Bees are becoming fewer and fewer in numbers, and it appears that Naperville council members Paul Hinterlong and Becky Anderson want to speed the process. All it took was one email from a resident to councilwoman Anderson. Watch and listen as Anderson begins to stir the cauldron:
OK, so there are seven beehives on a resident’s property. Is it possible that the bee-hive resident has been there longer than the bee-hive complainer? And what about the size of the beehives. Seven beehives the size of a golf ball, would be less threatening than one beehive the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.
Watch and listen as councilman Hinterlong enters the tag-team push for more possible regulation.
Hinterlong acknowledges that ‘the number of bees are dwindling, and that’s a huge concern’. Now he wants to know ‘what their purpose is’. Couldn’t he find that out by a simple Google search showing how bees benefit people:
- They produce honey
- They pollinate our food
Or what about other favorite purposes of bees:
- They contribute to global economy
- They can predict storms
- They produce a wax as a sealant for candle making
And if you really want to get down to it:
- They (along with birds) teach youngsters about reproduction
Why have staff take hours of time to research something that takes 2 minutes to Google and find the answer.
The longer Hinterlong remains on the council, the more he begins to resemble a former council member whose name rhymes with Furstenau, by asking staff to waste time by researching meaninglessness information.
Remember, Bees are one of Oprah’s favorite things, shouldn’t that be good enough for the Naperville city council.
No bees, no food. No food, no life. Duh. Enough said. And tell that whiney email sending resident to get over it.
If seven beehives are too many, maybe an email to Becky about too many council members, inept and otherwise, will get an ordinance passed to get rid of a few of them.
Less council members, less new ordinances. Less ordinances, better lives.
Yep,Yep !!!!! It really shouldn’t take a PHD.
to figure out HOW BEES WORK. …
Maybe my my bee keeper friends should pay them a call and depose them ON BEES.
PLEASE, PLEASE INFORM THEM ON THE HUGE IMPORTANCE OF BEES !!
Actually, I do have a doctorate and, you’re right, you don’t need one to see that this is an overreaction when no one has talked directly to the resident or attempted to find out more about the bees. Anyone wanting to learn more about the bees is welcome to contact me. I’m a local professional educator and Beekeeper – 630-303-3775. .
I’m familiar with the property and always advocate for property owners rights within reason. First this is a residential community and zoned as such. Second this person is obviously running some type of business with these bees. Third the entire property save the house looks like a junk yard and what use to be a lawn looks more like a dandelion patch. Lastly the hives are closer in size to Volkswagens then golf balls.
Having said this and if these hives were tastefully done say in the backyard not in the front facing the street and its intersection I for one could care less. It’s because of inconsiderate folks like this that zoning laws came into existence in the first place.
I would have to agree that property owners right should be infringed on a little as possible by government authorities, but as you pointed out there are such things as bad neighbor that create problems for their neighborhood and force the city to become involved. I believe it would be realistic to enact and ordinance similar to those that apply to similar situations in Naperville, which would be that such hives can be located on the property so long as they can not be seen from the street and are not located in any setbacks or easement.
Gerard have you ever walked over and talked to the resident? Have you tried to understand what the bees are for and how they behave? Dandelions are some of the best spring food for the bees. I believe the resident has made great strides in cleaning up the property this spring and has tastefully set up three hives in the garden. The other hives are temporary. Are the complaints about the bees or the resident. Bee a good neighbor and introduce yourself. You may bee surprised about what you find out.
Don’t care about the bees Bell only the fact the the property looks like a dump situated in our residential area.
How about worrying about all the money spent on Naperville township.Annex every township in the state save us some money please
I think bees get a bad rap that should be pinned on yellow jackets. I have never been stung by the former. I would raise them myself if I had the time.
If one had to regulate them within the city limits, I would go for some setoff of the hive(s) from the property line.
I just watched the council meeting where the bee issue was raised during new business and totally feel your representation of what Mr Hinterlong and Ms. Anderson said is disingenuous. They both are supportive of bees and at no time did they imply a further reduction in population. Mr. Hinterlong asked staff to prepare a statement of the value of bees not do tons of research. The reason is to have it for any discussion of limiting the number of hives on a single lot. Like anything people can get carried away with their hobbies and just like you can’t have unlimited dogs, or chickens, etc. why would someone need more bees than necessary to produce enough homey to feed their family? As a watch group you should get you reporting more accurate. Makes your credibility on other issues suspect.