Why Des Plaines may become latest suburb to lift limits on beekeeping
Primarily citing honeybees’ environmental importance, Des Plaines officials are looking to ease the city’s strict limits on beekeeping.
If new rules are approved, Des Plaines would join a slowly growing list of suburbs that have changed course in recent years and now allow people to keep honeybees in backyard hives.
The council’s change of heart comes a little more than a year after it softened restrictions for keeping chickens in coops at home. Bees and chickens often are linked as municipal issues, and several aldermen pointed to the earlier decision as a positive development and a reason to allow beekeeping.
“I think this is our next step in that direction,” said Third Ward Alderman Sean Oskerka, who had requested the council review the regulations.
‘We just won’t eat’
In addition to producing honey, bees are the primary pollinators of most native plants around the world, as well as 75% of human food crops, said Pati Vitt, director of natural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
“Wild, native bees and managed honeybees both contribute to the pollination of commercial food crops, but wild bees are more effective pollinators for some crops such a pumpkins, cherries and apples,” Vitt said.
A decline in the wild honeybee population caused by diseases and pests has increased the need for managed colonies to handle flower and crop pollination, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Amateur beekeepers have responded by creating their own apiaries.
Des Plaines Alderman Carla Brookman noted bees’ role in our food production process during a discussion of the beekeeping restrictions this past Monday.
“Some people say without bees we just won’t eat,” said the 5th Ward’s Brookman, who oversees legal issues on the council. “It’s as simple as that.”
A hobbyist endeavor
Beekeeping typically is a hobby in Illinois, rather than a profession. As of 2020, the vast majority of Illinois beekeepers — nearly 72% — managed between one and five colonies, according to the most recent annual inspection report available on the agriculture department’s website. Lake County had the highest number of colonies in the state, followed by Will and Cook counties.
At the municipal level, Arlington Heights, Deer Park, Elgin, Elk Grove Village and Naperville are among the communities that allow beekeeping. Rules vary from town to town. Some require apiaries to be located in residential backyards; others require warning signs to be posted facing adjacent properties.
Lake Barrington is among the most recent suburbs to join the list, lifting its ban in March 2023. There, beekeepers must register their hives with village hall and pay a $25 annual fee. So far, one license has been issued, Village Administrator Sharon Peterson said in an email.
“The Village of Lake Barrington hasn’t had any complaints or problems,” Peterson said.
Des Plaines only permits beekeeping for educational purposes. Under rules enacted in 2018, hives must be at least 250 feet from homes, and no one is allowed to have more than four. Hives must be registered with the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
During Monday’s discussion in Des Plaines, aldermen overwhelmingly supported allowing more residents to keep apiaries, and they informally directed city staffers to draft such a policy.
“I’m definitely for this,” 7th Ward Alderman Patsy Smith said. “I would get involved in this.”
Could take months
Bee lovers shouldn’t set up hives just yet, though. Writing and then approving the ordinance could take months, Brookman said.
Additionally, not every council member is ready to jump in with both feet.
First Ward Alderman Mark Lysakowski suggested launching a pilot beekeeping program in one ward before allowing it citywide. Second Ward Alderman Colt Moylan liked that idea.
When the discussion was opened to the audience Monday, one man recounted how his younger brother suffered a serious allergic reaction to a bee sting when they were children, and he urged officials to factor safety concerns into the ordinance.
Another audience member, Donna Adam, thanked the council for considering allowing more beekeeping.
“The more that people are educated … I think that they will see all the benefits,” Adam said.