The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Hawai‘i County Council on Sept. 4, 2024.
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Sept. 4, 2024, 11 a.m.
Hawai‘i County Building
To: Hawai‘i County Council
Heather Kimball, Chair
Holeka Goro Inaba, Vice-Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jonathan Helton, Policy Researcher
RE: Bill 144 — RELATING TO ZONING RESTRICTIONS FOR APIARIES AND BEEKEEPING
Aloha Chair Kimball, Vice-Chair Inaba and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 144, Draft 2, which would amend the county’s zoning regulations on beekeeping and apiaries.
In particular, the measure would amend the definitions of “livestock,” “livestock production” and “animal” to promote beekeeping; describe generally accepted management practices for beekeeping; reduce setbacks for apiaries; and make them a permitted use in all zoning districts
Taken together, these changes would represent a major positive change in how the County regulates beekeeping, which is at least a $20 million industry in Hawaii County alone.[1]
Apiaries — defined in the bill as sites where one or more colonies of bees are kept — currently are regulated under the same county rules as piggeries and pen feeding of livestock.
These rules mean anyone wanting to have a beehive must get approval from the state Department of Health and the County planning director and follow strict County setback laws, including having all hives 1,000 feet or more from any roads — a requirement that ices the ability of many prospective beekeepers to manage hives.[2]
Bill 144 says its intention is to make clear that apiaries in Hawai‘i County are covered by the state’s Right to Farm Act, which generally protects farmers from complaints against their farms relating to nuisances such as noise or smell if their farms are “conducted in a manner consistent with generally accepted agricultural and management practices.”[3]
Under the bill, beekeepers would no longer have to follow the 1,000-foot limit and could instead follow less strict setbacks of 25 feet from any property line or 15 feet for apiaries behind a flyover barrier.
This bill is a prime example of how relaxing overly broad regulations could assist Hawaii’s entrepreneurs. Hawaii Island beekeepers already supply 30% to 35% of all queen bees on the mainland and 75% in Canada.[4] With many U.S. honeybee colonies in a precarious position,[5] Hawaii’s beekeepers could play a major role in helping feed the United States and the world.
The measure also represents a major opportunity for the Council to boost a growing industry that could truly help diversify the island’s economy. The increased biodiversity that more bees would bring could improve pollination to support Hawaii’s local flora and fauna as well.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] June 20, 2024 meeting of the Leeward Planning Commission. See the 5:29:20 mark.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 165, 165-4 Right to farm, accessed Aug. 4, 2024.
[4] See footnote 1.
]5] Seth Borenstein, “Nearly half of US honeybee colonies died last year. Struggling beekeepers stabilize population,” Associated Press, June 22, 2023.
