Huntley officials are one step closer to lowering the cost of beekeeping in town.

The village first took up beekeeping regulations last month following residents’ inquiries. Several homeowners, all of whom live in the same subdivision, spoke at a recent Village Board meeting.

Since then, Huntley Director of Development Services Charlie Nordman said, staff met with Larry Krengel, a beekeeper and beekeeping instructor at McHenry County College; the Illinois Beekeepers Association; and the homeowners from the last meeting.

Generally, officials wanted to lower the cost of beekeeping but wanted to restrict the practice to larger lots. The Village Board further discussed the regulations May 14.

The current Huntley zoning code allows for beekeeping in residential estate districts with a special-use permit. The lot size minimums range from 20,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet in those districts.

Nordman said that under the proposed new regulations, the lot size minimum would be 15,000 square feet, but would be in a residential estate zoning district that primarily includes the Oakcrest subdivision.

The proposed rules would allow up to four hives per property, with a required nucleus box. Officials first proposed a cap of one nucleus box, but after hearing from the public and Krengel, they were OK with one box per colony to manage swarming.

Krengel said the idea was one box per colony, but noted they are not meant to be permanent. The nucleus box is meant to help beekeepers intercept a swarm when the colony divides, he said.

Nucleus boxes are often put into action in the spring, Krengel said. If a colony has the urge to swarm, a beekeeper can intercept it with the box. They can also use the box to remove a swarm from a neighbor’s yard.

“I can very easily make the case for having a nuc box per colony. But I would think that in general the nuc box is not a permanent fixture there,” Krengel said.

Beekeepers also would need to provide an on-site water source, such as a birdbath with marbles or rocks in it, Nordman said.

The regulations require a 10-foot setback from a property line and a 25-foot distance from any principal structure on a neighboring lot, Nordman said.

Flyaway barriers to direct bees to fly up and out must be installed at hives close to property lines.

Beekeepers must register with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and get a village permit, Nordman said. They would also need to submit site plans.

The regulations would prohibit aggressive species, front-yard hives and neglect or abandonment of colonies. Corner lot owners may keep hives in the side yards if at least 25 feet from the lot line with a flyaway barrier. Beekeeping on vacant lots would not be allowed.

Village President Tim Hoeft said he opposed allowing beehives on vacant lots.

“It can be by your house. That’s it,” Hoeft said, citing neighborhood and village aesthetics.

The special-use permit process requires a public hearing at the plan commission and public notice. It also requires Village Board approval and comes with a $500 permit fee and $3,000 escrow to cover legal notices and attorney’s fees.

Village officials felt the fees should be lower for hobbyists. The proposed fee schedule for bee hobbyists is a $50 fee, but if someone stops beekeeping for six months, Nordman is thinking they would have to come back for a new permit.

“Typically, if something ceases to operate for six months, it ceases,” Nordman said.

Trustee JR Westberg liked the lower fee because beekeeping is a hobby.

“The bees are really great for the nature,” Westberg said.

Trustee Vito Benigno asked about the likelihood that residents wouldn’t have problems with the bees if all the regulations were followed.

Krengel said communities with reasonable ordinances like the one proposed in Huntley tend to have those ordinances “well accepted,” and the chances of people not having problems are very good.

Benigno asked about the density of colonies and what would prevent bees from using a swimming pool several houses down as a water source.

Krengel said most bees that leave a colony have a destination and are getting things to bring back. Bees communicate with each other, using the sun as their navigation device. As for the density, he said he didn’t know that he had encountered a situation for bees where there were so many of them that it created a problem. Even if a whole neighborhood kept bees, Krengel said he wasn’t sure it would be a big problem.

Benigno also said he was concerned Krengel used words like “normally,” “probably,” “it’s possible” and “if” in many of his answers. Benigno said he knew Krengel could not address every potential problem.

Krengel said Benigno’s concerns were justified and that bees are wild animals.

“There is no such thing as a domesticated bee,” Krengel said.

The Village Board did not vote on the new bee regulations. They must go to the Plan Commission before coming back for final board approval.