The buzz on bees

Amateur beekeeper Dean Dupree tends to his honeybee hives on his property in southeast Spokane.

Spokane County planning officials decided Thursday to think twice before sticking their fingers into a beehive.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to table indefinitely a proposal to introduce restrictions on beekeeping in most rural zones.

Instead, the county planning staff will study the issue in consultation with beekeepers, farmers and orchardists who turned out for a public hearing on the proposed regulations.

Planning Director John Pederson agreed more study was needed after hearing testimony that some of the proposed regulations were impractical and that Spokane and Spokane Valley allow beekeeping in residential areas. John Craig, SR

Could you? Would you? Keep bees?