Commission. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT The proposed amendments are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), per regulation 15061(b)(3). Therefore, no environmental documentation accompanies this report. CONCLUSION Staffs research indicates that beekeeping is a use that is compatible with other suburban uses, as domestic bees are typically docile and nonaggressive, and become defensive only when their hives are directly threatened. With the exception of the incident in Fremont where the beekeeper stopped maintaining a hive, other cities contacted by staff have not had any issues with beekeeping. In addition, staff has not identified significant safety or other concerns about domestic beekeeping in reviewing literature on the subject. The proposed changes to the PMC are intended to establish performance standards, noted above, for beekeeping that will ensure that such operators will have minimal adverse impact on residents and will enhance the environmental health of the City. Submitted by: Fiscal Review: Approved by: /(1/ Brian Dolan, Director Tina Olson Nelson Fialho Community Development Director of Finance City Manager Attachments: 1. Ordinance with proposed redline changes 2. January 28, 2015 Planning Commission Staff Report, including the following Exhibits: B. Data on jurisdictions that permit beekeeping C. October 8, 2014 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Excerpt 3. January 28, 2015 Planning Commission Draft Meeting Minutes Excerpt 4. Public correspondence received after publication of the January 28, 2015 Planning Commission Staff Report Page 9 of 9