READING, Pa.- Some buzz has been heard around Berks County involving proposed regulations for people who want to raise bees in the City of Reading.
A hearing was held by the environmental council on Monday night to discuss the issue.
“It’s hard to have a bad day beekeeping for me unless I get stung too much for something that I did by accident,” says Bruce Rodriguez of Swarmstead Bees.
Rodriguez raises bees in Bern Township. He calls it a full-time hobby.
“Beekeeping can be done at all different levels, and you can make it as hard as you want it to be,” says Rodriguez.
All of Rodriguez’s bees are from removals he’s done at businesses and homes, many in the city of Reading.
When he started keeping hives, he lived in the city and had about ten of them that he kept off-site on a larger property.
“When I lived in the city in Reading, we had a very small backyard with our neighbors right there on both sides,” says Rodriguez. “So, I knew I couldn’t keep bees there because if they’re trying to have a little cookout or something and bees… it’s just not a good situation,” he added.
Reading City Council President Donna Reed says when it comes to keeping bees in the city, there needs to be some regulation.
“It’s actually a good thing that people want to have apiaries around here, but let’s know where they are,” says Reed.
The idea is to protect the beekeepers and the public.
“There should be some kind of codification from us, the city council, and also regulations because again, we are a densely built city,” she said.
“What they should be concerned with is the distance from people’s hives to the general population walking around,” says Rodriguez.
Rodriguez says sometimes necessity derives creativity.
“A lot of people keep bees on the roof,” says Rodriguez. “So, if you’re in a building where you have a nice, flat, sturdy roof, you can keep your bees 30 feet up in the air and not really worry about them going after people.”