On April 16, the Medford City Council voted to approve the amendments to the Land Development Code that would provide for beekeeping within the city limits, although the 4 to 3 vote in favor necessitated a second reading of the amendments before approval.

There were several SOBA members in attendance at the City Council hearing, and many of them testified. All testimony at the hearing was in favor of allowing beekeeping in Medford. Everyone did a fabulous job presenting positive arguments in a courteous and well-informed manner.

The Medford Planning Department, especially Carla Paladino, did another excellent presentation on the amendments and had clearly done a great job of crafting the amendments. They worked with Jesse Botens and other community members and were able to field the questions and concerns of the City Council members. Several councilors were concerned with some last minute confusion about hive density restrictions, but that issue seemed to have been addressed by the second reading.

The Medford City Council, and most especially Mayor Gary Wheeler who spoke out strongly in favor of the change, should be applauded for their forward thinking attitude on this matter, and their kind treatment of all who testified.

Many thanks to Jesse Botens  for his very hard work, to the SOBA members and other beekeepers who attended the hearing and testified,  and to The Bee Girl organization, along with many thoughtful bee loving community members and beekeepers that made this happen.