Howell, Stung On Beekeeping Setbacks, To Repeal Ordinance

HOWELL, NJ — A beekeeping ordinance adopted to control setbacks for apiaries in the township will have to be rescinded, according to an agenda item for the Howell Township Council meeting Tuesday.

The council is expected to repeal portions of an ordinance OK'd in June that allowed beekeeping for agricultural rural estate zones but with some "reasonable setback requirements."

The state Department of Agriculture took issue with the ordinance, according to the agenda.

New Jersey municipalities are "not allowed to ban, restrict beekeeping activities," the agency said in a statement on its website. The township received a letter to that effect from the department, the agenda notes.

"It has recently come to the attention of NJDA that some New Jersey municipalities have local ordinances that restrict or prohibit beekeeping activities throughout their town or in certain parts of their town (such as residential areas). Such local beekeeping ordinances have not been allowed in New Jersey since 2015. They are preempted by N.J.S.A. 40:48-1.5, which gives exclusive authority over the regulation of beekeeping and apiary activities to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture," the department says on its website.

According to the department's Division of Plant Industry, "Without a healthy honey bee population, successful fruit and vegetable production would be at risk. New Jersey's 20,000 bee colonies, valued at $350 per colony, represent a $7 million honey bee industry for the state and contribute to successful production of nearly $200 million worth of fruits and vegetables annually."

Howell, by ordinance a Right to Farm community, is a large township with an historic connection to agriculture and farming, and apiaries - or beehives - have a crucial role in both those activities.

But the ordinance to be rescinded had called for certain setbacks, including a 300-foot setback to neighboring structures, excluding the structure in which the apiary is located.

The ordinance noted that the Mayor and Township Council "acknowledge and support apiary activities and beekeeping, but also recognize that due to the nature of this activity certain considerations have to be made in the interest of public health and safety for the residents."

The town is also working to restore bee habitats and will be seeding certain township-owned parcels as pollinator zones, Township Manager Joseph Clark has said.

In another item to be discussed Tuesday, residents can expect a public hearing on Community Development Block Grant projects on the agenda.

The presentation by Director of Community Development Matthew Howard will focus on grant money to be used to demolish some buildings on township property, he said in advance of the meeting.

Two properties were recently conveyed to the township via tax sale and foreclosure, he said, and each contain a house.

The other property is the Bear Swamp fields on the west side of 547 north of Maxim Road where the township will be removing an abandoned house and chicken coop, he said.

More details will come out at the meeting.

You can see the agenda here.

The next regularly scheduled Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Executive Session begins at 6 p.m. and the Regular Session will begin at 7 p.m.