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Sunday, August 24, 2014

Salisbury To Study Urban Bee, Chicken Regs

SALISBURY — The Salisbury City Council had a frank talk about the birds and the bees Monday when officials weighed the pros and cons of allowing urban beekeeping and chicken coups.

As part of encouraging the city to become “greener” and other community benefits, Council President Jake Day advocated for establishing ordinances that would allow urban bee and chicken keeping. Bee keeping, for example, is a simple way to improve fauna around the city, according to Day.

“There are human health benefits as well. But the primary purpose is to enable and allow and support a healthy community gardening and street tree, flower and tree, systems throughout Salisbury,” he said.

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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL! Their still running Perdue out of town. But now want Chickens all over town.
Are these Chicken growers required to build manure buildings like every else had to install.
Hope the town has deep pockets.

Anonymous said...

This all well and good, however there needs to be flowers and trees planted for bees to forage on. Need to stop using pesticides and spraying chemicals on the lawns. All of this kills bees. Spraying for mosquitoes kills bees. Why do we want to spray these things if it kills something that is good for the environment and us. Think about this bees pollinate a third of what we eat. They pollinate all of the flowers we see. Think how boring it would be without bees. We as a society need to rethink how we are going to balance everything. They way we farm is not helping, small farms use to grow many different crops, now it is all large farms with mono crops. These large mono crops are self pollinating. These crops do not allow for much foraging for the bees.
As a beekeeper in the area, I hope they start to allow it. I also hope that some will pick up the hobby, it is very rewarding.

Anonymous said...

there is a couple on middle blvd. in the city of salisbury who has both bees and chix plus as a kicker they constructed a greehouse with a foundation and no permit. because they are friends of the alternative-likestyle mayor.

Anonymous said...

Lets close and ban alcohol that they drink on city time

Unknown said...

My neighbor keeps bees

Anonymous said...

In the 70's, plenty of people in Salisbury had chickens in their yards. Key West just let's the chickens run around the city and it is one of the happiest places in the States.

Anonymous said...

Bend over.... here it comes! OOOOOOHHHHHHH!

More regulations! Want to keep bees? $X00!

Want to transport bees"?

More regulations and fees!

Want to get stung by a bee?

It will now cost you!

Want to exist with nature in any way?

Pay up!

Or, vote Independent.

R/D is history.

Anonymous said...

4:57 That's how it should be. If you live ANYWHERE that you have to ask permission to do whatever you want on your property... you gave up on life.

Anonymous said...

9:22-You need to get stung 20 or 30 times all at once to get it.A rural setting is the only appropriate place for either.

Anonymous said...

I am not sure what the issue is with having bees and chickens in the city limits... As all things, if it was allowed it would regulated and people would be required to maintain standards. We are a community that is supported by a large chicken business, having a few chickens in the city limits would never threaten this and would be a nice way to showcase our love for farms. Plus that it helps the earth, helps the individual,helps grow our community, , etc

Now these are all my opinions but I am trying to see negatives and I can not. And if it were to be approved and then something negative would come about then another resolution would appear. Why is it so difficult to obtain simple things within our small town that cause no warm?

Anonymous said...

The idea of urban farming has been gaining popularity for a number of years. There are many cities both large and small that have all made efforts to allow both honey bees and chickens within their limits. For Salisbury to finally make the move towards possibly allowing this to occur is a good thing. As one walks around the neighborhoods of the Camden and Newtown area, the number of houses that are on the market should indicate that there is a cause for alarm. People are leaving these neighborhoods and valuable property is being left behind. For the potential resident that may have a young family or may want to start a family within city limits, the ability to possibly have the option to create a more sustainable lifestyle could be a positive. It may not guarantee a sale but it does make it more attractive.

The idea of honey bees in the city may seem like a nuance and may scare a lot of people who do not understand this insect. The honeybee is NOT looking to sting, it is looking to forage and collect pollen and nectar. A typical hive has a radius of up to three miles in diameter. So that actually means that if some body has a hive in Fruitland, their bees quite possibly are in your backyard. If you have a garden in your backyard you MUST thank the honeybee for your produce. The majority of the pollination that is occurring in your backyard can be contributed to the honeybee. There are more harmful insects in our houses than the honeybee. The need for more honeybees is vital to our overall life style.
I also believe that not everybody in the city will now become bee and chicken keepers. There is a lot of work that goes into these two hobbies and there is a financial obligation that may detract some from doing it.

The chickens in the backyard will not resemble the large chicken farms that were are all accustomed to. Manure from these coops can be utilized in the garden and yard to naturally fertilize and help to reduce synthetic runoff into our local waterways. The chicken is a voracious eater of insects and is a natural mosquito hunter. The eggs that are laid are higher quality, are hormone free and better for you.

The movement towards a better understanding and use of the resources that are available to each of us is what ultimately makes us a better person, neighborhood, community and city.

"The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land." Abraham Lincoln

Anonymous said...

Well said, 1:10. I'm to the right of Attila the Hun in my politics, but I agree completely with urban/suburban farming. Chickens and bees, handled responsibly, are a net asset to the community. As are community gardens.

Unknown said...

If I were the couple on middle blvd. I'd be concerned about my nosy ass neighbors. Don't get the paper in your bathrobe cause someone might post about it...now ain't that a kicker!

Anonymous said...

Hey middle blvd...can we have some eggs?

Anonymous said...

Hurrah for the middle blvd couple. you should be able to do whatever you want on your own property as long as it looks decent & doesn't interfere with neighbors. There's a coop for the chicks,you can't smell or hear them. the bees stay there. & the greenhaus looks better than some homes down the street.

Anonymous said...

If I can haves Chickens and bees can I haves my (half-moon to some)outhouse back?

Anonymous said...

With hookers on the corners, thugs running wild and chickens running the streets, Salisbury will look like a third world country. Just a few more years and I'm out of here. Just hope my property value doesn't drop too much more or I'll have to take a bigger loss. I'm sure the chickens will help.

Anonymous said...

I’m not sure where the individual who commented about being “stung 20 or 30 times all at once” is from, perhaps someplace with Africanized bees. In that case I can certainly understand his/her level of concern.

I must admit, though, that I too would be concerned about being stung were it not for the fact that I lived for years next door to a family that kept bees and I was never stung. Moreover, to the best of my knowledge, none of my other neighbors was repeated stung by the bees.

So the issue of being stung doesn't concern me at all.

Anonymous said...

The people who are pointing fingers are not adressing the issues.I believe that with the proper guidelines allowing this will help the environment along with providing food.