The Bremerton City Council may have given a Frenchman’s wave to allowing residents to keep a limited number of hens in their backyards, but there is still ambiguity on whether DIY-spirited residents can keep another winged source of food: bees.

As reporter Christopher Carter explores in this week’s story on beekeeping (See story A1), there are no city rules regulating honey producers in Bremerton’s city neighbors to the north and south or unincorporated Kitsap County.

Bremerton, on the other hand, isn’t so certain.

In addition to producing honey, bees also help pollinate gardens, contributing to the home grown food movement in indirect but important ways.

Because of this, the City Council should clarify that Bremerton is bee-friendly and establish rules so that beekeepers can keep their hives in the city, without fear that their investments will be jeopardized.