Bees, chicken rules still up in the air

It may not be until early next year before Corte Madera lands regulations about beekeeping and having chicken coops within town limits.

The Planning Commission hosted a second workshop on Sept. 13 and will not address the topic again until Oct. 11.

“The Planning Commission asked for more information and analysis,” said Corte Madera Planning Director Dan Bell. “We will also redraft a set of standards.”

Even if any new regulations move forward with relatively few obstacles, it could be well into November before the Town Council addresses the matter. With public hearings and the council needing a second reading to adopt such amendments, the issue could linger into January.

“The [Sept. 13] workshop was again well attended,” Bell wrote in a report to the Town Council.

“The public and Planning Commission responded to a draft set of regulations/standards for keeping of bees and chickens. The general tenor of the public testimony and Planning Commission response was that regulations/standards should be minimal and if there are future complaints about backyard operations they should be dealt with pursuant to the nuisance ordinance.”

Not everyone agreed. “In stark contrast, the original complainant … argues strongly that backyard keeping of bees and chickens is not appropriate in residential neighborhoods,” Bell added.

Bell said one of the first things he did upon realizing that the issue would be heading to Town Hall was to take a look at how neighboring municipalities are dealing with residents keen on having bees or chickens.

“Generally speaking, there are more-established standards for backyard keeping of chickens than there are for backyard keeping of bees,” a Corte Madera Planning Department staff report stated.

“There appear to be ample local examples of standards for keeping of chickens, if it is decided to amend Corte Madera’s current zoning ordinance. These standards generally allow a maximum number of chickens (not roosters), with additional standards for location and maintenance of chicken coops.”

Several Marin municipalities (Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo and the county) have no regulations whatsoever regarding beekeeping, while others require that residents obtain a permit to keep bees.

Only San Anselmo fails to regulate the keeping of chickens, as the rest of the county places limits on quantity (no more than a dozen chickens is the most lenient rule) and location — typically nowhere near public access or neighbors.

“Staff has reviewed numerous regulatory standards from other local, statewide and nationwide jurisdictions pertaining to the noncommercial (backyard) keeping of bees and chickens,” a staff report read.

“Corte Madera residents have assisted staff by providing documents and Web links on the subject. Not surprisingly, regulatory standards range from complete prohibition to strict regulatory standards to unregulated. The draft standards, as currently written by staff, would effectively prohibit keeping of bees and chickens on small-size parcels that could not meet the proposed lot size or proposed setback standards … Property owners that can provide evidence that the keeping of bees and chickens have operated on their property before March 1978 are ‘grandfathered’ and may continue to operate, since they would pre-date regulatory controls that were enacted by the comprehensive March 1978 Zoning Ordinance Amendment.”