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Mr. Browne replied that nobody complained directly to them and that the one call the City received is the only thing they ever heard about. He stated that his backyard is not huge and he is able to stay out there with no problems, likely because bees in a hive tend not to forage directly next to their hives but up to two miles from a home. He added that there would not be a large volume or density of bees in one small area around the hive in the backyard; they would be spread out, maybe within an entire large community. Acting Chair Ritter noted that wasps and bees are different and inquired if one discourages the other and if there is a direct correlation between them, such that there would be less bees when there are less wasps. Mr. Browne replied that wasps are occasionally bees' predators; they are drawn to the honey, but the bees can defend themselves from wasps by guarding their hives. Acting Chair Ritter inquired if the commercially -sold yellow boxes for catching wasps also catch bees or if the bees stay away from those boxes. Ms. Amos replied that bees stay away from them. Carl Schlachte stated that he is very supportive of beekeeping and appreciates the thoroughness with which staff is going about it. He indicated that staff is doing a good job at keeping an eye on how this is done and the right way to do it, and thanked Ms. Amos for an excellent and very accurate presentation. Mr. Schlachte expressed concern around fear -based regulations, noting that there were comments made about its impact in the community or to neighbors in a way that implied a negativity associated with bees. He stated that people are afraid of their children being stung by bees, but it should be kept in mind that bees actually live in Pleasanton and were probably here before people were. He indicated that there are a lot of beekeepers in Pleasanton, some of whom collect their bees from feral hives out of the area. He stated that New York City started permitting beekeeping in 2010, and since then, over 200 hives have been registered in the City with no deaths from the activity. Mr. Schlachte stated that there may be some confusion about what is a hive versus what is not a hive. He explained that beekeepers consider a hive the stack, and they generally stack two boxes on top of each other, with a separate third one where the honey is produced. He noted that limiting beekeepers to two hives also limits the amount of bees that can actually produce honey, and encourage the Commission to look at three or more hives per property. Mr. Schlachte then referred to the fees associated with beekeeping, stating that good reporting and avoiding neighborhood impact result from voluntary compliance. He indicated that that putting a fee on beekeeping would bring beekeepers here, but there would be no reporting or indication of where hives are located. He encouraged the PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, January 28, 2015 Page 8 of 17