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The man said his hope is to have a respectful relationship with his neighbour, but under circumstances that are enjoyable for them both. He moved in about six years ago and said the problem has become worse over time, as the number of hives continually increased over a three-year period.

“I would have no problem if he had one or two hives over there. In fact, I’d even promote him to go out and find other homes that want to take hives, but there has to be some kind of rule around the density within an urban community,” he said.

Bee hives are shown in an Evergreen back yard on Thursday, May 9, 2019.

Sanaa Apunada, the wife of beekeeper Younis Apunada, said they are doing everything within their rights.

Under current provincial legislation, there is no limit to the number of bees or hives one person can own.

Sanaa said her husband has had bees his entire life and “can’t live without” them. She said they have housed the bees in their backyard because of the cold but will be moving them to their farm in Airdrie for the summer, like they do every year.

“We will not leave all these hives here, because first of all there are no farms here. It doesn’t help the bees themselves,” she said, adding that they, also, don’t agree there should be hives between people, which is why they will be removed from the backyard by the end of May.

Currently, the City of Calgary does not have any jurisdiction over bees or beekeeping.

The Provincial Bee Act provides guidelines on the collection, care and registration of bees. According to the regulations, a beekeeper must apply for registration with the Provincial Apiculturist each year and provide information on the number of colonies of bees and hives they wish to own, and their location.

Despite no concrete rules from the province, the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association recommends no more than two beehives on a property that is fewer than 550 square metres, and no more than four hives on a larger yard within the city.

“People are always very understanding. This is really an incident that is unheard of,” said Thomas Schweizer, president of the local beekeepers association.

Schweizer said there is an upward trend to house bees in the city.

“I don’t see an end to it,” he said.

The organization has grown from almost 20 members in 2012 to about 500 currently.