Beekeeping

The City of Ramsey allows residents to keep honeybees without a permit. The City Council adopted an ordinance eliminating zoning permit requirements for beekeeping. However, the following rules for beekeeping still apply:

• Hives may be located only on lots with homes.
• The number of hives is based on property size:

Lot Size Number of Hives
0.25 acres or less             Up to 4 hives
0.25 – 0.99 acres              Up to 8 hives
1.00 – 1.99 acres              Up to 20 hives
2.00 – 3.99 acres              Up to 40 hives
4 acres or larger               No limit on hives

Up to 5-frame Nucleus colonies have no quantity limit.

• No hive shall exceed 20 cubic feet in volume.
• No hive shall be located closer than 3 feet from any property line or within any easement, whichever is more restrictive.
• No hive shall be located closer than 10 feet from a neighboring inhabited structure (house).
• A constant supply of water shall be available to all hives.
• A flyway barrier at least 6 feet in height shall shield any part of a property line that is within 25 feet of a hive. The flyway barrier shall consist of 100% opaque fencing, dense year-round (coniferous) vegetation and/or existing structures, extending at least 25 feet beyond the hive.
• Colonies shall be maintained in movable-frame hives with adequate space and management practices to prevent overcrowding and swarming.
• In any instance in which a colony exhibits unusually aggressive characteristics by stinging or attempting to sting without due provocation or exhibits an unusual disposition towards swarming, it shall be the duty of the beekeeper to requeen the colony. Queens shall be selected from stock bred for gentleness and non-swarming characteristics.