Changes may "bee" in the offing to the recently-adopted Salisbury Township Zoning Ordinance regarding beekeeping.

Steve Finke, president, Lehigh Valley Beekeepers Association, and vice president, Pennsylvania Beekeepers Association, at the invitation of township officials, addressed the May 12 planning commission and detailed recommendations of the recently-formed township beekeeping committee.

Mostly, the distance of beekeeping from a property line is the recommended change.

Salisbury Township Director of Planning and Zoning Cynthia Sopka said she and Atty. John W. Ashley, Salisbury commissioners' and planners' solicitor, would review the recommendations. A sample amendment may be reviewed at the next planning commission meeting, 7:30 p.m. June 9, at the township municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.

The planners would review a proposed amendment, vote on it and, if approved, recommend it to township commissioners for adoption.

With the collapse of an estimated 40 percent of beekeeping colonies during summer 2014, maintaining hives is considered an urgent matter for the pollination of flowers, fruits and plants.

The revised ordinance would state, at the recommendation of the beekeeping committee:

"Any area used for the keeping of bees inside a 25-foot setback from all lot lines will require a six-foot-high solid fence or dense foliage shrub between the hive and the property lines. This barrier will be constructed and shaped such that no direct line of flight to a property line is less than 25 feet in length."

The zoning ordinance now states:

"Any area used for the keeping of bees shall be set back a minimum of 30 feet from all lot lines, from any dwelling (other than the residence of the keeper of the bees) and from any street right-of-way. If the bees are kept within 60 feet from such lot line, dwelling or right-of-way, a solid six-foot-high fence shall be placed between the beekeeping area and such features. Such fence is not intended to be a complete enclosure."

Recommended to be added to the ordinance by the committee is:

"All honeybee colonies will be maintained in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bee Law and with the Pennsylvania Apiary Advisory Board Voluntary Best Management Practices."

Finke said the committee's recommended changes would be "a little less onerous and a little more realistic."

Township residents who are beekeepers and supporters of beekeeping objected to the portion of the new township zoning ordinance pertaining to beekeeping, claiming the regulations are too restrictive.

A beekeeping committee was formed. The township planning commission was tasked by township commissioners to propose changes regarding beekeeping that could be considered as part of an amendment to the zoning ordinance.

It appears one recommendation of the beekeeping committee will not be included in the amendment. The beekeeping portion is now under "Pets and Accessory Animals, Keeping of" in the ordinance. The committee recommended the beekeeping portion be moved to the general "Agriculture" use section.

Ashley opposed moving the beekeeping portion. Ashley recommended making the beekeeping portion a conditional use.

"General Agriculture uses are in an agriculture district. You want to have this in a residential district," Ashley reasoned.

"Agricultural use is acceptable in all zoning districts," Sopka "I think we should call them honeybees," Sopka added, referring to the wording in the zoning ordinance.

Prior to the planning commission meeting, Ashley researched other municipalities' zoning ordinances regarding beekeeping, including that of Upper Saucon Township.

Ashley said most ordinances require "some sort of barrier to get the bees up above head level."

"I appreciate your concerns about the bees," Planning Commission Chairman Charles Beck said to the beekeeping committee members.

"My concerns are about the children," Beck added.

"I agree with keeping beehives out of sight, out of mind, especially for children," Finke said.

Best management practices for beekeeping include putting up signs about the location of beekeeping hives.

Norma Cusick, a beekeeper at her township residence, said the Wildlands Conservancy at the Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, Lower Macungie Township, has beehives in an area of the property frequented by children. "And they've never had an incident," Cusick claimed.

"I have signs around my property," Cusick noted.

Formation of the committee on beekeeping in the township was recommended at the April 9 township commissioners' workshop.

Members of the beekeeping committee, in addition to Sopka, Cusick and Finke, include Salisbury Township Manager Randy Soriano, and township Commissioner Joanne Ackerman, who is the commissioners' representative to the Salisbury Township Environmental Advisory Council.

Cusick, along with Jan Keim and other township residents, addressed their concerns about beekeeping regulations contained in the new zoning ordinance commissioners approved March 26.

At the March 18 public hearing for the zoning ordinance, beekeepers questioned the distance requirement for a six-foot fence for beehives.