by Mark McDermott After a year contending with COVID-19 surges, the City Council last week was faced with reports of a potentially nettlesome but altogether different kind of surge. Of beekeeping. At the behest of Council, city staff launched an investigation into animal-related nuisances and specifically examined existing regulations governing bees, pigs, and chickens in residential areas. At the April 20 council meeting, staff reported that there had been a “beekeeping activity surge,” as evidenced by four animal-related nuisance complaints received since 2018 — three relating to bees, and one regarding roosters. City planning manager Talyn Mirzakhanian told the council that urban beekeeping generally is on the rise due to the planet-wide disappearance of bees.