Debate Swarming Around Beekeeping in Port Requires More Time

More research and discussion is being carved out for the topic of beekeeping in the city of Port Washington, after residents and city officials on Thursday night.

The commission voted to hold off on the amending of city ordinances to allow beekeeping in order to have time to craft an amendment that would fit the city and residents' needs.

"All that I ask is that while we do have this forum where we are able to come together at a table and speak about it and exchange information, I ask that I be given the time that it’s going to take,” Bethel Metz said Thursday night at the meeting.

Bethel and Mike Metz received a letter from the city on Oct. 7 from their property in the 100 block of East Ban Buren Street by Oct. 24 because they were violating city ordinances by having the bees.

The Planning Commission voted to ask City Attorney Eric Eberhardt to push the Metzes removal date back to the end of February, while the amendment is being crafted.

"I think it takes time to get it right," Ald. Jim Vollmar said to the Planning Commission. "I’d like you to take the time to get it right. These honey bees are going to be dormant probably tonight when we have our first frost. There’s not going to be a problem with these honey bees until next spring. There’s no need to rush to judgment or to prosecute these people in that period of time."

The letter sent to the Metzes cites code violations including: having bees is an agricultural use of their property, which is unlawful under the zoning code; continuing to raise the bees and violate the zoning code is also considered a nuisance; and having the bees across the street from the , posed a possible health and safety risk to students.

Port Catholic Principal Rick Goeden said he has not heard of any complaints by students or parents about the honey bees.

"All I have are yellow jackets that come out of the garbage dumpsters, which are bothering us,” Goeden said.

After being made aware about the nearby honey bees, Goeden looked at school records to see if there were any students with bee allergies, but did not find any.

"If we had a child that was highly allergic, I may have a different attitude, but that’s not an issue," Goeden said.

Neither Eberhardt nor City Administrator Mark Grams have spoken to the school to see whether it was a concern.

Bethel said she received permission to raise the bees from Grams — a statement Grams disputes — before she and her husband Mike took beekeeping classes at the Urban Ecology Center in Riverside Park earlier this year.

"I think there was an assumption by quite a few people that if it was not prohibited, it was permitted," Bethel said.

"I don’t recall talking to Bethel," Grams said. "The whole thing that drove this was a call we received from one of their neighbors, concerned about it after they read the article on Patch. That’s what brought it all out."

According to Grams, the neighbor stated they were concerned by the number of bees the Metzes had on their property.

. At the height of the summer, they had nearly 100,000 living in their hive. The population has now dropped down to about 75,000 as the bees prepare for winter.

Vollmar said he has not been notified by any residents within his district (which is also where the Metzes house is) that have problems with the bees.

"No residents have complained about it to me directly," he said.

And while no residents have made an appearance to city meetings to speak against the bees, a few Port residents spoke out in support of urban beekeeping at Thursday’s meeting.

Resident Pat Willborn told the committee a few years ago he had beekeepers remove honey bees that were living in a wall of a building he leased.

"I watched the beekeepers collect the bees from the two hives and we were actually invited in as they collected them. Nobody got stung. The bees were completely removed from the two hives in the wall, no problems," he said. "The fear of being stung, I think, is being overblown."

Willborn also pointed out that there is a growing movement to bring nature back into urban areas, a trend he thinks will only grow stronger over time.

"My proposal is that you get on board and you figure out how to meet the needs and desires of the people in urban areas," Willborn said.

Charlie Koenen, who taught the beekeeping class the Metzes took at the Urban Ecology Center spoke about the importance of urban beekeeping and answered several questions from committee members on the topic.

The Metzes have said they are grateful for the support they have received from the community.

"We’ve been fighting an uphill battle. I said to my husband, 'I feel like I’m pushing a square rock up a hill and it just keeps rolling back down,' but when there’s a couple more people standing there helping you push that ‘rock’, it’s a little bit easier," Metz said.

Bethel and Mike Metz are hosting an for anyone who wants to see the bee hive and learn more about honey bees. Everyone is welcome to attend.