Novato is allowing more residents to raise hens in their yards and is considering allowing beekeeping for the first time.

The City Council voted this month to let residents raise hens at smaller residential properties, including multifamily properties such as apartment complexes. At the same meeting on Nov. 16, the council also considered allowing beekeeping but delayed a decision after beekeepers raised concerns that the proposed rules were too prescriptive.

“Every aspect of the proposal is better than a ban but not good for bees or beekeeping,” Nickie Irvine of the Bee Legal Project told the council.

Novato regulates hen-raising based on the lot size and zoning of properties. Under the previous rules, the city allowed up to 12 hens only in rural agriculturally zoned areas, known as A, RR and RVL zones, as well as areas zoned for low-density single-family homes, known as R1 zones, that have a lot size of at least 7,500 square feet. No roosters are allowed. Residents wanting to raise more than 12 hens would need to obtain a conditional use permit which would undergo a public vetting process.

The changes approved by the council allow areas zoned for medium-density single-family homes, known as R4 and R5 zones, the same allowances. These properties must have a lot size of 5,000 square feet to be able to raise hens.

The council also voted to allow properties in multifamily zoned areas, known as R10 and R20 zones, to raise poultry if they can obtain a conditional use permit from the city. Mayor Pro Tem Eric Lucan suggested the idea, saying some developments, such as senior housing complexes, might be interested in a community chicken coop on the property.

Residents can use the MarinMap tool at marinmap.org to search their address and find their property’s zoning designation, or they can contact the Novato Community Development Department.

Novato resident Frank Marino said he and his family hope to raise chickens. However, he said a zoning change in the 1990s made his property ineligible despite permission for many neighboring properties.

“We are just looking to try to have that same benefit,” Marino told the council.

Novato has never allowed beekeeping, but Mayor Pat Eklund said many residents have kept hives because they were unaware it was illegal.

The new rules proposed by the city would allow beekeeping in all areas where chickens can be raised, excluding multifamily residences. No permit would be required, but beekeepers would have to follow rules that raised concern from local beekeepers.

Beehives placed on the ground would be required to have a 6-foot-tall solid barrier to direct the bees’ flight path skyward. Elevated hives would have to be at least 8 feet off the ground.

Local beekeepers such as Bonnie Morse of San Rafael said the proposed rules were overly prescriptive and did not make sense from a beekeeping perspective.

“Once you get above 8 feet, you’re talking about putting them on the rooftops of buildings,” Morse told the council.

Morse and Irvine both advocated for the city to only regulate hives using a complaint-based enforcement system similar to that adopted by San Rafael in 2014.

“Rather than look at the county of Marin for example and how beekeeping is addressed in this county, Novato turned to Sonoma and Napa, where older stricter measures are more common,” Irvine said.

The city also proposed to allow beekeepers to sell their honey and bee products if they obtain a permit. Morse said the $250 annual cost for the permit would be a large cost because beekeeping is already expensive to get into.

Novato Community Development Director Vicki Parker said while she and her staff are not bee experts, the proposed rules would give beekeepers, neighbors and city code enforcement staff clearly defined standards. A nuisance-based system without clearly defined expectations would not make sense for enforcement staff and could lead to ambiguity, Parker said.

“It just means, I believe, that folks are going to get caught up in a code enforcement issue that we won’t have answers to,” Parker told the council.

Eklund said she would support Parker and her staff, but also wants to ensure that beekeepers would be able to live with the regulations.

“I would rather have no ordinance on bees and leave it the way it is now  . . .  rather than having an ordinance that could put beekeepers in harm’s way,” Eklund said.

Beekeeping in Novato is expected to remain illegal for some time, Parker said, because her department has other priorities, including a required update to the city’s housing element next year.

“We have a whole lot of housing work to do and no one to do it,” Parker said.

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