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With nearly a full house, the Houghton council meeting addressed proposed ordinances 2023-330 and 2023-331. Proposed ordinance 2023-330 aimed to amend Chapter 10 of the Houghton city code regarding animals.
The Copper Country Beekeeping Club (CCBC) and students from Michigan Tech addressed the council in regards to accepting the alterations proposed by the beekeeping club that would place restrictions on but not completely ban beekeeping in the city limits.
There was a speaker also regarding the limitations on poultry, and a letter addressed to the council on the limitation of the number of rabbits in a single household.
Eric Waara explained why the ordinance was up for vote to be amended.
“The reason there’s so many changes in here, we have commentary from the general public, Keweenaw Wild Ones… several other parties corresponding with the city. And taking all of that input and doing what we call aggregating it into those changes that are proposed in here” – Houghton City Manager, Eric Waara
Councilor Needham raised concerns regarding unintended consequences.
“One of the things we did consider, and I considered, was many of the animals or insects that are listed [as nuisances], we think about unintended consequences. We have a growing number of instances of people having complaints about animals coming into the city- deer getting more comfortable, foxes getting more comfortable, coyotes, raccoons, so on and so forth. So one of the things we wanted to think about was about the allowed or disallowed things that may increase the chance of wild nuisances coming into town- being attracted to something new, like ‘hmm there’s a honeybee hive’ or ‘I could eat some chickens’. This wasn’t based on past experience, it was based on wanting to consider possibilities and head them off before they become a problem. It [could] become a have and have-not… every single lot that would be big enough in that case people would consider that ‘well that’s in the nice neighborhood, why are they the only ones that get bees and I can’t when I’m on a smaller lot?’. All those things, unintended consequences, came up in our thinking.” – Houghton City Councilor Mike Needham
Needham also brought up the safety of the public, including those severely allergic to bee stings. The CCBC suggested that hives be kept at least 25 feet from a public sidewalk, and at least 20 feet from property lines. There would also be enclosures to help ensure the safety of the public.
The original changes to the ordinance that would ban beekeeping in the city limits did not pass in a 3-3 vote, with Councilor Suits not present. Councilors Needham, Megowen, and Backon voted for the original changes.
Councilor Waddell moved to propose to amend the ordinance to accept the suggestions from the CCBC, to raise the numbers of chickens (poultry) on a lot to 4, and raise the number of rabbits in a household to 6.
The amendment proposed by Waddell will be open to a public hearing.
In other action, Ordinance 331 aimed to amend Chapter 34 of the Houghton city code regarding shipping containers as accessory buildings in residential areas, the maintenance of lawns, and defining pollinator gardens. It was passed unanimously without discussion.
The bids for work on demolishing the parking deck in downtown houghton was pushed off a week, mainly due to companies being on spring break. Bids will begin next Tuesday.
It was mentioned in some media that the parking deck demolition has already started. In actuality, the sign to the parking deck on the ramp between Joey’s Seafood & Grill and The Print Shop on Shelden Ave was hit by a truck. As of now, no injuries are reported. The sign had to be taken down to avoid injuries to the public.
The meeting also included a Memorandum of Understanding that was approved by the Board of Education to implement a School Resource Officer in Houghton Portage Township Schools. Officer Mills is willing and ready to being the position starting at the beginning of next school year.
