SOLANA BEACH — In a series of moves, the Solana Beach City Council tightened regulations on single-use plastic in the food service industry while loosening restrictions on residential chicken and beekeeping.
The council had previously heard both items and approved them during their second readings at the Oct. 14 meeting.
City documents show the required setbacks for apiaries or chicken enclosures were reduced from 25 feet to 20 feet within the city. If the rear or side of the property line borders a common open space, the minimum setback would instead be 10 feet.
Before the ordinance, apiaries were prohibited in all zones, but the new ordinance allows them in ER-1, ER-2, LR and LMR zones, according to the documents.
Chickens had been allowed in ER-1, ER-2 and LR zones, and the ordinance would permit their enclosures in LMR, MR and MHR zones moving forward, according to the documents.
Planning Director Noah Alvey said special permits would not be necessary to keep chickens, and they would be treated similarly to a household pet such as a dog. According to Alvey, enforcement would be complaint-based.
“For any typical complaints, we would receive that complaint and a code enforcement officer would go out and investigate whether or not there were any issues,” Alvey said. “If there were violations of the municipal code, we would ask the property owner or resident to take action to remedy those.”
The council voted 3-1 to pass that ordinance, with Mayor Lesa Heebner absent from the meeting.
Deputy Mayor Jill MacDonald cast the dissenting vote, expressing concerns about neighbor disputes. She added that having chickens in a neighborhood might attract more coyotes and mountain lions, which she had experienced in her yard this year.
“I don’t want my neighbors to have bees 20 feet from my property line … or chickens 20 feet from my property line, I like to sleep in the mornings,” MacDonald said. “My guess is this is going to cause neighborhood disputes because I realize there are only a limited number of people who ever read the city council agendas – who have any idea that we are going to adopt this tonight – and I hate to see people not get along with their neighbors because of something the city has allowed and encouraged people to do.”
The single-use plastic ordinance passed unanimously after a longer discussion occurred during the first reading of the ordinance last month.
Under the ordinance, food service wares would have to be reusable or compostable, according to city documents.
The ordinance would also ban plastic utensils and other materials, as well as Styrofoam products.
The new regulations are scheduled to take effect on Nov. 14, and staff recommends a six-month grace period for affected businesses.
