As a passionate backyard beekeeper, I am deeply committed to the well-being of our local ecosystem and the preservation of our precious pollinators and the benefits they bring to the families of Jackson County, Georgia. However, I have encountered significant obstacles due to the current Jackson County Land Use Management Code. Therefore, I kindly request your support in amending this code to address and permit backyard beekeeping.

 

I began my beekeeping journey several years ago by researching and studying honeybees and beekeeping in any way I could. To do my due diligence, I also checked in Jackson County's Land Use Management code to see if there were any restrictions for backyard beekeeping and found none, in fact it wasn't even addressed. I didn't find this at all concerning considering Jackson county's heritage and deep roots in agriculture and so I continued with my research and preparation and a few years later to our delight our family welcomed our colony of honeybees to our backyard where we have lovingly cared for and tended to them since. They have truly brought our family so much enjoyment and really been a great addition to our family's vegetable garden.

However, after a complaint we received a notice that our beloved honeybees may have to be removed as they are in violation of county code. As the code is currently written there is no reference to backyard beekeeping but a restriction on animal production as a primary use in a residential area with very little explanation or context. This restriction could be construed to apply to backyard beekeepers such as myself keeping conservative hives for personal use and enjoyment. The Planning and Development Director of Jackson County Planning and Zoning Department now has the power to decide as to whether or not being a backyard beekeeper in a residential area will be permitted. This determination will affect myself as well as most of the backyard beekeepers, and their honeybees, in Jackson County.

Backyard beekeeping is an essential practice that not only benefits individual beekeepers but also contributes significantly to our community and environment as a whole. Bees play a vital role in pollinating plants, including many crops that are crucial for food production. The majority of honeybees in Jackson County and throughout Georgia are kept in residential areas by backyard beekeepers. Backyard beekeeping is a sustainable way to help the honeybees, which are currently dying off from Colony Collapse Disorder. Because honeybees pollinate a full one-third of the food we eat, backyard beekeeping also boosts local food security. We believe having an ordinance, similar to other surrounding counties, that specifically allows backyard beekeepers to keep honeybees in areas zoned residential is critically important to the survival of the European honeybee.

Considering the plight of the honeybee, and the benefits they provide, it should not be made more difficult or even illegal to keep honeybees in your backyard. Please sign this petition urging Planning and Zoning Department to allow us and other Jackson county homeowners to keep bees on their property and to change the Unified Development Code to allow for backyard beekeeping. Jefferson itself is a host to many honeybee hives, including one atop Crawford Long Museum, and is proudly registered as an official Bee City by Bee City USA, however, just outside city limits local Jackson county beekeepers and their honeybees are at risk.

I kindly urge you to consider the significant benefits of amending the Jackson County Land Use Management Code to permit backyard beekeeping.

Together, we can make a positive change for our ecosystem, promote food security, and foster a deeper connection with nature. Sign this petition today to show your support for allowing backyard beekeeping in Jackson County!

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Sincerely,

Brittani Spivey

UPDATE:

First off, I can’t tell you all how grateful we are for all of the support we have received. Thank you all so much for caring about our cause and the way it is affecting not only us but other backyard beekeepers in the Jackson County.

When I wrote this petition I tried to stick to the main points of the story as I knew no one wanted to read an entire novel so I abbreviated the journey where I could. I have been asked a few times though to tell the whole story of how we got to where we are for those that care to know and decided to go ahead and lay it all out.

To give a little context and history to the situation. We live in an HOA with large lots in R1 zoning. R1 is for low density residential, and our particular lot is just under 1 acre. We have lived here for almost 14 years now and have seen quite a lot in our time in this neighborhood especially with the HOA. In February of this year a petition went around to remove the current board and it’s officers, one of which in particular had already been removed by the homeowners several times only to find a way back in. While I did not create this petition, I was very much so in support of it. The petition was successful, and the previous board and officers have since been removed and replaced with wonderful homeowners that truly have the best interests of all of their neighbors at heart. Although I am not a member of the board, I continue to try to volunteer as much as possible on committees to help or neighborhood continue to grow in the direction, we are all so grateful to see it going. Since this change took place there has been a pattern of the removed individuals harassing those that they feel were involved with their removal. A separate page on social media was even created for the soul purpose of creating turmoil and bashing the current leadership and anyone involved. Unfortunately, several neighbors have had to endure this including the current board members and committee volunteers. Some have even had to go as far as to file police reports just in an attempt to live in peace in their own home.

Now to the part where myself and the bees became the target. The same individuals that were removed from the board and have harassed various neighbors after they moved on from their previous cause when they were told they were in the wrong and would not get their way, decided that our honeybees would be the next target. They filed multiple complaints to the HOA board and harassed the board members tirelessly. I can say the board members certainly did their due diligence on this subject as they went through the covenants and by laws of our neighborhood very thoroughly and even consulted a lawyer to make sure they were making a fair and sound decision. During that time a smear campaign essentially was being run to try to rally the neighborhood against the honeybees. Fortunately, it fell upon deaf ears as the vast majority of the neighborhood is largely in support of the honeybees. The HOA board also decided with the advice of their lawyer that we were within our rights and not in violation of the covenants. During this time due to the level of harassment we were receiving we did send a cease and desist to try to end these constant attacks.

Once, the attempt to use the HOA to remove our honeybees failed the next step in their attack was go through the county zoning and coding department and file complaints siting our honeybees as a nuisance. They also had previously done this with the neighbor they were targeting before us. An officer from the zoning and coding department came to our home and advised my husband, Kale, that the neighbor had complained, and we should get rid of the bees. My husband told the officer we had done our research prior to getting the bees and that they had been here for some time with no issue, and we would be reaching out to the county to discuss the matter. At this time, we had received no written warning only had a short conversation with the coding officer. A few weeks later we received a second visit from the coding department and this time a door tag was left with my son for a violation. On this door tag the nature of the violation reads “Article 3 Sec 3-021 boarding and breeding of animals, Table 3-021 animal production, comply by 7 days.”

As soon as I was able, I went to the zoning and coding department with my door tag and photos of my hive to show this couldn’t possibly be considered animal production. The zoning and coding department was very polite but stated that there was no distinction in the county code between commercial and hobby and that although we were not producing bees or keeping them for commercial purposes the only code that they had addressing bees at all was the one for animal production and that was what they had used in the past. I was told they would look over everything further and get back to me.

About a week later I received a letter from the zoning and coding department stating that the honeybees would need to be removed within 2 weeks as they were upholding the violation. The letter stated “animal production: other (e.g. bees, rabbits) is not permitted within this zoning. While you may not be directly breeding or producing bees, animal production includes bees residing on property for personal or commercial use.” We had 2 weeks to either remove our beloved honeybees or file an appeal so of course we filed an appeal.  

We soon thereafter received a letter from the complainant and his attorney including false information regarding the county code. This letter threatened “lawsuit against you for trespassing given that the bees which are kept in the illegal apiary in your backyard have been spotted on their property.” In an attempt to intimidate us the letter also stated “you may be liable for the tort of trespass, which can includes both compensatory and punitive damages under Georgia law. Please govern yourself accordingly.” The letter also insisted that the honeybees were illegal livestock by Jackson County code which is also untrue.

The truth is that Jackson County coding and zoning as well as the state of Georgia defines livestock as “cattle, swine, equines, sheep, and goats of all kinds and species.” Therefore, his claim to the HOA board and the libel and slander that had been being spread that we were keeping illegal livestock on our property was false. Also, the county code that we were being sited for and the table that was referenced, has a list of accessory uses and primary uses for property. No where under accessory uses are bees addressed. However, under the list of primary uses in the section for agricultural uses there is a single line for “animal production: other (e.g. bees, rabbits)” and that it is prohibited in all residential areas. By this standard, anyone having a pet rabbit is in violation of county code. It is notated in the table to see section 3-021. So I did, Section 3-021 boarding and breeding of animals, has no mention whatsoever of honeybees only a minimum area required of one and one half acre for “horses, livestock, dairy, poultry, pigs, goats, or sheep” and for “breeding of domestic animals (i.e. dogs and cats, etc) shall be setback a minimum of 100 feet from and any property line.” No mention whatsoever of honeybees.

Before ever getting the honeybees on our property we had read through as much information as possible including the code and saw that there was no ordinance prohibiting backyard beekeeping so in essence there was no restriction on it. We were not producing or selling queens or nucs only keeping a conservative backyard beehive for personal enjoyment and to help with pollination in our garden. Jackson County has always been very rooted in agriculture and in the comprehensive plan for the county placed great importance on preserving this area of the county’s heritage, so we had no reason to believe there would be an issue. Due to a neighbor’s actions of retaliation for not getting their way though our honeybees are now at risk. We have been very lucky and blessed to have the support of the vast majority of our neighbors and we are so grateful for all of the support we have received form not only them but the community as well. One major thing that I have learned from all of this is that Jackson County needs protection for our backyard beekeepers. No one should have to go through all of this. For now, we are preparing for our appeal and waiting to see what the next step is. Thank you so much for your interest and support.

Sincerely,

Brittani Spivey