Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Cathy Azzarello, a member of the Copper Country Beekeeping Club, addresses the Houghton City Council during its meeting Wednesday. The council voted to amend a proposed ordinance restricting certain animals in the city, including bees. The revised ordinance will be scheduled for a later public hearing.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton City Council voted to revise a proposed ordinance on animals within the city to accommodate concerns by beekeepers and other residents, sending it back for another public hearing.

The council also approved a nuisance ordinance in the city, which bars noxious weeds and other overgrowth, as well as the use of semi-trailers as accessory buildings.

As presented Wednesday, the animal ordinance would have restricted bees, cattle and other livestock in non-agricultural zones of the city. Several other kinds of animals were banned outright, including male poultry and venomous insects.

Members of the Copper Country Beekeeping Club, Michigan Technological University students and other residents called for the beekeeping restrictions to be loosened, saying it could be conducted safely within the city and had benefits for residents and the surrounding ecosystem.

“I think bringing bees and beekeepers to the city helps with a lot of education and brings awareness, helps people understand the native plants that are needed, and it’s just a really nice way to enhance our community … we do it in a safe way that’s good for everybody,” said Cathy Azzarello, a member of the Copper Country Beekeeping Club.

Mike Needham, who served on a subcommittee looking at the animal ordinance, said the members had looked to head off potential problems, such as things that might attract wild animals coming into town. He also pointed to a 2020 University of Montreal study, which found that a greater number of honeybees in an urban city led to a decrease in smaller pollinator bee species.

“I think that we, on one hand, don’t want to be the naysayer and not allow things, but I think that allowing some of these things in the city could have some unintended consequences and cause nuisance problems,” he said.

The subcommittee had considered allowing bees in some circumstances, but ultimately decided the distinctions could be perceived as arbitrary by people who don’t live on lots big enough to allow bees, Needham said.

The beekeeping club submitted a draft proposal that would require a honeybee permit, limit hives to 20 cubic feet, and keep hives at least 10 feet from any property line and 25 feet from any sidewalk or public street. It would also require 6-foot-high barriers such as a fence or thick hedge, which Azarrello said would reduce the chance of bees stinging people walking by.

Pete Cattelino, president of the club, shared correspondence from the planning and zoning technician in Marquette, which has similar permitting requirements. There had not been a single community-driven complaint since he had taken the job in 2020, he had told Cattelino.

Members of Michigan Technological University’s Sustainability Demonstration House, which has kept a hive for the past two years as a public teaching tool, backed allowing bees. So did Houghton Elementary School teacher Melissa Hronkin, who has used the observation hive in her classroom as part of her curriculum.

Joe Azzarello, a member of the Copper Country Beekeeping Club, said the study had been well-done, but said having more pollinating plants would ensure enough food supply for all bees.

A motion to pass the original ordinance failed on a 3-3 tie, with Councilor Joan Suits absent.

Councilor Craig Waddell proposed amending the ordinance to incorporate suggestions raised by the public.

Waddell’s version would use the recommendations from the Copper Country Beekeeping Club. It would also raise the number of poultry allowed from two to four, and the number of rabbits allowed from four to six.

Resident Ana Dykstra had recommended raising the two-chicken limit, which as flock birds would make weathering them through the winter “nearly impossible,” she said.

Changing the ordinance requires that it come back for another public hearing. Waddell’s motion passed 4-2. Needham, who had voted to pass the original ordinance, joined Waddell, Mayor Brian Irizarry and Councilor Virginia Cole.

Needham qualified his vote, saying he supported additional public comment.

” I don’t know that we’re all necessarily considering the real reason behind the subcommittee making these recommendations,” he said. “In fact, some of the folks on the subcommittee are voting against the thing they recommended here. But I’m going to go ahead and vote yes, so that we can bring this back to another public hearing and have some more conversation.”

By contrast, Wednesday’s public hearing on the nuisance ordinance drew no public comment. It was approved 6-0.

City Manager Waara said the nuisance ordinance had been changed from the original draft to incorporate feedback from groups such as Keweenaw Wild Ones, which is looking to encourage pollinator gardens in the area.