To hive or not to hive

As a property or business owner, sooner or later most of us have felt the sting of a local regulation that, from one way of looking at things, just made life more complicated.

An easement gets in the way of building a shed or a long dreamed-of pool can’t go where it’s been imagined because the location doesn’t “fit the code.”

Much of it depends on one’s perspective: Local regulations, especially within cities, are a necessary part of ensuring property owners can co-exist.

Knowing when to say when, though, is also part of setting up those regulations.

In Lowell, Planning Commission members asked the City Council for 90 days to research a possible ordinance to regulate beekeeping.

The city’s development director had proposed an all-out ban on the practice in residential neighborhoods.

Yes, it could be said the proposal was a real buzzkill for fans of the little critters, who play a critically important ecological role through pollination.

Today, residents are expected to have a conditional-use permit to keep bees in Lowell.

No one, though, has applied, although it’s clear some people are engaged in the hobby to the point of being viewed as a nuisance by neighbors.

Commission member Michael Phillips, a beekeeper with hives outside the city, waxed on about how New York City is home to 10,000 beekeepers and offered a thought.

“If they can have bees in New York City, we can figure out a way to have bees in Lowell,” he said.

It’s pretty hard to argue the point. Maybe commissioners can look at rules that work in other cities’ regulations, get some cross-pollination going and develop an ordinance that’s as sweet as … well, we just can’t seem to think of the right word.