LOWER TOWNSHIP – The planning board here will hear about the birds and the bees at the year’s inaugural meeting on Jan. 19.

Discussion is slated on last year’s hot planning board topic: whether the township should amend its land use ordinances to permit chickens on nonconforming lots. The Thursday night meeting, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at the municipal complex in the Villas, will also include the issue of suburban beekeeping, with presentations by the New Jersey Beekeepers Association and the state’s Department of Agriculture.

The items are listed as “Discussion Only” on the published agenda, so it is unknown if the board plans to take action.

The twin issues were last up for discussion at a meeting on Nov. 10, in which the question of chickens was scheduled for discussion, only to see the conversation delayed by the question of whether bees are customary farm animals.

"Well, in the end they decided to separate the issue of chickens from that of bees," said resident Claire Nagel, who surrendered her six chickens at the end of September after a summer-long campaign to convince the township to change its requirements regarding lot size. "Bill Galestok brought up the issue of avian flu, which got the whole conversation on a tangent as well.”

Galestok is the director of the nine-member board.

At the center of the birds and bees controversy is Lower Township land development Ordinance Subsection 400-40, which states: "A minimum of one acre shall be required in any district for the keeping of customary farm animals."

The Nov. 10 meeting was expected to yield recommendations from the planning board to the township council about whether to amend the current ordinance or maintain the status quo. Instead, the items were listed for the January meeting.

“I provided the language I was proposing to amend the ordinance in early October,” said Nagel. “I don’t know why there couldn’t have been a meaningful discussion and a recommendation to the council.”

Nagel’s proposed ordinance is modeled on Middle Township's, which permits poultry to be raised on lots as small as 10,000 feet.

"I wrote it up to mirror Middle's, which allowed for five chickens or ducks on 10,000 square feet with no roosters in the small lots," said Nagel.

Township manager Michael Voll had publicized the Nov. 10 meeting, issuing a press release inviting the ordinance’s review.

"Township council realizes that during these tough economic times, many families are into organic gardens and some are raising chickens in their backyards," said Voll in the press release. "However, township code enforcement must deal with these issues and enforce the current ordinances on the books.”

Nagel, who owns a 10,000 square foot property on the corner of Town Bank and Shore Roads, surrendered her flock of chickens to a township resident with “two or three acres”.

"To tell the truth, it never occurred to me that anyone would have a problem,” according to Nagel, who bought her property in 1988 and has lived in it year round since 2001. She said that she went to the township's zoning office before she bought the chicks from Smeltzer's in Middle Township and was told she could have a chicken as a pet.

Nagel began raising chickens because of her interest in local and organic food.

Portland, Oregon and Cleveland, Ohio are among cities that have changed local codes to permit residents to raise poultry in urban and suburban residential areas.

In the matter of bees, the state’s apiarist, Tim Schuler of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, is scheduled to make a presentation, as is Seth Belsen, the president of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association.

According to a Department of Agriculture fact sheet, there are approximately 2,000 to 2,500 registered beekeepers statewide. The majority of registered beekeepers in the Garden State manage only one to 10 colonies, said the report. About two percent of the total is considered commercial, meaning that they maintain 20 or more colonies of bees.

“It is possible to keep honey bees in crowded suburban areas, on tiny city lots or on rooftops in large or small cities without problems,” according to the state’s agriculture information. “Choose a site that is…sheltered from winds and partially shaded…be considerate of non-beekeeping neighbors. Place bee hives so that bee flight paths do not cross sidewalks, playgrounds or other public areas.

“By understanding the circumstances under which bees will bother other people, beekeepers can take measures to alter circumstances so their bees do not create a problem,” the fact sheet stated.

The state’s best management practices for beekeepers “…to reduce potential conflict with neighboring property owners,” include: no more than three hives of honey bees per lot size of one-quarter acre or less; no hive being maintained within 15 feet of a boundary lines of the property on which the hive is located; and all hives must be located at least 25 feet from a public sidewalk, alley, street, or road.

The beekeeping presentation may also wax poetic, explaining how the mindfulness required in beekeeping can improve a community.

“As our country and our club move forward to resolve life’s numerous issues, ask yourself, ‘What would bees do?’ When a task seems too difficult, remember that through a unified effort, any task can be accomplished. Any wrong can be righted. Progress is possible,” wrote Belsen on the New Jersey Beekeepers Association website.