Humboldt County Beekeeping Regulations

Beekeeping is not named anywhere in the county code. It appears to fall inside the General Agriculture use type, which is why a keyword search finds nothing, so where you may keep bees depends on where that use class is allowed.

Hive limit: No hive count, setback or permit naming bees was found. Any limit would come from the standards attached to the General Agriculture use type.

Note: Humboldt County does not use the word bee anywhere in its code, and that is the most important thing to understand about this card. A search of the whole code for beekeeping, apiary, hive, colony and swarm returns a single result, and that result is a section about how to read the code rather than anything about bees. It would be easy to conclude from that there are no rules here. There probably are. Beekeeping in this county appears to sit inside the General Agriculture use type, a defined category that regulates the activity without ever naming it, which is exactly why searching cannot find it. So your question is not what the code says about bees, it is where the General Agriculture use type is allowed and on what terms, and that is a question for the county planning department. We have not read that use type ourselves and are not going to guess at its contents. One structural point that will decide which rules apply to you. Humboldt runs two separate zoning regimes with two separate sets of definitions, one for the coastal zone and one for everywhere else, adopted at different times, and the county has said in its own code that the differences between them are deliberate. Find out which side of that line your parcel falls on before you ask anything else, because the answers can differ. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

• Beekeeping is not named in the code and appears to be regulated through the General Agriculture use type in the inland Glossary of Use Types. We have not read that use type or the zoning tables that apply it, so this is a pointer rather than a finding. 313-170.3
• The coastal zone has its own separate and less comprehensive set of definitions at Chapter 3 Section C, adopted at a different time, and the Board has stated that the differences from the non-coastal definitions are intended to remain. 135.3, 135.4
• The code defines its own modal verbs: shall is always mandatory, may is permissive, and should is advisory rather than mandatory but indicates a policy preference of the county. 135.1.3

Beekeeping is permitted by right in every residential and agricultural zone. Four hives on a lot of 10,000 sq ft or less and no limit above that, no hive within 5 ft of a property line, and 20 ft from a neighbour's doors and windows.

Hive limit: Four hives on a lot of 10,000 sq ft or less. No limit at all on lots larger than that.

Note: Read in full in 2026 and rewritten. The card cited § 9.22.060, which only lists apiaries among permitted agricultural operations. The standards are two tables in § 9.42.050. Arcata is unusually permissive: beekeeping is allowed by right in every residential and agricultural zone, and the four-hive cap applies ONLY to lots of 10,000 sq ft or less — above that the code sets no limit at all, which is rare. The distances repay attention. Five feet from a property line is an absolute floor, and between 5 and 20 feet you must build a six-foot solid barrier running parallel to all property lines and extending 25 feet past the hive in both directions, so the cheap option is usually to sit more than 20 feet back. The 20 ft dwelling setback is measured to a neighbour's doors and windows rather than to their wall or the lot line.

• Beekeeping is marked "P" — permitted with no city approval required for the activity itself, provided the standards below are met. It is the same in the agricultural, residential and commercial districts alike. 9.42.050(B), Table 4-1
• Beekeeping requires a Minor Use Permit under § 9.72.080, and that review may cap the number of hives allowed on the site. 9.42.050(B), Table 4-1
• Four hives are allowed per lot of 10,000 square feet or less. There is no hive limit on a lot larger than 10,000 square feet. Hives must be at least 20 ft from dwellings. In the AR zone the table also shows a minimum lot area of 2-1/2 acres, which appears to restate that zone's own parcel minimum; confirm it with the city if you are in AR. 9.42.050(C), Table 4-2
• No hive may be located within five feet of any property line. Any hive within 20 feet of a property line needs a solid barrier six feet high, parallel to all property lines, extending at least 25 feet beyond the hive in both directions. A hive more than 20 feet from a property line needs no barrier from that line. 9.42.050, Table 4-2 n.4
• The setback from dwellings is measured from any door or window of a neighbouring residential structure, not from the building line or the lot boundary. 9.42.050, Table 4-2 n.3
• Only the setback requirements apply. Animal keeping is otherwise unregulated by this section in these zones. 9.42.050(C)
• Enclosures and feed areas must be kept free of litter, garbage and accumulated manure so as not to breed flies or odours, manure may not build up in setback areas, animals must be contained on site, and the city's stormwater best management practices and erosion controls apply. 9.42.050(D)

No local beekeeping rule found in the municipal code. State registration with the county agricultural commissioner still applies.

Note: Searched against the live code in 2026 on bee, bee* as a wildcard, apiary, apiaries and hive, with no result. The wildcard matters: it reaches beehive and beekeeping, the compound spellings that a plain search for "bees" misses. One caveat remains, and it is the reason this is a search rather than a ruling: a zoning code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a district table. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

A beekeeping permit is required before any apiary is established, neighbours are notified and may appeal. Four hives on a small lot rising to eight, kept in rear yards, in movable-frame hives.

Hive limit: Four hives on a lot under 10,000 sq ft, plus one more per additional 2,500 sq ft above that, to a maximum of eight.

Note: Read in full in 2026 and rewritten. This card previously said there were no municipal codes for apiaries in Eureka. The city has an entire Chapter 102 devoted to beekeeping, adopted in 2012, including a permit scheme with neighbour notice and a right of appeal to the City Council. Plan for that timeline: a neighbour has 30 days to object, and an objection sends the permit to a Council hearing. Note the two 25 ft figures mean different things, one measured to the sidewalk, street or alley for a side-yard hive, the other to the neighbour's property line where there is no six-foot screening fence. Beekeeping is also expressly permitted in the one-family residential districts and the agricultural districts.

• A beekeeping permit is required before an apiary is established. Plans showing compliance with the § 102.004 standards go to the Animal Control Officer with a $25 fee, and each permit runs for five years. 102.005(A)
• The Animal Control Officer notifies every household on property abutting the proposed apiary. The permit is approved unless a neighbour appeals within 30 days. An appeal goes to a City Council hearing within 30 days, and the Council may approve, approve with conditions, or deny it. 102.005(B), (C)
• A maximum of four beehives per lot on a parcel under 10,000 square feet. On a larger parcel one more hive is allowed for each additional 2,500 square feet, up to eight per parcel. 102.004(C), (D)
• Hives are restricted to rear yards, or to side yards where they are at least 25 feet from the sidewalk, street or alley, or separated from the front yard by a fence at least six feet high. In either side-yard case they must not be visible from the sidewalk, street or alley. 102.004(E)
• To lift the flight path, the hive entrance must sit behind a solid six-foot fence or hedge running parallel to the neighbouring property line, or the hive must be at least 25 feet from that property line. 102.004(F)
• Colonies may only be kept in movable-frame hives. The keeper must follow good management practices to reasonably prevent excessive swarming and overly defensive behaviour, and must provide adequate water so bees do not seek out neighbouring bird baths, ponds or pools. 102.004(A), (B), (G)
• Keeping bees is a permitted use in the one-family residential districts, in accordance with Chapter 91. 156.069
• Apiaries are a listed permitted use in the Coastal Agricultural district and in the A zoning district. 156.068, 155.220.010

Ferndale sets no bee-specific rules. Apiaries are part of the defined use "Agriculture, General", which is a principal permitted use in the Floodway, Flood Plain and Recreation Combining zones.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no bee setback anywhere in the ordinance. Placement turns entirely on your zone.

Note: Read in 2026 and corrected. This card's only link pointed at Ferndale, WASHINGTON — a different state's code on a California city. It went unnoticed because both cities use the same model definition of "Agriculture, General", so the published claim happened to be true here as well. It has been verified against Ferndale California's own Zoning Ordinance 02-02, which the city publishes as PDFs on its own site rather than through any code publisher. There are no bee-specific rules: no hive count, no setback, no permit written for bees. What matters is your zone. General agriculture is permitted outright in the Floodway, Flood Plain and Recreation Combining zones, but the Agricultural Combining zone lists specific farming activities without naming apiaries, so bees there likely need a Use Permit under § 6.02.2(c). Ask the Planning Commission before assuming.

• Agriculture, General is defined as farming, dairying, pasturage, timber production, tree farming, horticulture, floriculture, viniculture, apiaries and animal and poultry husbandry, excluding stock yards, slaughter houses, hog, pig, turkey and frog farms, fertilizer works and plants for the reduction of animal matter. 3.05
• General agriculture is a principal permitted use, but not including buildings or structures. 5.10.1(a)
• General agriculture, nurseries and greenhouses are principal permitted uses. 5.11.1(a)
• General agriculture and roadside stands are principal permitted uses. 6.04.1(b)
• The permitted use list here names crop and tree farming, nurseries, large livestock and small livestock ranching, and does NOT name general agriculture or apiaries. Raising animals other than those listed requires a Use Permit, which is the provision bees would most likely fall under in this zone. 6.02.1, 6.02.2(c)

Note: Partly re-read in 2026 and deliberately still marked unverified. The definition is confirmed: § 17.08.310 counts bees as livestock. What has not been found is the rule that definition serves. It sits in the zoning title's definitions chapter, so the operative provision is wherever Title 17 regulates livestock, and that has not been read, so no hive count or setback can be stated here yet. One qualifier is worth planning around in the meantime: livestock means animals raised, kept or used FOR PROFIT. A few backyard hives kept for your own honey are arguably not livestock at all under this wording, which would put them outside that regime entirely. Ask the city which way they read it before relying on either answer.

• Livestock includes all animals, poultry, bees, and aquatic and amphibian species that are RAISED, KEPT, OR USED FOR PROFIT. It does not include species usually kept as pets, such as dogs, cats and pet birds. 17.08.310

Note: Partly re-read in 2026 and deliberately still marked unverified. The published claim is confirmed: beekeeping falls under "animal husbandry". The more useful finding is what the definitions rule OUT. Rio Dell defines "animal keeping" separately, in four categories — domestic pets, exotic animals, livestock animals and poultry — and bees appear in none of them, while the code expressly says animal keeping is distinct from animal husbandry. So the city's animal-keeping limits are probably not the rules that govern a hive. Two things still open. The livestock animals category is written "including, but not limited to", so a broad reading could still reach bees. And what actually matters, which districts allow animal husbandry and on what permit, lives in the Title 17 use tables and has not been read. Ask the city which classification they apply.

• Animal husbandry means raising and breeding animals or producing animal products. Typical uses include grazing, ranching, dairy farming, poultry farming and beekeeping, but exclude slaughterhouses and feed lots. The classification covers accessory agricultural buildings. 17.10.010
• Agriculture means the use of land for agricultural purposes including farming, dairying, pasturage, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, apiaries and animal and poultry husbandry, but not commercial stock yards, slaughterhouses, hog farms or fertilizer works. 17.10.010
• Animal keeping is defined separately and is expressly distinct from animal husbandry. Its four categories are domestic pets, exotic animals, livestock animals, and poultry, and bees are named in none of them. 17.10.010

No local beekeeping rule found in the municipal code. State registration with the county agricultural commissioner still applies.

Note: Searched against the live code in 2026 and no beekeeping provision was found, which agrees with the 2020 review. The card no longer treats this as unknown. One caveat a reader should keep, and it is the reason this is a search rather than a ruling: a code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Neighbouring Rio Dell and Fortuna both do exactly that. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.