CHARLESTON — A hearing has been scheduled for next month to hear two motions in the South Charleston honeybee case filed earlier this year.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Tera Salango will hear a motion to dismiss brought by the City of South Charleston and a motion to intervene by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 15.
"This case is about more than two bee hives or neighbors who wanted free honey," Alex Urban, the petitioner in the case against South Charleston told The West Virginia Record. "This is about the sovereignty of the State of West Virginia and a constitutional officer — Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt — who has the sole legislative authority to safely regulate honey bees in this state under the Apiary Act."
In its recent motion, the WVDA argued that it has an interest in the matter because of the West Virginia Apiary Act.
WVDA said the honeybee case directly impacts the agency's authority to regulate the keeping of honeybees in West Virginia.
If South Charleston is allowed to use its "animal" ordinance to deny an individual the ability to keep honeybees when it would otherwise be permitted by the WVDA, then the city, WVDA argues, has usurped the authority of the agency and rendered the Apiary Act.
"Honey bees are pollinators that we are very dependent on in almost all facets of our lives, from the food on our tables to the businesses where we work to the health of our economy," Urban said. "Honey bees help drive businesses through agriculture and forestry and any other business that is dependent on them and they also provide for the beauty of our neighbors through flowers and shrubs."
Urban filed his lawsuit against the city in August. He currently resides in an area of South Charleston that is zoned for residential homes, which the city's code guarantees the right to agriculture in those areas, however, when he moved there and asked the city if he could keep honeybees, he had to file a permit.
"To allow a local government — either a city or county — to ban or regulate honey bees would be a violation of state law," Urban said.
Urban filed his petition on Oct. 20, 2022. He also explained to the property board how he would care for them and where they would live, and checked with his neighbors regarding their agreement to him keeping honeybees.
In his complaint, Urban claimed he also explained that the hives would be placed on level ground, would be strapped down to make sure they were stable and he would take all steps to make sure the bees would not bother his neighbors in their ascent and descent from their hives.
When Urban presented his petition to the board, one of the board members, Mike Frye, made the comment that if they granted Urban's petition, they would have to also grant other peoples' petitions, according to the suit. Urban's petition was denied on Jan. 2.
In his complaint, Urban is seeking a court judgment against the defendants, an order declaring his rights, an order declaring that the ordinance is void and preempted by West Virginia code and West Virginia Department of Agriculture regulations and an order issuing a permit to raise the honeybees. He is represented by Guy R. Bucci and Ashley N. Lynch.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 23-C-683