If You Build It, They Will Freak Out

By Jocelyn Geboy in Miscellaneous on Oct 13, 2006 12:09PM

At this point you're probably thinking Chicagoist has a bee fetish. But whatever. We're keeping you abreast of all things bee. And the buzz around Evanstonian teenage beekeeper Gabriel Jacobs is poised to settle down now that the City Council has finally settled on a beekeeping ordinance.

While the Tribune's take on the story vaguely makes it sound bleak for the boy, we pressed on. Could he keep his bees?

Evanston Now gave us some more clear-cut details: "Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, proposed the change of course. He said he sees no threat to neighbors where hives are well-maintained, and that the real danger comes from beekeepers who fail to maintain the right conditions for their bee colony. The aldermen voted 5-4 to approve Bernstein's substitute ordinance, after spending nearly an hour debating other changes proposed by Alderman Anjana Hansen, 9th Ward."

Some of the highlights of the adopted ordinance?

--Removes all lot-size requirements for beekeeping. The draft ordinance had limited beekeeping to lots wider than 50 feet. --Eliminates limits on the number of colonies or hives that can be kept on a lot. --Limits to eight the number of apiary sites in each ward, up from four in the draft ordinance.

Well, these are the highlights that seem to have been at stake for Gabriel Jacobs. The initial wigout was over the hive in general; first it looked like it was a matter of making him get rid of it. Then to not look like jerkfaces, the council decided they at least needed to make some sort of ordinance on the previously unregulated practice of beekeeping. But with perfectly political precision, some aldermen had written up an ordinance that would smoke Jacobs out by restricting the lot size upon which a hive could reside. It seems that the recently adopted, more lenient ordinance will allow Jacobs to keep his hive.

We commented on his blog and sent him an email hoping to get the final word. We'll keep you posted.

Photo is of two Chicagoist staffers out to dinner, feeding bee a piece of chicken from Chipotle. We didn't know bees were ever into meat.