Auckland Council Bylaw changes 2021

I have be informed today that there are proposed changes that will make having bees in suburbia almost un workable, and restricted to one box.

Proposed changes to Te Kaunihera ō Tāmaki Makaurau Ture ā-rohe Tiaki Kararehe 2015 / the Auckland Council Animal Management Bylaw 2015

I have sent this to you just to be sure you and the bee keeping community give public feed back on this.

You need to ensure you respond to the internal size of a bee hive.

Currently they say a bee hive is only one Langstroth dimension box. - so only 2 supers per property.

Personally I like to use 2 brood boxes in Summer to help stop swarming and go up 2 honey supers. [4 total]
Then in winter reduce to one brood box super.
Then some times I may catch a swarm and so have 2 bee hives on a property. 3 hives is too much work.

We need to make submissions so it can captured in the public consultation doc.

Please help correct the policy makers [lawyers who understand nothing about bees & nature] with a wave of response for the bee keeping community.

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About the proposed changes
The Bylaw and associated controls set out rules about animal ownership and interaction to minimise risks to public health and safety, nuisance, offensive behaviour and misuse of council-controlled public places.
The proposal aims to make the rules easier for Aucklanders to read and understand, while minimising the potential for nuisance to occur.
Key proposed changes are to:
· require an approval to keep more than two standard beehives on urban premises with a land area less than 2000 square metres (no approval currently required).
Note: Council has heard a range of views about limits on beehives in urban areas and is seeking feedback:
o on allowing more or less beehives without an approval than the proposed two
o on limits for different sized urban premises than the proposed 2000 square metres
· incorporate rules from another bylaw about the feeding of animals on private property
· update the definitions, structure, format and wording of the Bylaw and controls to make them easier to read and understand.
The proposed changes are the result of a statutory bylaw review completed in 2020 during which we also sought feedback from you.
No public feedback is being sought on other aspects of the Bylaw and controls as they will remain unchanged, for example:

• the Bylaw continues to focus on the impact of animals on people
• matters covered in existing legislation remain unaddressed in the Bylaw, for example animal welfare in the Animal Welfare Act 1999, pest control in the Biosecurity Act 1993 and Auckland Regional Pest Management Plan 2020 - 2030 and dogs in the Dog Management Bylaw 2019
• existing rules in the Bylaw and controls for which changes are not proposed remain, for example the restrictions on the ownership of stock in urban areas.

From 2 June the public can find more information on the proposal and how to have their say including in person, online or by phone at www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/have-your-say or by contacting council by phone on (09) 301 0101. Free internet access is available at our libraries.

Local boards can provide views on how a Panel should address matters raised in public feedback: in a resolution at business meetings in September 2021 by (in addition to written views above) speaking to their resolution to the Bylaw Panel at a public meeting on Friday, 29 October 2021. Please note that if local boards do not provide formal views at a business meeting, they will be unable to present those views to the Bylaw Panel meeting in October 2021. Next steps: Local boards will receive a summary of public feedback to the proposal prior to September 2021, to assist in providing their views. Local boards will receive a report on public feedback to the proposal for their September 2021 business meetings where they will have the opportunity to provide their views. A Bylaw Panel will consider all public feedback and local board views at a public meeting in October 2021. The Governing Body will consider Bylaw Panel recommendations on the proposal and make a final decision on any changes to the Bylaw at its November 2021 meeting. For more information please: read the 27 May 2021 Governing Body Agenda report which includes findings and options reports, statement of proposal and proposed amended bylaw (Item 11). contact Breanna Hawthorne or Saralee Gore, at Breanna.hawthorne@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or Saralee.gore@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

 

[tristan]

i just had a quick look at that. talk about the devil in the fine print.

what they are looking to do is limit people to two STANDARD beehives if they are on land under 2000sqm.
however their definition of a STANDARD beehive is basically a single FD box, compared to a "beehive" which can be any size.
their definition of "standard beehive" is completely wrong and that they have two definitions for the same thing.

 

[Sailabee]

As usual written with the unmitigated ignorance and stupidity that only a 'Super City' can promulgate. This from a city which employs ever more people to create this sort of thing, currently over 10,000 - and we all make submissions which will inevitably be ignored.

 

[Matthew Brajkovich]

Hi all, I have been talking to a few people, the question I have, is this bylaw against the Agency rules for managing bees in any way, ie. swarm prevention, the health of the colony, disease spread. Also the biosecuity act?

 

[Matthew Brajkovich]

THIS IS THE ISSUE.The bylaw definition of a beehive is the issue. ONE BOX THAT IS IT.

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Standard Beehive means: a hive that has inner assembled dimensions up to and no greater than: (i) length: 465mm (ii) width: 365mm; and (iii) depth: 238mm.
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[Bee Real]

THIS IS THE ISSUE.The bylaw definition of a beehive is the issue. ONE BOX THAT IS IT.

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Standard Beehive means: a hive that has inner assembled dimensions up to and no greater than: (i) length: 465mm (ii) width: 365mm; and (iii) depth: 238mm.
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Clearly it is a mistake. They don't need to re define what a beehive is as it is already defined in the AFB PMP. This should be easy to fix.

 

[tristan]

Clearly it is a mistake. They don't need to re define what a beehive is as it is already defined in the AFB PMP. This should be easy to fix.

they actually have a definition for "beehive" as well as "standard beehive". that feels pretty much intentional.

 

[Sailabee]

Around 2010 or 2011 we all made submissions, as did many gardeners to stop a similar stupidity proposed by Auckland Council. Over 300 of us actually attended the post submission days to try and educate the council, and at present, council are up to their ears in debt, and just continue to give contracts to people to design any possible proposed money maker, and there will have been absolutely no consultation with any beekeepers, so we continue to pay rates for them to squander on this sort of stupidity. There is no way in hell that you could keep a bee colony in one box permanently in greater Auckland unless it was constantly swarming or on the way out with AFB, or something similar.

 

[Alastair]

The issue of what defines a beehive will be resolved.

However the greater issue is other restrictions.

Unfortunately the mood to introduce these restrictions have been brought upon us by the actions of some of our own, who do not make any attempt to consider their neighbours.

One of the worst examples I saw was a person with 46 beehives in their back yard. He laughingly told me that most of the neighbours had complained and some of them had also been stung.

The neighbours must have been very polite because they had all talked to him personally and not gone to the Council. I don't know how it ended up but if any of them did eventually go to the Council and someone from the Council came to see what was going on, he would surely be scratching his head and thinking that we (the Council) need to have some restrictions on this.

 

[tristan]

The issue of what defines a beehive will be resolved.

i would not be so sure. things like that have a habit of falling through the cracks.

 

[Wknz]

Is this the link for submitting views as of June 8th?

Animal Management Bylaw Review

THIS CONSULTATION IS CLOSED. This consultation period closed on 16 July 2021. Thank you for having your say. We received feedback from 191 people and organisations. Key themes included: majority opposition to introduce limits on beehives in urban areas majority support

www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

 

[Sailabee]

Is this the link for submitting views as of June 8th?

Animal Management Bylaw Review

THIS CONSULTATION IS CLOSED. This consultation period closed on 16 July 2021. Thank you for having your say. We received feedback from 191 people and organisations. Key themes included: majority opposition to introduce limits on beehives in urban areas majority support

www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

We have FROM June 8th until July 16 to make submissions, and currently you can't make them.

 

[Matthew Brajkovich]

Hi all, I was talking to another person in the know tonight and this is going to affect all commercial operations. The issues of so called bee poo imho will not get better with the bylaw changes. Because the bees will be to restricted, also eliminate top bar hives, coffin hives. the maximum amount of boxes on including brood box is two by the looks of it. Not a very functional hive at all.