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Putting the ‘bee’ back in Boston: City council approves measure to make beekeeping in the city easier

If implemented, the proposal would allow residents to fill out a form and pay a $25 fee to be approved to keep bees on their property instead of going through an arduous zoning code process.

SAIF DAHLAH

By Emily Spatz

1 minute to read

The Boston City Council unanimously approved Wednesday a measure that would make beekeeping easier for residents.

The legislation would allow residents to fill out a form and pay a $25 registration fee to keep honeybees on their property. Previously, residents would have to submit a “long form building permit application” to change the use and occupancy of their land if it wasn’t already approved for accessory keeping of animals under the Zoning Code, according to a committee report submitted to the council.

The change would strike any mention of “bees” from the definition of “Accessory Keeping of Animals” under zoning regulations and switch the regulation of beekeeping to be under the municipal code, according to the proposed amendment.

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The proposal, sponsored by Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, begins by outlining the importance of honey bees in the food and agriculture system, stating that bees provide pollination for over 85 different crops and that without honey bees the agricultural system would “collapse.” 

“Honey bees contribute to the greater biodiversity within urban cities by supporting and strengthening plant and tree growth through pollination, and are also indicator species, where they provide critical information on the health and habitat of our environment,” the proposal reads. 

But honey bee populations are on the decline, the authors of the amendment wrote, and cities can take part in providing them with alternative healthy habitats and protected areas. Massachusetts beekeepers lost more than 33% of colonies between 2022 and 2023, according to data from the Bee Informed Partnership.

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Residents and businesses in Boston have expressed strong interest in beekeeping, including implementing rooftop bee hives, that has only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposal states. 

The law, which was proposed last year, has been under review by the Committee on Government Operations in recent weeks. The committee recommended the Boston City Council pass the amendment. 

The legislation will now go to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and then to the city’s zoning commission, which will decide whether to approve beekeeping being left out from the city’s zoning process. 

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