People across the country, including those living in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other municipalities in central PA, are able to keep honey bees and hens in their backyards with less restrictions than we have in Lower Paxton Township, PA. It's time for Lower Paxton Township to adjust zoning ordinances to remove nonsensical restrictions on the keeping of hens and bees. A group of concerned citizens has already written letters to the Lower Paxton Township Board of Supervisors and presented these recommendations at Board meetings. We were told we now need to create a petition to show community support for the changes. Currently, you need one acre per chicken in order to have hens. Current ordinances state that a distance of 100-feet between a beehive and lot line, or 50-feet if a six-foot fence is on the adjoining lot line, is required to have honeybees. 

Our interest in these changes is driven by conversations we've had with friends and neighbors in Lower Paxton Township, as well as our own desire to have a backyard beehive and have 2-4 hens as pets for enjoyment and easy access to eggs—which is particularly important right now considering COVID-19’s impact on the food supply chain. Other reasons that we want to see these changes include the many benefits of bees and chickens:

• Suburban and semi-urban agriculture is an important part of creating a sustainable, connected and equitable community. The last year of this crisis and the food shortages we experienced have made it clear that not allowing Lower Paxton Township residents a level of self-sufficiency through freshly laid eggs is a missed opportunity. 
• Bees and hens play important roles in creating a biodiverse ecosystem in the suburbs. Bees are vital for pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Hen droppings add important nitrogen to soil and compost, and also eat unwanted bugs such as ticks.
• Those of us who are lucky enough to have even small backyards have an important role to play in supporting the environment. As you’ve likely read, bees are disappearing for a number of reasons: one being the lack of native plants and nectar-producing vegetation. So much of Lower Paxton Township along Jonestown Road is made of parking lots and big-box stores. Backyard beekeepers with adequate vegetation for pollinators have the unique ability to make a large impact on the biodiversity of our community, while experiencing the joys of beekeeping and delicious honey.

The specific details of the existing ordinances (in bold) and recommended adjustments (in Italics) are below. You can also find the existing ordinances here on the Lower Paxton Township website.

• 403.D.2 Bees, Keeping of.
  • a. The applicant shall maintain the bees in a manner that does not create a public nuisance.
  • b. Bee colonies shall be maintained within hives.
  • c. Hives shall be located a minimum of 100 feet from any lot line, except this setback shall be reduced to 50 feet if a 6 feet minimum height fence or solid hedge is located along the adjoining lot line for a distance of at least 100 feet from the hives.

- Considering that many of the lots in our Township are rather small, we recommend the language requiring a specific distance between the hive and lot lines be removed as is common in many other suburban and urban areas. 

- Instead of a 6-foot minimum height fence along the adjoining lot line, we urge the Board of Supervisors to consider a 6-foot fence surrounding the hive itself (known as a “bee closet” in Europe and popular in urban areas), or no fence at all as is common in other suburban and urban areas.

• 403.D.12 Pigeons, chickens , roosters, ducks, geese and/or similar fowl shall not be kept on a lot of less than one acre . However, if the total weight of such fowl exceeds 500 pounds, then the requirements shall be met for "Raising of Livestock or Poultry."

- A more common approach to backyard chickens is to allow hens on properties of any size, but to not permit roosters. It is a common misconception that you need a rooster for your hen to lay eggs. This is not accurate. Hens alone will lay edible eggs. 

- Instead of the above acreage regulation, we believe the ordinances should be changed so that the hens cannot leave the confines of the property owner’s yard. This would include a perimeter fence or a fully enclosed coop.

- We understand that the hens cannot be a nuisance. Chickens are much quieter than dogs and other animals. 

We thank you for your interest and support in removing restrictions on the keeping of backyard hens and bees so more Lower Paxton Township residents can be more self-sufficient and enjoys the experience of these hobbies.