Los Angeles County Beekeeping Regulations

Site Permit Review required for Agricultural (1,2), and Resort and Recreation Zones

• Persons designated in Section 10.76.020 shall affix the required sign on the longer side of the hive or longer side of the super, prominently located on the entrance side of the apiary, and shall at all times maintain such sign thereon. 10.76.030
• Within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice specified in Section 325.3.1, every person owning, leasing, controlling, or operating the building, structure, or apiary involved, and every person owning, leasing, or controlling any land adjacent to such building, structure, or apiary shall at all times maintain around and adjacent to such building, structure, or apiary an effective fire protection or firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance not less than so determined, on each side thereof, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth, except as otherwise provided in Section 325.2. 325.3.2
• Property in the Open Space and Open Space—Parks zone categories may be used for the following accessory use and structure. — Accessory uses and structures customarily used in conjunction therewith. — Apiaries, limited to hives only; — Community gardens; — Emergency preparedness and response facilities approved by the Fire Department. — Water wells, permanent. 22.44.1770
• Apiary—$227.00/year includes inspection (50 hives maximum per location). 12. 17.05

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full American Legal code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

Beekeeping is prohibited. The code bars keeping bees on any premises in the city, in a section titled "Bees Prohibited", with no exception stated.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright.

Note: Read against the current Arcadia Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. The prohibition is unconditional on its face — no permit route, no zone exception, no lot-size threshold. Confirm at the source before acting.

• No person shall keep any bees in or upon any premises. Arcadia Municipal Code 4137.4 Bees Prohibited

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 with no result, over a record that carried no claim to begin with, so the card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats worth carrying, each one earned by a real miss elsewhere in California this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Los Angeles County itself has an apiary chapter, so check the county card as well as this one. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 read of this jurisdiction’s American Legal code found no beekeeping provision under any of the terms bees, beekeeping or apiary, each searched separately. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner (BeeWhere) regardless of local rules, so no local ordinance never means no obligations.

Keeping bees in Bell is prohibited. Maintaining an apiary or keeping bees anywhere in the city is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $1,000 for every day the bees are kept.

Note: Read in full in 2026. This card was blank, and Bell in fact prohibits beekeeping outright: § 8.50.030(A) says no person shall maintain an apiary nor keep or permit the keeping of bees within the city. It is a misdemeanor, and the fine runs up to $1,000 for EACH DAY the bees are kept, so exposure accumulates rather than being a single penalty. The chapter it sits in is about vector control and feral swarms, but this provision is not limited to wild bees — it reaches kept colonies in plain terms. The ordinance dates from 2000. If you are in Bell and want to keep bees, the only route is asking the city whether it will amend or permit, not siting a hive carefully.

• No person shall maintain an apiary, nor keep or permit the keeping of bees, within the city. 8.50.030(A)
• Anyone who maintains an apiary or keeps or permits the keeping of bees on any premises in the city is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for each day the bees are kept in violation. 8.50.030(B)
• Any building, structure or premises found or reported to be infested with feral bees is declared a public nuisance, to be abated either by the owner or by the vector control district at the owner's expense. In an emergency the city or district may abate immediately. 8.50.040

Two hives on a lot with one single-family dwelling, at least 5 ft from every property line, entrances turned away from neighbours and screened behind a six-foot barrier, requeened every two years.

Hive limit: Two hives per lot, and only on a lot with a single-family dwelling.

Note: Read in full in 2026, over a card that was completely blank. Bellflower has a full beekeeping standard. The gate is the part most likely to catch someone out: beekeeping is allowed only on a lot developed with ONE SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING, with or without an ADU, so a duplex, an apartment lot or a vacant parcel does not qualify however well set back. Beyond that it is two hives, five feet from every property line, entrances turned away from neighbours, and a six-foot screen of shrubs or solid fence so the bees gain height before leaving. Requeening is required at least every two years, which is tighter than several nearby cities. Note that swarming is itself listed as a nuisance, alongside abandonment, so an unmanaged hive is a violation even if no one complains.

• Beekeeping is allowed only on a lot developed with one single-family dwelling, with or without an accessory dwelling unit. Honey bees of the Apis mellifera species only. 17.16.020(E)(5)(a)
• No more than two hives on a lot. Hives must use moveable frames and combs, be kept in sound and usable condition at all times, and sit at least five feet from all property lines. 17.16.020(E)(5)(b)-(e)
• Hive entrances must face away from neighbouring properties, and hives must be screened by shrubs or solid fencing of wood, vinyl or block at least six feet high so the bees fly over it before leaving the property. 17.16.020(E)(5)(f), (g)
• Hives must be managed to keep enough living space to prevent swarming, the queen must be replaced with a younger and more productive queen at least once every two years, water must be available on the property at all times, and hive materials and equipment must be stored sealed or inside a building. 17.16.020(E)(5)(h)-(k)
• Bees and hives are a public nuisance if a colony shows defensive or objectionable behaviour or interferes with normal use of neighbouring property, if a colony SWARMS, if the bees or hive do not conform to the code, or if a hive is abandoned by the bees or by the owner. 17.16.020(E)(5)(l)
• Honey bee keeping, Apis mellifera only, is a listed use in the Agricultural Estate zone on the same § 17.16.020(E)(5) standards. A-E zone use list

Keeping a hive of bees is prohibited, except for study or medical research where the bees cannot fly at large.

Hive limit: Not confirmed — see the code

Note: The exception is narrow: an educational institution or a physician’s office or laboratory, and only where the bees cannot fly at large. A violation is an infraction. The same model wording appears in Beverly Hills and San Gabriel.

• No person shall keep or maintain upon premises owned or controlled by him or it in the city, a hive of bees. This section shall not apply to the keeping of bees within an educational institution for study or observation or within a physician’s office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. A violation of this section is an infraction. 15.05.010

Keeping bees in Beverly Hills is prohibited. The only exception is an observation or research hive inside a school, physician's office or laboratory, where the bees cannot fly at large.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Beverly Hills prohibits beekeeping outright: it is unlawful to have, keep or maintain any hive or swarm of bees in the city. The provision dates from the 1962 code but was amended as recently as 2009, so it is current rather than a forgotten relic. The single exception is narrow and is not a route to keeping bees at home: an observation or research hive inside a school, a physician's office or a laboratory, and only where the bees cannot fly at large. Avenal carries this same exception wording attached to a very different rule, so it appears to be model language rather than anything local.

• It is unlawful for any person to have, keep or maintain any hive or swarm of bees within the city. 5-2-109
• The prohibition does not apply to bees kept within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided the bees are not permitted to fly at large. 5-2-109

Bees are allowed only on an occupied parcel of at least two acres, up to four hives, kept 75 ft from any pool, patio or dwelling, inspected weekly by the owner and registered with the State. Commercial beekeeping is prohibited.

Hive limit: Four hives, and only on an occupied parcel of at least two acres.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Bradbury is the most prescriptive code found in California so far. The gate is a two-acre occupied parcel, the strictest lot minimum in this dataset, and above that you may keep four hives, 75 ft from any pool, patio or dwelling. Two duties appear nowhere else: each hive must be inspected by its owner AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, and every hive must be registered with the State. Commercial beekeeping is prohibited outright; the allowance is for the resident's own use. On the hive dimensions, the code gives 20 by 16 by 10 inches and in the same breath allows two brood chambers and three supers, which cannot both describe one stack. Read as a per-box limit it matches a standard Langstroth deep almost exactly, and that is the sensible reading, but ask the city if you are building to it.

• Bees may only be kept and maintained on occupied parcels of at least two acres in size. 6.10.060(1)
• A maximum of four hives per parcel. Each hive may not exceed exterior dimensions of 20 by 16 by 10 inches — which describes a single box, close to a standard Langstroth deep — and may consist of no more than two brood chambers and no more than three supers. 6.10.060(2)
• Hives must be located at least 75 feet from any pool, patio or dwelling unit. 6.10.060(3)
• Bees may be kept only for the use of the resident of the parcel. Commercial beekeeping is prohibited. 6.10.060(4)
• Each hive must be inspected by its owner not less than once a week, and all hives in the city must be registered with the State. 6.10.060(5), (6)
• The development code separately lists aviaries and apiaries among permitted animal raising and keeping uses, provided no peacocks or guinea hens are kept on the premises. 9.124.020

No hive may be kept within 200 ft of any residence, school, church, store, hotel or other place of habitation. There is no hive limit, but in a city this dense the radius rules out most sites.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The 200 ft radius is the whole of the rule.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Burbank sets no limit on hive numbers; the whole rule is a distance, and it is a severe one. No hive may sit within 200 ft of any residence, school, church, store, hotel or "any other place of habitation", and that catch-all is what bites — in a city this dense there are very few parcels where a hive can satisfy it. Note the text says "any residence" without excepting your own. The one exception is an observation or research hive inside a school, physician's office or laboratory where the bees cannot fly at large. This is not a prohibition on paper, but for most Burbank lots the practical answer is the same, so confirm with the city before investing in equipment. Avenal in Kings County carries this provision word for word under a different section number.

• No person shall keep any hive of bees within 200 feet of any residence, hospital, sanitarium, public eating place, school, church, office building, store, hotel, apartment house, rooming house, or any other place of habitation. 5-1-305
• The section does not apply to bees kept within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 5-1-305

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

No beekeeping rule in the current municipal code. A new zoning code drafted in 2024 would classify beekeeping as animal husbandry, but its adoption has not been confirmed.

Note: Searched against the live code in 2026 and no beekeeping provision was found, so as things stand Carson has no bee-specific rule. One thing to watch, which is why this card says more than "no rules". Carson prepared a complete new zoning code, published in March 2024 as a Phase 1 public review draft approved for second reading, and that document defines "animal husbandry" to include beekeeping. A definition like that is how several California cities regulate bees without ever naming a hive limit: what matters is which districts allow animal husbandry. That draft is NOT law as far as this record can establish, and the fact that the term does not appear in the published code suggests it has not been codified. But it was two years ago and may since have been adopted, so if you are planning an apiary in Carson, ask the city whether the new zoning code is in force before relying on the absence of a rule. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

Apiaries are allowed only in the Open Space district and only under a special use and development permit, at least 300 ft from any public street and 500 ft from any dwelling or place of business.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The gate is the Open Space district plus a special use permit, and the distances do the rest.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Claremont does not prohibit beekeeping, but the practical answer is close to it. Apiaries are allowed ONLY in the Open Space district, and only under a special use and development permit, so no residential lot qualifies at all. On top of that the permit conditions require 300 ft from any public street and 500 ft from any dwelling or place of business, which is the largest dwelling setback found anywhere in this dataset. The 500 ft can be reduced with the written permission of the owner and occupants of the building concerned. Registration with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner is a condition of the permit, and a sign naming the keeper with address and phone must be posted. Note the chapter also obliges property owners to clear feral swarms and apply pesticides as often as necessary, and the city may dictate which pesticide and how often.

• Placing, keeping or maintaining an apiary or hive anywhere in the city is permitted only in the Open Space district, and only with prior approval of a special use and development permit under Chapter 16.306. 6.24.030
• The applicant must be registered as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner, and if not the landowner must give the city written evidence of the owner's permission. 6.24.040(A), (B)
• An apiary or hive must be at least 300 feet from all public streets and at least 500 feet from any structure used as a dwelling or place of business. It may sit closer than 500 feet only with the written permission of the owner and occupants of that structure, evidenced to the city. 6.24.040(C), (D)
• The apiary must be kept so the bees do not cross adjacent property in numbers that endanger health or safety or unreasonably interfere with others' enjoyment of their property, and a plentiful supply of fresh water must be kept available at all times within 200 feet of the hives. 6.24.040(E), (F)
• A sign must be prominently displayed giving the name, address and phone number of the person in control of the apiary, in letters at least one inch high on a contrasting background, no more than four square feet in size and no more than four feet high. The Community Development Director may impose further conditions. 6.24.040(G), (H)
• No one may maintain or permit a wild swarm of bees or other vector infestation on any property. Owners must clean the premises and apply effective pesticides as often as needed to prevent feral bee infestation, and the city or vector district may prescribe the pesticide, its application and the cleaning schedule. 6.24.050(A)

Beekeeping is prohibited. Keeping a hive on premises you own or control is barred citywide. Two narrow exceptions exist — educational institutions and medical or scientific facilities — and neither covers hobby or backyard beekeeping.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright, apart from the educational and medical exceptions.

Note: Read against the current Commerce Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. The exceptions are worth reading closely before assuming they help: both require an institutional setting — a school or a physician's office or laboratory — AND that the bees are not permitted to fly at large, which rules out an ordinary outdoor hive. Glendale carries a near-identical carve-out, so this appears to be shared LA-area drafting rather than a local quirk.

• No person shall keep or maintain, or suffer or permit to be kept or maintained, upon premises owned or controlled by him or it in the city, a hive of bees. Commerce Municipal Code 8.04.560
• This section shall not apply to the keeping of bees within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 8.04.560 (exceptions)

Apiaries are expressly prohibited in Compton's Residential Agriculture zone, and a violation is a misdemeanor. No other zone in the zoning code mentions apiaries at all.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Compton expressly prohibits apiaries in its Residential Agriculture zone, and a violation is a misdemeanor. That is worth pausing on: R-A is the zone you would expect to be most welcoming, and it permits five sheep, five goats and worm farms while singling bees out for exclusion, so this looks deliberate rather than accidental. What this card does NOT say is that beekeeping is banned across Compton. The word "apiaries" appears exactly once in 233 pages of zoning code, in that R-A prohibition. No other zone expressly permits apiaries and no other zone expressly bans them, so outside R-A the position is simply unstated. If you are not in R-A, ask the city rather than assuming either answer.

• Apiaries are named among the agricultural uses specifically prohibited in the R-A zone, alongside hogs, dairies, slaughterhouses, fox and monkey farms, horse and mink ranches, and roadside sales stands. 30-7.2(c)(8)
• A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor. 30-7.2(d)
• For contrast, the same zone permits five sheep and five goats per family, and worm farms of up to 19 beds. Bees are excluded from a zone that allows livestock. 30-7.2(a)

No beekeeping rule in the municipal code. The one mention of bees is inside a definition of "agricultural employee" and has no bearing on keeping hives.

Note: Read in 2026, and the search does turn up the word "bees" — which is why this card explains rather than simply saying no rules. The single mention is in § 17.04.031, the definition of "agricultural employee", which quotes the federal description of farm work at 12 U.S.C. § 1141j(f) and exists to support the agricultural employee housing provisions in the next section. It tells you who counts as a farm worker, not whether you may keep a hive. There is no beekeeping standard anywhere in Covina's code: no count, no setback, no permit, no prohibition. Two caveats still apply, as everywhere: a code can regulate bees through a use class it never names them in, and duties sometimes sit in the fire code rather than the animals or zoning titles. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

Keeping an established hive is unlawful for an owner or tenant, but the prohibition does not apply to a professional beekeeper holding current registration with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner.

Hive limit: No hive count or setback is set. The question is registration, not numbers.

Note: Cudahy turns entirely on registration. Section 8.36.050 makes it unlawful for an owner or tenant to maintain an established hive, and then lifts that restriction for a "professional beekeeper", meaning anyone holding a current registration with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner. Keep the registration current and you are within the exemption; let it lapse and you are not. Two things to be aware of. The code expressly extends the prohibition to a managed European hive that has become Africanized, and it writes in no requeening route back, so it is worth agreeing a plan with the county if you are in an area where that is a risk. And a separate section headed "Apiaries prohibited" points at zoning subsections numbered under a scheme the city has since replaced, so those numbers no longer lead anywhere. We could not verify any zoning prohibition, but neither can we rule one out, so confirm with Community Development before siting hives.

• It is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to maintain an established beehive, nest or swarm. This includes a commercially managed European beehive that has become Africanized. 8.36.050(2)
• The prohibitions on maintaining beehives, nests or swarms do not restrict the activities of a professional beekeeper, if not otherwise prohibited under the county code. A professional beekeeper is a person holding a current registration as a beekeeper with the Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner. 8.36.050(3)
• All premises must be cleaned and effective pesticides applied as often as necessary to prevent infestation by feral bees or other vectors dangerous to public health and safety. The vector control district or the city may prescribe the pesticide, its manner of application and its frequency. 8.36.050(1)
• Chapter 8.36 is a vector control chapter whose stated purpose is abating feral bees and other vector infestations, and it defines "beehive (managed bees)" separately from "nest (feral bees)". Its machinery is aimed at wild swarms rather than at kept colonies. 8.36.010, 8.36.020
• A section headed "Apiaries prohibited" states only: see subsections 20-10.3c and 20-12.3c regarding the prohibition of apiaries. Those citations use the city’s former numbering and do not resolve to any provision in the code as currently published. 8.36.030

Keeping bees or an apiary requires a permit from the Animal Services Division. The code sets no hive count or setback of its own.

Hive limit: No hive limit in this section. The permit is the gate.

Note: Read in 2026 from the published code. Culver City requires a permit from the Animal Services Division before you keep bees or an apiary, and that permit is the whole of the rule as far as this section goes — it sets no hive limit, no setback and no siting requirement. The conditions attached to a permit are set under § 9.01.025, which has not been read here, so ask Animal Services what they require before applying. The one carve-out is narrow: a hive inside a school house for study or observation. Note this is a 2017 ordinance, so it is current.

• It is unlawful to keep bees, or an apiary, unless a permit has been obtained from the Animal Services Division under § 9.01.025. 9.01.040
• Nothing in the section prohibits keeping bees in a hive or box located within a school house for the purpose of study or observation. 9.01.040

Diamond Bar's apiary chapter is a signage rule. An apiary kept anywhere other than your own residence must carry a sign naming the keeper, and breaching it is a misdemeanor. No hive count or setback is set.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. The chapter is entirely about signage.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Diamond Bar has a chapter titled "Apiaries", which sounds more substantial than it is: all four sections are about a sign. No hive count, no setback, no permit, nothing about where a hive may sit. The duty is also scoped — it applies to an apiary kept on premises OTHER than your residence, so a hive in your own back garden needs no sign under this chapter. Breaching it is a misdemeanor, and the sign specification is exact: black letters at least an inch high on a contrasting background, on the long side of the hive, facing the apiary entrance. Note the city also has a vector control chapter, but unlike several neighbouring cities its version contains no apiary provision at all.

• Anyone maintaining an apiary on premises other than their residence must identify it with a sign showing the name of the owner or person in possession, their address, and their telephone number, or a statement that there is no telephone. 6.04.010
• The sign goes on the longer side of the hive or super, prominently placed on the entrance side of the apiary, and must be maintained at all times. Black letters at least one inch high on white or another contrasting colour, printed or stencilled in black paint or ink. 6.04.020, 6.04.030
• Violating any provision of the chapter is a misdemeanor. 6.04.040

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

Beekeeping is prohibited. Keeping a hive on premises you own or control is barred citywide. Two narrow exceptions exist — educational institutions and medical or scientific facilities — and neither covers hobby or backyard beekeeping.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright, apart from the educational and medical exceptions.

Note: Read against the current Duarte Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. The exceptions require an institutional setting — a school, or a physician's office or laboratory — AND that the bees are not permitted to fly at large, which rules out an ordinary outdoor hive. Duarte's 8.04.560 is word-for-word the same as Commerce's, so this is shared regional drafting rather than a local decision.

• No person shall keep or maintain, or suffer or permit to be kept or maintained, upon premises owned or controlled by him or it, in the city, a hive of bees. Duarte Municipal Code 8.04.560
• This section shall not apply to the keeping of bees within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment, or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 8.04.560 (exceptions)

Bees may be bred and raised in the R-1B and R-1C one-family districts for domestic or commercial use, with no hive limit and no setback attached.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. The gate is the zoning district.

Note: Read in full in 2026. El Monte runs against the grain: bees may be bred and raised in the R-1B and R-1C one-family dwelling districts for domestic OR COMMERCIAL use. Most California cities that mention commercial beekeeping ban it, and several that allow hobby hives ban it explicitly, so an express commercial allowance inside a single-family residential district is unusual. Note the scope: R-1B and R-1C, not every one-family district. No hive count and no setback attach to bees, and that silence looks deliberate, because the same subsection sets lot minimums for horses and caps goats, sheep and cows by number. The nuisance provision at § 8.44.030 adds nothing on its own; it only bites where some other rule is already broken.

• The breeding, hatching and raising of poultry, fowl, birds, rabbits, chinchillas, earthworms, fish, frogs and bees is permitted for domestic OR COMMERCIAL use. No number, lot size or setback is attached to bees, though the same subsection sets lot minimums for horses and headcounts for goats, sheep and cows. 17.20.050(D)(1)(a)
• The zoning code defines "animals, breeding and raising" as keeping and raising small animals such as poultry, fowl, nutria, birds, rabbits, chinchilla, earthworms, fish, frogs and bees for domestic or commercial use. 17.150.040
• Animals, livestock, poultry, insects or bees kept, bred or maintained for any purpose AND in violation of this code or any other code adopted by the city are a public nuisance. This is conditional on breaching another provision and sets no standard of its own. 8.44.030

Up to three hives on a single-family zoned property, in the rear yard only, for noncommercial purposes. Hives must be at least five feet from all property lines, with entrances facing away from or parallel to the nearest line, and either screened behind a six foot barrier the bees must fly over or placed eight feet above the adjacent ground level. The beekeeper must register with the County Agricultural Commissioner first, keep a water source available at all times, and requeen at least every two years.

Hive limit: Three hives maximum, and only in the rear yard of a single-family zoned property. Commercial keeping is not provided for.

Note: El Segundo adopted a full beekeeping chapter in May 2021 and it is a workable one. You may keep up to three hives, in the rear yard of a single-family zoned property, for your own use rather than commercially. Register with the County Agricultural Commissioner before you place a hive, because the code makes that a precondition and not a formality. The siting rules are modest: five feet from every property line, entrances facing away from or parallel to the nearest line, and either a six foot barrier the bees have to climb over before they leave your property, which may be a hedge rather than a fence, or hives raised eight feet above the neighbouring ground level. Keep a water source on the property at all times. The code says plainly why, which is to stop bees visiting your neighbours’ pools and hose bibs, and it is the single most effective thing you can do for neighbour relations. Two husbandry duties are written into the code rather than left to good practice. Hives must be continually managed so the colony has room, to prevent swarming, and must be requeened at least once every two years. Store your maintenance kit in a sealed container or inside a bee-proof enclosure. One provision is worth knowing about before you start: § 6-6-3 makes it a public nuisance if your colonies swarm, full stop, with no allowance for the fact that swarming is normal reproductive behaviour and can happen to a well managed colony. Neighbouring Fullerton writes the same rule as swarming "due to failure to requeen or without response to contain or relocate within three days", and Pomona removed it altogether in 2024. El Segundo has not. In practice that makes the requeening and space requirements above your best protection, so keep a record of when you did both.

• Hives may only be maintained in the rear yard of a single-family residential property, with "rear yard" taking its meaning from § 15-1-6. A maximum of three hives may be maintained on any single-family zoned property, in the rear yards only, for noncommercial purposes. 6-6-1(A)—(B)
• All bee colonies must be kept in inspectable hives consisting of moveable frames and combs, and hives must be kept in sound and usable condition at all times. 6-6-1(C)—(D)
• Any person intending to place and maintain a hive on single-family residential zoned property in the city must first register with the County Agricultural Commissioner. 6-6-1(E)
• Hives must be located at least five feet from all property lines, and hive entrances must face away from or parallel to the nearest property line. 6-6-1(F)—(G)
• Hives must either be screened so that the bees must fly over a six foot barrier, which may be vegetative, before leaving the property, or be placed at least eight feet above the adjacent ground level. 6-6-1(H)
• Hives must be continually managed to provide adequate living space for the resident bees to prevent swarming, and must be requeened at least once every two years to prevent swarming. 6-6-2(A)—(B)
• A water source must be provided at all times on the property where the bees are kept, to discourage bee visitation at swimming pools, hose bibs and other water sources on adjacent public or private property. Hive maintenance materials and equipment must be stored in a sealed container, or placed within a building or other bee-proof enclosure. 6-6-2(C)—(D)
• Regardless of compliance with §§ 6-6-1 and 6-6-2, bees or hives are a public nuisance where colonies exhibit defensive or objectionable behaviour or interfere with the normal use of neighbouring properties, where colonies of bees swarm, where the bees or hives do not conform to the Code, or where hives become abandoned by the resident bees or by the owner. 6-6-3

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

It is unlawful to keep a beehive or swarm that may pose a danger to the public. A beekeeper holding current registration with the LA County agricultural commissioner is exempt from that prohibition, subject to the zoning code.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. What matters is whether the hive poses a danger, and whether you are county-registered.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Glendale does something no other code in this dataset does: registration changes which rule applies to you. The baseline is not a ban but a conditional one — it is unlawful to keep a beehive or swarm that MAY POSE A DANGER to the public, which leaves the judgement with the city. But if you hold current registration as a beekeeper with the Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner, the code calls you a "professional beekeeper" and the prohibition does not restrict you at all, provided beekeeping is permitted under the zoning code. So county registration here is not just state compliance, it moves you out of the insect-control chapter and into the zoning question. Two cautions. The zoning code has not been read for this card, and that condition is load-bearing. And the penalties are heavy where the prohibition does apply: a misdemeanor for each incident AND each day, plus abatement as a public nuisance.

• It is unlawful to maintain or permit a beehive, nest or swarm to exist that may pose a danger to public health, safety and welfare. 8.76.020(B)
• That prohibition does not restrict the activities of a "professional beekeeper" where beekeeping is permitted under the city's zoning code. A professional beekeeper means a person holding a CURRENT registration as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Department of Agricultural Commissioner. 8.76.020(B)(1)
• The prohibition also does not apply to bees kept within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided the bees are not permitted to fly at large. 8.76.020(B)(2)
• The chapter treats Africanized bees and honey bees as insects alongside fleas, wasps, hornets and scorpions, and requires all premises to be cleaned and effective insecticides applied as often as necessary to prevent harbouring insects dangerous to the public. 8.76.010(A)
• A violation is a misdemeanor for EACH incident and each day of non-compliance, and is declared a public nuisance and an immediate threat to public health, subject to abatement. 8.76.020(A), (B)

Apiaries are permitted only in zone E-7, and only with an ample water supply and at least 500 ft from any residence on adjacent property.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The gate is zone E-7 and the 500 ft distance.

Note: Read in 2026 over a blank card, and confirmed against both the current animals title and the 2013 code supplement, which carry identical text. Glendora's whole beekeeping rule is one sentence with three conditions. The first is the real gate: apiaries are permitted in ZONE E-7 and the code says nothing about any other zone, so check your parcel's designation before anything else. The second is a 500 ft distance from any residence on adjacent property, which ties Claremont for the largest dwelling setback found anywhere in this dataset — note it is measured to a neighbour's residence, so your own house does not count against you. The third is unusual in its framing: an ample water supply is written as a condition of the permission itself rather than as a management standard, so an apiary without water is not merely non-compliant, it is unpermitted. There is no hive limit.

• Apiaries are permitted in zone E-7 when provided with an ample water supply and located not less than 500 feet from any residence on any adjacent properties. 8.04.090

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

No hive or swarm may be kept within 200 ft of any residence, school, church, store or other place of habitation. Breaching it is an infraction. No hive limit is set.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The 200 ft radius is the operative rule.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Hawthorne's rule is a distance and nothing else: no hive within 200 ft of any residence, school, church, store or "any other place of habitation", with no cap on hive numbers. In a city this dense that radius rules out most parcels, so check the geometry before buying equipment. One helpful specific: the code's own infractions schedule names this section, so a breach is an infraction rather than a misdemeanor. One open question: § 6.24.030(A) requires a special permit for keeping "any animal other than a household pet", and whether bees count as an animal there is genuinely unclear, since the chapter deals with them separately at § 6.24.060. Ask the city. Note this 200 ft provision is near-identical to Avenal's and Burbank's, which appear to share a drafting template.

• No person shall keep any hive or swarm of bees within 200 feet of any residence, hospital, sanitarium, public eating place, school, church, office building, store, home, apartment house, rooming house, or any other place of habitation. 6.24.060
• The section does not apply to bees kept within an educational institute for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 6.24.060
• The code's infractions schedule expressly lists § 6.24.060, "Requirements for keeping of bees", so a violation is an infraction rather than a misdemeanor. Infractions schedule
• A separate provision requires a special permit from the director of animal services to keep "any animal other than a household pet" on any real property. Whether that reaches bees is unclear: the chapter gives bees their own section, and codes commonly treat bees as distinct from "animals". Ask the city before assuming a permit is or is not needed. 6.24.030(A)

Keeping bees requires a permit from the city council, granted on an application stating where and how they will be kept. Without one, the hive is a nuisance and a misdemeanor, with each day a separate offence.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. The permit is the whole of the rule.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Hermosa Beach sets no hive limit and no setback; the entire rule is a permit, and the permitting authority is unusual. It is the CITY COUNCIL, not a department, and the application must set out the location and manner in which the bees will be kept — so a backyard hive becomes an item before the elected body. Without that permit the hive is not simply unpermitted, it is declared a nuisance, which makes it a misdemeanor with each day counting as a separate offence. The card previously cited § 6.04.050 and named Code Publishing as the publisher; the operative provision is § 8.28.020(A)(1) in the nuisance chapter and the code is published on EncodePlus, both now corrected. Ask the city clerk what a council application involves before committing to equipment.

• Keeping or maintaining bees or other insects within the city is expressly declared a nuisance unless a permit has been obtained FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, on an application regularly filed setting forth the location and manner in which they are to be kept. 8.28.020(A)(1)
• Anyone maintaining or permitting such a nuisance on their premises is guilty of a misdemeanor, and each and every day the nuisance continues is a separate offence. 8.28.020
• Bees and other insects are defined as "nonhousehold animals", along with horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, poultry and exotic or wild animals — anything other than what is usually kept as a household pet. 6.04.010

Beekeeping is prohibited. The city amends the county animal control ordinance to bar maintaining an apiary on any premises, with no exception stated.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright.

Note: Read against the current Hidden Hills Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. The prohibition is unconditional — no permit route, no exception. Structurally this city adopts the Los Angeles County animal control ordinance and then amends it: the numbering 3-6-48-10.76.020 points at the county's own apiary section, which Hidden Hills replaces with a flat ban. Confirm at the source before acting.

• No person shall maintain an apiary on any premise within the City of Hidden Hills. Hidden Hills Municipal Code 3-6-48-10.76.020

Keeping a beehive is unlawful unless you hold current beekeeper registration with LA County and the zoning code does not prohibit it. Registration is what makes beekeeping lawful here.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. Everything turns on county registration.

Note: Read in full in 2026. On its face § 6-1.403(b) is a flat prohibition: unlawful to maintain or permit a beehive, nest or swarm, with no "danger" qualifier, and the code defines "beehive" as MANAGED bees. What rescues it is § 6-1.403(c): the prohibition does not restrict a "professional beekeeper", meaning anyone holding current beekeeper registration with the Los Angeles County Department of Agriculture, so long as the zoning code does not prohibit beekeeping. So in Huntington Park registration is not paperwork, it is the thing that makes your hive lawful. Worth comparing with Glendale, which has the same carve-out but requires beekeeping to be PERMITTED under zoning rather than merely not prohibited — a zoning code silent on bees satisfies Huntington Park and fails Glendale. Note there is no hive limit and no setback, and the chapter separately obliges owners to apply pesticides against feral bees as often as necessary.

• It is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to maintain or permit a beehive, nest or swarm to exist. This expressly includes a commercially managed European beehive that has become Africanized. 6-1.403(b)
• That prohibition does not restrict the activities of a "professional beekeeper" if NOT PROHIBITED under the city's zoning code. A professional beekeeper means a person holding current registration as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Department of Agriculture. 6-1.403(c)
• All buildings, structures and premises must be cleaned and effective pesticides applied as often as necessary to prevent infestation by feral bees or other vectors, and the city or vector district may prescribe the insecticide, its application and the cleaning schedule. 6-1.403(a)
• Premises infested with feral bees are public nuisances, abatable by the vector district, the owner or the city at the owner's expense. The district may enter any property without notice to inspect, abate or treat, though bees inside or attached to a private structure are referred to the city. 6-1.402, 6-1.404

Apiaries are a permitted use by right in the industrial zone M, which covers effectively the whole city. No permit, hive limit or setback is set.

Hive limit: No hive count or setback is set for apiaries.

Note: Industry’s zoning works by permission rather than prohibition: the code says premises in zone M may not be used except for the listed uses, and apiaries are on that list, alongside greenhouses and aviaries. Since zone M covers effectively the entire city, that is close to a general permission. We read the industrial zone and the nuisance chapter only, so if your parcel is in some other zone, check that zone’s own permitted-use list, because under a code written this way anything not listed is not allowed.

• Premises in zone M may not be used except for the listed uses. The permitted agricultural uses include greenhouses, aviaries and apiaries. 17.16.010(B)(1)
• Animals, livestock, poultry or bees kept, bred or maintained for any purpose in violation of any provision of the code are a public nuisance. This adds no standard of its own and applies only where some other provision is already broken. Public nuisances

Bees count as animals here, so keeping them requires a permit from the Permits and Licenses Committee. The permit is annual and the Committee may hold a hearing before granting it.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. The annual permit is the whole of the rule.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Inglewood is refreshingly unambiguous where most codes are not: § 4-1 defines "animal" to expressly include insects and bees, so there is no argument about whether the animal rules reach a hive. They do. Keeping bees without a permit is unlawful, and none of the exceptions — household pets, pet shops, laboratories, schools, circuses — covers them. The permit comes from the Permits and Licenses Committee rather than a staff officer, the application must state the species, number, location and facilities, and the Committee may either impose conditions or call a hearing on five days' notice to everyone involved. It is also an ANNUAL permit, expiring on 31 December, so this is a recurring obligation rather than a one-off. There is no hive limit and no setback anywhere.

• The term "animal" expressly includes insects and bees, and it is unlawful to keep any animal on real property in the city without a currently valid permit. 4-1, 4-2
• The exceptions to the permit requirement are household pets (dogs, cats, canaries, parrots, parakeets, similar birds and fish), race track property, licensed pet shops, laboratories, schools and circus animals. Bees are not among them. 4-3
• Application is made in writing to the Permits and Licenses Committee, stating the number and species of animals, the location and the facilities provided. The Committee may grant the permit subject to conditions, or set it down for a hearing on not less than five days' notice to all parties involved. 4-5, 4-6, 4-7
• A permit issued between 1 January and 31 October expires on 31 December of that year; one issued in November or December expires at the end of the following year. Permits are renewable through the Committee. 4-8, 4-9
• Separately, the zoning code defines "urban agriculture" to include the raising of bees alongside livestock, fur-bearing and dairy animals and poultry. Zoning definitions

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

Apiaries follow the Los Angeles County apiary chapter. Hives must be registered with the County Apiary Inspector and re-registered annually, placed as near the centre of the parcel as practical, and Africanized bees must be destroyed.

Hive limit: No hive limit of its own. The county chapter it adopts sets the standards.

Note: Read in full in 2026. La Habra Heights writes almost no standards of its own; instead it adopts Los Angeles County Code Chapter 10.76 wholesale, so the county apiary chapter is what actually governs your hives and this city card sits on top of it. Read the Los Angeles County entry alongside this one. What the city adds is three things. Registration is with the County APIARY INSPECTOR specifically, and must be renewed every year. Placement is governed by a rule found nowhere else in this dataset: hives go as close to the centre of the parcel as practical, which is a duty to maximise distance in all directions rather than to clear a fixed line. And the Africanized bee provision is unusually hard — not merely that you may not knowingly keep them, but that they are not permitted and must be destroyed if found.

• All apiaries and ancillary improvements must be installed and maintained pursuant to Los Angeles County Code Title 10, Division 3, Chapter 10.76, the county apiary chapter. 4.10.80
• The owner of any hive in the city, or any new hive to be established, must register it with the Los Angeles County Apiary Inspector and thereafter re-register annually. 4.10.80
• Hives must be placed as close to the centre of the parcel on which they are located as practical. No distance is specified; the duty is to maximise separation from every boundary at once. 4.10.80
• Africanized bees are not permitted and must be destroyed if found. 4.10.80
• Animal keeping must not create a nuisance for neighbouring properties through noise, light, odour or dust, must be kept clean and free of accumulated waste, and must be kept free of vectors, with periodic pest control inspections permitted under county Title 10. 4.10.50, 4.10.60

Backyard beekeeping is permitted in the R-1 zone with an approved site plan: up to four hives at one per 1,500 square feet, four feet from property lines. Only ten registrations are allowed citywide each year.

Hive limit: Four hives maximum, and no more than one per 1,500 sq ft of lot area. The lot must have a single addressed dwelling unit and no ADU or JADU.

Note: Lakewood legalised backyard beekeeping in 2024, and the older § 4282 prohibition no longer tells the whole story for R-1 land. The practical rules are generous enough: four hives, one per 1,500 sq ft, four feet from the property line, hives between the house and the back fence, entrances facing south or west, and a site plan signed off by the Community Development Director. The catch is the one nobody expects. Only TEN registrations are allowed citywide in any year, across all zones, in a city of about 80,000 people. The code does not say how those ten are allocated, whether existing keepers keep their place, or what happens if you apply in a year that is already full, so contact Community Development before you buy equipment. Note also that you must choose between bees and an ADU or JADU on the same lot, and that each hive has to be registered with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner within 30 days and again every January. Ask the city for its "Best Management Practices for Backyard Beekeeping in Lakewood" as well, since the code makes compliance with that document mandatory.

• An apiary for private backyard beekeeping of honeybees with no more than four hives is allowed at a rate of not more than one hive per 1,500 square feet of lot area, provided the lot has only one addressed dwelling unit. A site plan approved by the Community Development Director or designee is required, showing the location and number of hives. 9320.A.8
• A lot with a beekeeping operation may not also have an ADU, a JADU or a second primary dwelling unit otherwise allowed by state law. 9320.A.8
• Each hive must be registered with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner within 30 days of being established and re-registered each January, under Food and Agricultural Code sections 29040 to 29056. Each hive must be permanently marked with the owner’s name, phone number, address and email. No more than ten such registrations are allowed annually citywide, in any zone district. 9320.A.8(a)
• No hive within 50 feet of any public street or highway, public park or school. No hive in a front, side or rear yard setback, or within four feet of any property line. Hives must not be readily visible from a public right-of-way, must sit between the residence and the rear property line, and must be in a secure quiet location that is dark at night. Hive entrances must face south or west and be at least ten feet from any entrance to a structure on a neighbouring property. 9320.A.8(b)
• Hives must be placed either at least eight feet above the adjacent ground level, or at least four feet away from a solid wall, fence or dense hedge at least six feet tall on or adjacent to the property line, so bees fly up and away from the property. 9320.A.8(c)
• Provide a continually clean, fresh and circulating on-site water source that does not breed mosquitoes. Keep the apiary in line with the city’s "Best Management Practices for Backyard Beekeeping in Lakewood". Hives must be painted a light colour and have removable frames, and equipment must be stored sealed or inside a building. 9320.A.8(d)-(f)
• Selling honey or other apiary produce is subject to the cottage food and home-based business rules and to Los Angeles County Public Health regulations. 9320.A.8(g)
• The older animal provision still makes it unlawful to keep bees, comb or anything they have deposited on land zoned for residential or commercial use. For R-1 land it is displaced by the later and more specific § 9320.A.8; outside a permitted R-1 apiary, treat it as live. 4282

Beekeeping is prohibited. Chapter 6.14 is titled Keeping of Bees Prohibited.

Note: This card previously stated there were no municipal codes for apiaries. That was wrong: the city prohibits beekeeping outright, under Ord. 555 (2000).

• Except as otherwise provided by law, it is unlawful for any person to maintain bees, including any beehive or colony, within the city. 6.14.010
• Africanized honey bees are declared a public nuisance and must be abated by the property owner or tenant, or by the vector control district at the owner’s expense. 6.14.020

Two hives on a single-family residential lot over one acre, in the rear or side yard, at least 5 ft from side and rear property lines, screened behind a six-foot barrier or raised eight feet.

Hive limit: Two hives, and only on a single-family residential lot larger than one acre.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Lancaster has a complete modern standard, and the gate is the strictest residential threshold found in Los Angeles County so far: beekeeping is allowed only on a single-family residential property in a residential zone LARGER THAN ONE ACRE. Below that there is no allowance at all, however well you site the hive. Above it you may keep two hives, in the rear or side yard, at least five feet from side and rear lines, with entrances turned away from neighbours. The screening requirement has a useful alternative that several other cities share: instead of a six-foot barrier you may raise the hive at least eight feet above the ground, which is often easier on a small yard. Only Apis mellifera is permitted.

• Beekeeping is permitted only on a single-family residential property in a residential zone greater than one acre. Only the common domestic honey bee, Apis mellifera, at any stage of development. No more than two hives on any single-family residential property. 17.08.180(C)(2)(a)-(c)
• All colonies must be kept in hives capable of being inspected, consisting of moveable frames and combs, and maintained in sound and usable condition at all times. 17.08.180(C)(2)(d), (e)
• Hives go in the rear or side yard only. None is permitted in a front yard or in the street side yard of a corner property, and hives must be at least 5 feet from the side and rear property lines. 17.08.180(C)(2)(f), (g)
• Hive entrances must face away from or parallel to the nearest property lines. Hives must either be screened so the bees fly over a six-foot barrier, which may be vegetative, before leaving the property, or be placed at least 8 feet above the adjacent ground level. 17.08.180(C)(2)(h), (i)

Beekeeping is not prohibited, but an apiary kept away from the keeper’s residence must be signed.

Note: This card previously stated there were no municipal codes for apiaries. Ord. 961 (2019) imposes a signage duty.

• Every person maintaining an apiary on premises other than their residence shall affix a sign showing the owner’s name, address and telephone number, in black lettering at least one inch high on a contrasting background, on the entrance side of the apiary. 3.36.140

Apiaries are allowed for hobby or educational purposes only, with an ample water supply and at least 500 ft from any dwelling other than the owner's. Commercial or profit-making apiaries are prohibited.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The gate is hobby or educational purpose plus the 500 ft distance.

Note: Read in full in 2026. La Verne allows apiaries only for hobby or educational purposes, and prohibits them outright where they are kept commercially or as part of a profit-making enterprise — the exact mirror of El Monte, which expressly permits commercial beekeeping in a residential zone. The distance is 500 ft, one of the largest in the dataset, but measured to any dwelling OTHER than your own, so your own house does not count against you. Note how the water requirement is framed: like Glendora, La Verne makes an ample water supply a condition of the permission itself rather than a management standard, so an apiary without water is not merely non-compliant but unpermitted. There is no hive limit. Remember also that § 6.16.010 starts from a general prohibition on keeping any animal, so everything here is a carve-out.

• Apiaries are permitted when maintained in connection with an educational project or for hobby purposes, provided with an ample supply of water, and located not less than 500 feet from any dwelling other than the dwelling of the owner of the hives. 6.16.030(A)
• Apiaries are prohibited when maintained for commercial purposes or in connection with a profit-making enterprise. 6.16.030(B)
• Keeping any animal, fowl or reptile in the city is unlawful except as specifically provided in this chapter, so the apiary provision is a carve-out from a general prohibition rather than a restriction on an otherwise free activity. 6.16.010

A beehive requires a wild animal permit from the planning commission. Apiaries are allowed only in the manufacturing and agricultural zones, up to five colonies, with five separate distance requirements.

Hive limit: Five colonies, one queen plus brood each, and only in the manufacturing and agricultural zones.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Lawndale is the most demanding beekeeping regime found anywhere in this dataset, and it begins with an unusual classification: a beehive requires a WILD ANIMAL PERMIT, granted by the planning commission, under the same chapter that governs dangerous animals. Apiaries are confined to the manufacturing and agricultural zones, so no residential lot qualifies at all. Above that there are five distances to satisfy simultaneously — 100 ft from any use, 50 ft from adjacent property lines, 100 ft from public roads, 200 ft from freeways and 150 ft from large parking lots — and the only relief from the 100 ft is notarized consent from the occupants of every adjacent property. The application itself is a planning submission: a land use map with a 500 ft radius, an owner list within 300 ft with a certifying affidavit, mailing stickers, twelve sets of plot plans and a fee. The planning commission may modify any standard, so it is not formally impossible, but for a householder the practical answer is no.

• Anyone possessing an apiary in the city must obtain a WILD ANIMAL PERMIT. The planning commission may modify any of the standards below if it imposes other conditions that equally satisfy the purpose of the section. 6.12.040(A)
• Apiaries are permitted in the manufacturing and agricultural zones only. A maximum of five colonies, each one queen plus brood. 6.12.040(A)(1), (2)
• Apiaries must be 100 feet from any use, and may only be closer if the owner first obtains notarized consent from the occupants of all adjacent properties. They must also be a minimum of 50 feet from adjacent property lines. 6.12.040(A)(3), (4)
• At least 100 feet from all public roads, at least 200 feet from freeways, and 150 feet from large-capacity parking lots. 6.12.040(A)(5), (6)
• An adequate, accessible water supply must be kept available at all times. Apiaries near schoolyards or places where people congregate must sit behind barriers, natural or otherwise, to make the bees fly at high altitude over those places. 6.12.040(A)(7), (8)
• The application requires a planning application form, a land use map with a 500 ft radius, a list of property owners within a 300 ft radius, an affidavit certifying that list, three copies of mailing stickers, TWELVE SETS OF PLOT PLANS and a filing fee. 6.12.050
• If the apiary causes a public nuisance endangering public health, safety or welfare, or causes property damage through a violation, the wild animal permit can be revoked. 6.12.040(B)

Lomita sets no beekeeping standards. Its nuisance list reaches bees kept in violation of another provision of the code, which by itself neither permits nor forbids keeping them.

Note: Read in 2026. Lomita has no beekeeping standard: no hive count, no setback, no permit and no prohibition. The single bee reference is in the nuisance list, and it is derivative — bees become a nuisance only where they are kept "in violation of this Code", so it bites only when some other rule is already broken and on its own it neither permits nor forbids anything. Three other California cities carry the identical construction. Because there is no other provision for it to hook into, the practical position is that Lomita does not regulate beekeeping, but confirm with the city before relying on that.

• Animals, livestock, poultry or bees kept, bred or maintained for any purpose AND in violation of this Code are a designated public nuisance. The rule is conditional on breaching some other provision and sets no standard of its own. 3-16.03

Four hives on a residential property, registered with the county with a copy to Animal Care Services, out of the front yard, 10 ft from every property line, screened behind a six-foot barrier or raised eight feet.

Hive limit: Four hives on any residential property.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Both published figures are confirmed and the rest of the rule is now on the card. Long Beach has two chapters that work together: § 6.24.010 sets the standard — four hives, out of the front yard, ten feet from every property line, entrances turned away, screened behind a six-foot barrier or raised eight feet, water always available — and § 6.22.010 separately makes it unlawful to keep a hive that may pose a danger. Registration is doubled and worth getting right: you register with the County of Los Angeles and give a copy to the Director of the Animal Care Services Bureau, and it must be done BEFORE the hive is established. Note that holding current county registration also makes you a "professional beekeeper", which lifts the danger prohibition provided you are not otherwise in breach — Glendale and Huntington Park have the same carve-out on different conditions. The link has been corrected: Long Beach publishes under the Municipal Code product, not the ordinances product.

• No more than four beehives may be established or maintained on any residential property. Anyone intending to keep one must FIRST register with the County of Los Angeles and provide a copy of that registration to the Director of the Animal Care Services Bureau. 6.24.010(A), (B)
• No beehive in the front yard. No beehive closer than ten feet to any property line. Hive entrances must face away from or run parallel to the nearest property lines. 6.24.010(C), (D), (E)
• Hives must either be screened so the bees fly over a six-foot barrier, which may be vegetative, before leaving the property, or be placed at least eight feet above the adjacent ground level. A water source must be available at all times so bees do not visit pools and hose bibs nearby. 6.24.010(F), (G)
• It is unlawful to maintain or permit a beehive, nest or swarm that MAY POSE A DANGER to public health and safety, including a managed hive that has become Africanized. All beekeeping operations must be registered with the Los Angeles County Department of the Agricultural Commissioner. 6.22.010(B)
• That danger prohibition does not restrict a "professional beekeeper" who is not otherwise in violation of the chapter or other city ordinances. A professional beekeeper means a person holding current registration as a beekeeper with the Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner. 6.22.010(C)

Backyard beekeeping is permitted as an accessory use in the four single-family zones. Hives must be at least 5 feet from every lot line and 20 feet from a public right-of-way or private street, are capped at one per 2,500 square feet of lot area, and may not go in the required front yard. Entrances must face away from or parallel to the nearest neighbouring lot line, a water source must be available at all times, and hives need either a six foot barrier between them and the adjacent lot or to sit eight feet above that lot’s ground level. The beekeeper must be registered with the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commission.

Hive limit: One hive for every 2,500 square feet of lot area. On a 5,000 square foot lot, which is typical for the city, that is two hives.

Note: Los Angeles legalised backyard beekeeping in December 2015, and the rules are among the most workable in the state. The permission is an accessory use in the single-family zones only, meaning RA, RE, RS and R1. If your lot is zoned R2 or higher, the multi-family zones, this section does not reach you and you should ask Planning directly. Assuming you are in a single-family zone, the numbers are modest. Hives sit at least five feet from the front, side and rear lot lines and at least twenty feet from any public right-of-way or private street, and they may not go in the required front yard. You get one hive for every 2,500 square feet of lot area, so a typical 5,000 square foot lot supports two. Three of the conditions are about your neighbours rather than about measurement, and they are the ones people miss. Hive entrances must face away from, or run parallel to, the nearest lot line you share with another lot. There must be either a six foot wall, fence or hedge between your hives and the adjacent lot, or the hives must be at least eight feet above that lot’s ground level. The code says outright why: to push the bees up over six feet as they leave, so they are flying above head height by the time they cross the line. And you must keep a water source available on the property at all times, which the code explains is to stop bees visiting your neighbours’ pools and hose bibs. That is a real requirement, not advice, and it is the single most effective thing you can do for neighbour relations. One duty sits outside the zoning code: you must be registered as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commission, and in Los Angeles that registration is what makes the hive lawful, not merely a formality. Register through BeeWhere. Separately, apiaries are permitted outright as a use in the A1 and A2 agricultural zones and the MR1 restricted industrial zone, which is the route for anything beyond a backyard scale.

• The person who is the owner of or in possession of an apiary must be registered as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commission. 12.07 A.13(a)
• The number of hives is limited to one for every 2,500 square feet of lot area. 12.07 A.13(b)
• Hives may not be located in the required front yard of a lot, including through lots. Hives must be located a minimum of five feet from the front, side and rear lot lines, and a minimum of 20 feet from public rights-of-way or private streets. 12.07 A.13(c)—(d)
• Hive entrances must face away from, or parallel to, the nearest lot line adjacent to another lot. 12.07 A.13(e)
• Either a six-foot wall, fence or hedge is located between hives and adjacent lots, or hives are placed at a minimum of eight feet above ground level of the adjacent lot. The code states the purpose: to provide a solid barrier that directs bees over six feet above ground level when departing the lot, minimising interactions between bees and people nearby. 12.07 A.13(f)
• A water source for bees must be provided at all times on the property where the bees are kept, to discourage bee visitation at swimming pools, hose bibs and other water sources on adjacent public or surrounding property. 12.07 A.13(g)
• Apiaries are permitted outright, alongside farming, nurseries and aviaries, in the A1 and A2 agricultural zones and the MR1 restricted industrial zone. 12.05 A.6, 12.06 A.2(f), 12.17.5 A.3.a
• "Apiary" is the place where bees are kept and maintained, usually in a collection of hives or colonies. "Bee" is any stage of life of the common domestic honey bee (Apis Mellifera). "Backyard beekeeping" is the keeping or maintenance of an apiary in a hive as an accessory use. 12.03

Beekeeping is prohibited. Hives are listed among the animals it is unlawful to keep anywhere in the city, and the exceptions in that section apply to fowl only — none reaches bees.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright.

Note: Read against the current Lynwood Municipal Code in August 2026. Bees were added to the prohibited-animals list by Ordinance 797 in 1966. Note that subsection (b) carries exceptions for licensed poultry processing, veterinary facilities and pet birds — those are nested under FOWL and do not apply to hives. Confirm at the source before acting.

• It is unlawful for any person, party, firm or corporation to keep, possess, harbor or maintain within the city limits any of the following animals: … (d) Any stand or hive of bees. Lynwood Municipal Code 8-1.14(d)

Raising bees is permitted in the CR and RR districts provided the parcel is at least one acre. No hive count, setback or permit is attached.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The gate is a one-acre parcel in the CR or RR district.

Note: Read in 2026 over a blank card. Malibu's rule is a parcel size, not a distance. Raising bees is a permitted use in the CR Commercial Recreational and RR Rural Residential districts, provided the parcel is at least ONE ACRE, and the two districts carry word-for-word the same sentence. No hive count, no setback and no permit attach to it. What this card cannot tell you is the position in Malibu's other districts, which have not been read, so if your parcel is neither CR nor RR ask the city. Note that a third document mentioning apiaries, the General Plan's Existing Conditions chapter, is background rather than law and sets no rule.

• Raising of poultry, fowl, birds, rabbits, fish, bees and other animals of comparable nature is permitted, provided the subject parcel is a minimum of one acre in size. CR permitted uses
• The identical provision appears in the Rural Residential district: bees among the animals that may be raised, subject to the same one-acre minimum parcel size. RR permitted uses

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

A special permit from the City Council is required to keep bees, and no permit may issue where the bees would be within 300 ft of any inhabited residence or occupied business other than the applicant's own.

Hive limit: No fixed hive limit, but the application must state the number of hives and the quantity of bees in each.

Note: Read in full in 2026. The published 300 ft is confirmed, and the important nuance is what it does: it is not a setback you measure and satisfy, it is a bar on the Council ISSUING the permit at all where bees would be within 300 ft of any inhabited residence or occupied business other than your own. In a city as compact as Maywood that is the whole question. The permit comes from the City Council, and the application is unusually detailed — it must state the parcel dimensions, the distance to the nearest inhabited building, and the number of hives together with the quantity of bees in each, which no other city in this dataset asks for. Penalties run to $500 for each day. One exception stands out: the chapter does not apply where bees are kept in an enclosure and not permitted to fly at large, which elsewhere is reserved for school and laboratory hives but here is written generally.

• No person, association or corporate body may keep or permit the keeping of bees within the city without first securing a special permit. 6-5.01
• No permit may be issued where the bees are to be kept within 300 feet of any residence or place of business that is inhabited or occupied, except the applicant's own residence or business. This is a bar on issuing the permit, not merely a setback. 6-5.02
• The written application goes to the Council and must state the applicant's name and address, the location and dimensions of the parcel, the distance from the proposed location to the nearest inhabited residence or occupied business, and the number of hives and the quantity of bees in each. 6-5.03
• No permit may be issued where the keeping of bees will create a public nuisance. 6-5.04
• The chapter does not apply at all where the bees are kept in an enclosure and are not permitted to fly at large. 6-5.05
• Keeping bees without a permit is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500 for each day the bees are kept in violation. 6-5.06

Keeping bees is prohibited. The Planning Commission may grant a conditional use permit only for an educational institution, exclusive scientific or medical research, or a commercial venture in a commercial zone.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Monrovia prohibits keeping bees, listing them with swine, dangerous reptiles and wild animals. There is a conditional use permit route through the Planning Commission, but every one of its three grounds is non-residential: an educational institution, work used exclusively for scientific or medical research, or a commercial venture operating in a commercial zone. None of them reaches a hive in a back garden, so for a householder the answer is no. Worth noting the contrast with La Verne a few miles away, which does the exact opposite — hobby and educational apiaries permitted, commercial ones prohibited. Both are current, which is a reminder that neighbouring cities in the same county can take opposite positions.

• Except as provided in the chapter, it is unlawful to keep bees on any lot within the city. Bees are listed alongside swine, dangerous or poisonous reptiles and wild animals. 6.28.070(A)
• The Planning Commission may grant a conditional use permit where the animals are maintained within an educational institution as defined by the California Education Code, are used exclusively for scientific or medical research, or are part of a commercial venture operated in a commercial zone or a less restrictive zone. 6.28.070(B)

No beekeeping provisions found in this code by a 2026 search.

Note: A 2026 search of this jurisdiction's full Municode code found no match for any beekeeping term (bees, beekeeping, apiary, apiculture, hive and related words). That is a search of the published code, not a lawyer's reading: a rule could still exist if it avoids all of those words, sits in a separate code not published here, or was adopted after the search. Confirm at the source before relying on it.

Monterey Park sets no beekeeping standards. Its nuisance list reaches bees kept in violation of another provision of the code, which by itself neither permits nor forbids keeping them.

Note: Read in 2026 over a blank card. Monterey Park has no beekeeping standard: no hive count, no setback, no permit and no prohibition. The single bee reference in its fifteen-page nuisance chapter is derivative — bees become a nuisance only where they are kept "in violation of this code", so the clause bites only when some other rule is already broken and on its own it neither permits nor forbids anything. Four other California cities carry the identical sentence. Because there is no other provision for it to hook into, the practical position is that Monterey Park does not regulate beekeeping, but confirm with the city before relying on that, and check the Los Angeles County card as well since the county has its own apiary chapter.

• Animals, livestock, poultry or bees kept, bred or maintained for any purpose AND in violation of this code are a public nuisance. The rule is conditional on breaching some other provision and sets no standard of its own. Public nuisances (v)

Bees are expressly prohibited on any property zoned for or developed with a residential use, so a backyard hive is not permitted in Norwalk. Non-residential zones are not addressed by this section.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Norwalk expressly prohibits bees on any property zoned for OR DEVELOPED WITH a residential use, and lists them among wild and dangerous animals — elephants, bears, lions, tigers, wolves, apes — together with poisonous reptiles and roosters. For a backyard hive the answer is therefore no. Two points on scope. The phrase catches a house standing on land zoned for something else, so it is wider than a simple zoning test. And this section deals only with residential zones, so it does not tell you the position on commercial, industrial or agricultural land, which is not addressed here. The only exceptions are transporting animals through the city under safeguards and permitted circuses or temporary shows, neither of which helps a resident.

• Bees are expressly prohibited on any property zoned for or developed with a residential use, listed alongside wild and dangerous animals such as elephants, bears, lions, tigers, wolves and apes, poisonous reptiles, and roosters. 17.04.200(E)(1)(d)
• The prohibition does not apply to transporting such animals through the city with adequate and secure safeguards, nor to a circus, show or temporary event legally located and permitted in the city. 17.04.200(E)(2)

One hive per 4,000 sq ft of lot area, in the rear yard, 20 ft from any property line, behind a six-foot solid flyway barrier. A defensive or swarmy colony must be re-queened from gentle-bred stock, with the breeder's receipt kept as proof.

Hive limit: One hive for every 4,000 sq ft of lot area, so a typical 7,000 sq ft lot supports one.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Palmdale adopted this standard in 2023 and it is one of the most carefully drafted in California. The hive allowance is a ratio rather than a number — one hive per 4,000 sq ft of lot area — so a typical 7,000 sq ft residential lot supports exactly one. Hives go in the rear yard, 20 ft from any property line, with the entrance turned away from the nearest boundary, and the flyway barrier is specified precisely: six feet tall, solid, parallel to the property line, and extending five feet past the hives on both sides. The provision worth planning around is the re-queening rule. It is triggered by behaviour rather than by a calendar, so a colony that stings without provocation or shows a tendency to swarm must be re-queened promptly, the replacement must be a MARKED queen from stock bred for gentleness and nonswarming, and you must be able to produce the queen breeder's receipt. Keep that receipt: no other California city in this dataset asks for documentary proof of where your queen came from.

• A maximum of one beehive for every 4,000 square feet of lot area, in both the ER, LDR, SFR 1, SFR 2 and SFR 3 zones and all other residential and mixed-use zones. 17.89.030 table
• Beehives may only be located in rear yards and must be at least 20 feet from any property line, except that in the ER and LDR zones they may also be placed in interior side yards. In every zone the hive entrance must face away from the nearest property line. 17.89.030(D)(1)
• A flyway barrier must force all bees to fly at least six feet above ground level near the hive. It must be at least six feet tall, solid so bees cannot fly through it, placed parallel to the property line, and extend at least five feet beyond the hives in each direction. 17.89.030(D)(2)
• A convenient source of water must be available year round so bees are less likely to congregate at swimming pools, pet bowls or bird baths. 17.89.030(D)(3)
• Where a colony stings or attempts to sting without provocation, or shows an unusual disposition toward swarming, the keeper must promptly re-queen it with another MARKED queen. Queens must be selected for gentle disposition from stock bred for gentleness and nonswarming characteristics, and the keeper must be able to produce proof of a receipt from a queen breeder. 17.89.030(D)(4)
• The code defines beekeeping as keeping, maintaining or allowing any hive of any size on any parcel in the city, so there is no small-scale exemption. Definitions

Not a prohibition. Bees are a public nuisance only where kept in violation of Title 6, and Title 6 has not been read.

Hive limit: Not confirmed — see the code

Note: This card previously said beekeeping was prohibited. The cited section does not say that. § 8.48.015(S) declares a nuisance where "animals, livestock, poultry, bees or reptiles [are] kept, bred or maintained for any purpose and in violation of PVEMC Title 6" — so it bites only when Title 6 is already broken. Title 6 sets the actual standards and has not yet been read. Treat the rules here as UNKNOWN: neither a ban nor permission.

Keeping bees anywhere in Paramount is prohibited. The section carries no exception, no permit route and no research or educational carve-out.

Note: Read in full in 2026, and this card previously recorded no prohibition at all. Paramount bans beekeeping outright: no hive or box anywhere on any premises, dwelling or property in the city. It is the most absolute prohibition found anywhere in this dataset. Several California cities that ban beekeeping still allow an observation hive in a school or a laboratory, and some offer a conditional use permit; Paramount's section is a single sentence with no qualifier, no permit route and no exception of any kind. Note that the section heading is simply "Beekeeping" — neutral wording over a prohibition, the reverse of cities whose headings say "prohibited" over text that permits. If you want to keep bees here the only avenue is asking the city to amend the ordinance.

• No person shall establish or maintain any hive or box where bees are kept, or keep any bees on any premises, dwelling, or property within City limits. 6.44.010

It is unlawful to keep a beehive or swarm that may pose a danger to the public. A beekeeper holding current LA County registration is exempt, provided the zoning code does not prohibit beekeeping.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. What matters is whether the hive poses a danger, and whether you are county-registered.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Pasadena does not ban beekeeping. What it prohibits is keeping a hive, nest or swarm that MAY POSE A DANGER to public health and safety, which leaves the judgement with the city. That prohibition then does not restrict a "professional beekeeper", meaning anyone holding current beekeeper registration with the Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner, provided beekeeping is not prohibited under the zoning code. So registration here does real legal work rather than being a formality. Three other Los Angeles County cities carry the same carve-out on slightly different conditions — Glendale requires zoning to permit beekeeping, which is stricter, while Huntington Park uses the same "not prohibited" wording as Pasadena. There is no hive limit and no setback. Note the chapter also lets the health officer prescribe insecticide use on any premises.

• It is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to maintain or permit a beehive, nest or swarm to exist that may pose a danger to the public health and safety. 8.28.110(B)
• That prohibition does not restrict the activities of a "professional beekeeper" if not prohibited under the city's zoning code. A professional beekeeper means a person holding current registration as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Department of Agricultural Commissioner. 8.28.110(C)
• All premises must be cleaned and effective insecticides applied as often as necessary to prevent harbouring stinging insects, and the health officer may prescribe which insecticide, how often it is applied and how often premises are cleaned. Africanized and European honey bees are named alongside wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and venomous spiders. 8.28.110(A)

Keeping a hive of bees on any property is prohibited, under a zoning provision amended in December 2025. Only observation and research hives that cannot fly at large are excepted.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Pico Rivera prohibits keeping a hive of bees on any property, and the provision is recent — amended by Ordinance 1201 in December 2025, which makes it the freshest rule in this dataset. The only exception is an observation or research hive inside a school, physician's office or laboratory where the bees cannot fly at large. There is a complication worth knowing if you are a registered beekeeper. The separate vector control chapter carries the same "professional beekeeper" exemption that Glendale, Pasadena, Huntington Park and Long Beach use, but Pico Rivera's version conditions it on the COUNTY'S zoning code rather than the city's, which does not govern inside an incorporated city, while the city's own zoning ordinance flatly prohibits hives. On the face of the code the prohibition controls. If you hold county registration it is worth putting the point to the city rather than assuming, but do not rely on the vector chapter as permission.

• No person shall keep or maintain, or allow to be kept or maintained, a hive of bees on any property. Bees appear under "Prohibited Animals Designated", alongside oxen and swine. 18.22.060(H)(1)
• The prohibition does not apply to bees kept within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 18.22.060(H)(1)
• Separately, it is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to maintain or permit an established beehive, nest or swarm to exist, including a commercially managed European hive that has become Africanized. 6.44.050(B)
• The vector chapter says its prohibitions do not restrict a "professional beekeeper" holding current registration with the LA County agricultural commissioner, if otherwise not prohibited under THE COUNTY'S zoning code. Every comparable city conditions this on its own city zoning; the city's own zoning ordinance prohibits hives. 6.44.050(C)

Beekeeping is an urban agricultural use permitted with standards across the zoning districts: two hives per lot, five feet from all property lines, entrances facing away from neighbours.

Hive limit: Two hives per lot. No animal keeping use may sit within a required setback or required frontage yard.

Note: Beekeeping is allowed in Pomona, and the older animal-code section that appears to ban it does not. Section 6-4 lists bees among prohibited animals, but only "except as otherwise permitted in the city’s zoning ordinance", and the Zoning and Development Code adopted in 2024 permits beekeeping as an urban agricultural use. The stale section number quoted in § 6-4 belonged to the zoning ordinance that code replaced. The working rules are straightforward: two hives per lot, at least five feet from every property line, entrances turned away from the neighbours, nothing inside a required setback or frontage yard, hives with moveable frames kept in good order, and a water source maintained so your bees are not drinking from someone else’s pool. Pomona is also one of the few codes that contemplates hives on a roof. If a planner quotes § 6-4 at you, point them at the zoning code’s own beekeeping standards.

• Bees are defined as an urban agricultural use, being any animal keeping use that includes the keeping of bees. The use table marks it permitted subject to standards throughout the districts listed. ZDC 530.N.1.a
• No animal keeping use is permitted within a required setback or required frontage yard. ZDC 540.H.1.a
• Bees must be kept in hives with moveable frames and combs, no more than two hives on a lot, kept in sound and usable condition at all times, located at least five feet from all property lines, with hive entrances or openings oriented away from neighbouring properties. ZDC 540.H.1.b(1)-(5)
• Hives must be continually managed to provide adequate living space for the resident bees in order to prevent swarming. A water source must be provided at all times on the property to discourage bees visiting swimming pools, hose bibs and other water sources on other property. Hive maintenance materials and equipment must be stored in a sealed container or inside a building. ZDC 540.H.1.b(6)-(8)
• Bees and hives are a public nuisance where a colony shows defensive or objectionable behaviour or interferes with the normal use of neighbouring property, where the bees or hive do not conform to the Code, or where a hive becomes abandoned by the resident bees or by the owner. ZDC 540.H.1.b(9)
• A beehive is listed among the unenclosed structures that may be integrated onto a roof, alongside shade structures, pergolas and rooftop dining. ZDC Part 12
• The animal chapter lists bees among prohibited animals, but only "except as otherwise permitted in the city’s zoning ordinance, including, but not limited to, section .436(1)(m)". Section .436 belonged to the zoning ordinance replaced by the Zoning & Development Code in 2024. Because the current zoning code permits beekeeping, the exception applies. City Code § 6-4

Up to five beehives may be kept for noncommercial purposes, rising to ten in the RS-A-5 district on approval of a site plan review by the director.

Hive limit: Five hives for noncommercial keeping; ten in the RS-A-5 district with site plan review approval.

Note: Read in 2026. Rancho Palos Verdes has the most generous hive allowance found anywhere in this dataset: five beehives as of right for noncommercial keeping, and up to ten in the RS-A-5 district with the director's approval of a site plan review, which a neighbour or the applicant may appeal to the planning commission. For comparison, most Los Angeles County cities cap hives at two or four. The allowance is expressly for NONCOMMERCIAL purposes, so a commercial operation is not covered by it. No setback, screening or water requirement appears in this provision.

• The keeping of a maximum of five beehives for noncommercial purposes is a permitted use. 17.02.020
• In the RS-A-5 district a maximum of ten beehives may be kept, upon approval by the director of a site plan review application, which is appealable to the planning commission under Chapter 17.80. 17.02.020

An annual beekeeping permit is required by 10 January each year, with county and state registration, owner consent and a site inspection. Two colonies maximum, 10 ft from property lines and 15 ft from public spaces.

Hive limit: One colony per 3,750 sq ft of lot area, never more than two on any single-family property.

Note: Read in full in 2026 over a blank card. Redondo Beach runs one of the more complete permit regimes in the county. The hive allowance is both a ratio and a cap: one colony per 3,750 sq ft of lot area, and never more than two, so a larger lot does not earn a third. Plan around the calendar — the permit is annual and must be obtained before 10 JANUARY each year, or within 30 days after, and renewal follows the same date. Getting it requires proof of registration under both the state Food and Agricultural Code and with Los Angeles County, the property owner's signed consent if you are a tenant, and a physical inspection of the property before issuance. The screening specification is unusually demanding: a six-foot barrier extending ten feet past the hives in both directions.

• No one may keep a hive without an annual beekeeping permit, obtained before 10 January of each year or within 30 days after. Applications go to the City Animal Control Parking Enforcement Unit with proof of registration under the California Food and Agricultural Code AND with Los Angeles County, and a fee. 5-1.703
• The application must give the applicant's name, address, telephone and signature, a signed statement of approval from the property owner if the applicant is not the owner, and a signed undertaking to comply. The property is then inspected by Animal Control or a Code Enforcement Officer before the permit issues. 5-1.703(c), (d)
• Hives must be on a single-family residential property, limited to one colony per 3,750 square feet of lot area and no more than two colonies in any case, kept in inspectable hives with movable frames and combs and maintained in sound and usable condition. 5-1.705
• Hives must be 10 feet from any property line and screened behind a solid partition, fence or hedge six feet high extending at least 10 feet beyond the hives in each direction. They must also be 15 feet from any public walkway, street or road, any public building, park or recreation area, and any residential dwelling not belonging to the permittee. 5-1.706

No hive may be kept within 100 ft of any bridle trail, road, dwelling house or structure. There is no hive limit.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The rule is a single 100 ft radius.

Note: Read in 2026. Rolling Hills sets no limit on hive numbers; the whole rule is a single 100 ft radius, and its object list is distinctive. As well as roads, dwelling houses and structures, it measures to any BRIDLE TRAIL — the only code in this dataset that does, and a reflection of the city being a gated equestrian community. Two things to weigh. "Structure" is broad enough to catch a shed or garage, and the section does not except your own, so on a small parcel the radius can be satisfied nowhere. And bridle trails run through and between properties here, so the constraint may not be visible from a parcel map alone.

• No person shall keep or maintain any hive of bees within 100 feet of any bridle trail, road, dwelling house or structure. 6.32.060

Beehives require a special use permit and must sit at least 35 ft from any property line, public right-of-way, or riding or hiking trail.

Hive limit: No fixed hive limit, but hives require a special use permit.

Note: Read in 2026. Rolling Hills Estates requires a special use permit before keeping bees, and sets a 35 ft distance from any property line, public right-of-way, or riding or hiking trail. Like Rolling Hills next door, the trail measurement is the local signature and it is easy to overlook: trails cross and run between properties here, so the binding constraint may not appear on a parcel map. No hive number is fixed in this provision; the permit and the further development standards at § 17.46.050 govern that. The nuisance clause in the health chapter adds nothing on its own, since it bites only where some other rule is already broken.

• Bees and hives are subject to a special use permit and to the development standards in § 17.46.050. 17.46.020
• No beehive may be kept closer than 35 feet from any property line, public right-of-way, or riding or hiking trail. 17.46.040
• Animals, livestock, poultry or bees kept, bred or maintained for any purpose in violation of any provision of the code are a designated public nuisance. This is conditional on breaching another provision and sets no standard of its own. 8.12.040

Beekeeping is prohibited. Keeping a hive on premises you own or control is barred citywide. Two narrow exceptions exist — educational institutions and medical or scientific facilities — and neither covers hobby or backyard beekeeping.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright, apart from the educational and medical exceptions.

Note: Read against the current Rosemead Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. The exceptions require an institutional setting — a school, or a physician's office or laboratory — AND that the bees are not permitted to fly at large, which rules out an ordinary outdoor hive. This is the same model ordinance found in Commerce and Duarte, carried here under a different section number.

• No person shall keep or maintain, or suffer or permit to be kept or maintained upon premises owned or controlled by him or it, in the City, a hive of bees. Rosemead Municipal Code 6.04.050
• This section shall not apply to the keeping of bees within an educational institution for study or observation, or within a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment, or other scientific purposes, provided they are not permitted to fly at large. 6.04.050 (exceptions)

Apiaries may be permitted in the OS Open Space zone with a conditional use permit. No other zone addresses bees, and no hive count or setback is set.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The gate is the OS zone plus a conditional use permit.

Note: Read in 2026. San Dimas addresses bees in one place only: apiaries may be permitted in the OS Open Space zone subject to a conditional use permit. No hive count, setback, screening or registration requirement attaches, and no other zone in the code mentions bees at all. That means a residential lot is not covered by this allowance, and the position outside the OS zone is simply unstated rather than permitted or forbidden. Ask the city before keeping bees anywhere other than OS-zoned land.

• Apiaries may be permitted subject to a conditional use permit issued under Chapter 18.200. They head a list that also includes aquariums, arboretums, botanical gardens, fisheries, orchards and vineyards, tree farms and zoological gardens. 18.124.030(B)(1)

No hive may be within 300 ft of any dwelling other than the owner's, or within 100 ft of any exterior boundary of the property it sits on. Only school and laboratory observation hives are excepted.

Hive limit: No hive limit. The two distances are the whole rule.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Both published figures are confirmed, and the important thing the card did not say is which is which. The 300 ft runs to any dwelling other than your own. The 100 ft is the unusual one: it is measured INWARD from any exterior boundary of your own property, so the hive must sit in an interior core at least 100 feet from every edge of the parcel. Most codes only measure outward to a neighbour. Taken together, on any ordinary residential lot the two distances cannot both be satisfied, so in practice San Fernando is open to beekeeping only on large parcels. The only exceptions are a schoolhouse observation hive and a physician's office or laboratory, and in both cases the bees may not fly at large.

• No person shall establish or maintain any hive or box where bees are kept, or keep any bees, within 300 feet of any dwelling other than that of the owner of the bees, or within 100 feet of any exterior boundary of the property on which the hive is located. 14-5(a)
• A hive may be kept within a schoolhouse for study or observation, or in a physician's office or laboratory for medical research, treatment or scientific purposes. 14-5(a)(1), (2)
• Bees kept under those exceptions may not be permitted to fly at large. 14-5(b)

Keeping bees is a nuisance and unlawful except on single-family R-1 property, where two hives are allowed under a full standard. The city inspects initially and may re-inspect every six months for a fee.

Hive limit: Two hives on a single-family property in the R-1 zone. Outside R-1, keeping bees is a nuisance and unlawful.

Note: Read in full in 2026. San Gabriel starts from a declaration that keeping bees is a nuisance and unlawful, then opens a full modern allowance on single-family property in the R-1 zone: two hives, rear or side yard, five feet from side and rear lines, screened behind a six-foot barrier or raised eight feet, requeened every two years, water always available. Outside R-1 the prohibition stands, with only school and laboratory observation hives excepted. The enforcement posture is the most active found anywhere in this dataset — city staff carry out an initial compliance inspection and may then inspect AS OFTEN AS EVERY SIX MONTHS, and the city may charge a fee for it. Note also that the code's definition of "bees" sweeps in hornets, bumblebees and wasps, though the R-1 allowance itself is confined to the common honey bee.

• It is declared a nuisance and unlawful to establish or maintain any hive or box where bees are kept anywhere in the city, except in a school for study or observation, in a physician's office or laboratory, or on single-family residential property in the R-1 zone under the conditions below. 92.22(A)
• Only Apis mellifera. No more than two hives on any single-family residential property. Colonies must be in inspectable hives with moveable frames and combs, kept in sound and usable condition. 92.22(A)(3)(a)
• City staff conduct an initial inspection to verify compliance and MAY INSPECT AS OFTEN AS EVERY SIX MONTHS thereafter. The city may charge an inspection fee set by the City Council. 92.22(A)(3)(a)5
• Hives go in the rear or side yard only, never a front yard or the street side yard of a corner property, at least five feet from the side and rear property lines, with entrances facing away from or parallel to the nearest property lines, and either screened behind a six-foot barrier or placed at least eight feet above adjacent ground level. 92.22(A)(3)(b)
• Hives must be managed to prevent swarming, requeened at least once every two years, supplied with water at all times, and hive equipment stored in a sealed container or a bee-proof enclosure. 92.22(A)(3)(c)
• Bees or hives are a public nuisance if a colony shows defensive or objectionable behaviour or interferes with normal use of neighbouring property, if a colony swarms, if the bees or hives do not conform to the code, or if a hive is abandoned. 92.22(A)(3)(d)

Only commercial beekeeping is prohibited. The section is headed "Bee keeping prohibited" but its text reaches hives kept for commercial purposes alone.

Note: Read in full in 2026. The section is headed "Bee keeping prohibited", which reads as a total ban, and its text does something much narrower: it prohibits keeping a hive FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. Non-commercial beekeeping is not reached by this provision at all. Do not rely on the heading. What the section does not do is set any standard for hobby hives — no count, no setback, no permit — so if you keep bees non-commercially in San Marino there is nothing here to comply with, but also nothing that expressly authorises it, and other provisions of the code may still apply. Note the code defines bees broadly enough to include hornets and wasps.

• It is unlawful to keep or maintain, or suffer or permit to be kept or maintained, upon premises owned or controlled by you in the city, any hive of bees FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 06.02.03
• The code defines "bees" broadly as all types of bees, including hornets and wasps. 06.01.01

Santa Clarita's apiary chapter is a signage rule. An apiary kept anywhere other than your own residence must carry a sign naming the keeper, and breaching it is a misdemeanor.

Hive limit: No hive limit and no setback. The chapter is entirely about signage.

Note: Read in full in 2026. Santa Clarita has a chapter titled "Apiaries" and all five sections are about a sign — no hive count, no setback, no permit, nothing about where a hive may sit. The duty is scoped: it applies to an apiary kept on premises OTHER than your residence, so a hive in your own garden needs no sign under this chapter. Breach is a misdemeanor. The chapter is word for word the same as Diamond Bar's, which suggests both adopted the same model text. Note the code has moved from Code Publishing to eCode360, and the link here has been updated accordingly.

• Anyone maintaining an apiary on premises other than their residence must identify it with a sign showing the name of the owner or person in possession, their address, and their telephone number, or a statement that there is no telephone. 8.76.020
• The sign goes on the longer side of the hive or super, prominently placed on the entrance side of the apiary, and must be maintained at all times. Black letters at least one inch high on white or another contrasting colour, printed or stencilled in black paint or ink. 8.76.030, 8.76.040
• Every person violating any provision of the chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. 8.76.050

Beekeeping is allowed only in the A-1 zone and only with a conditional use permit.

Note: The 100 ft setback is correct, but it applies only in the A-1 zone and only under a conditional use permit. Note that § 99.03 is headed Apiaries–Prohibited and cross-references this section, which permits them.

• Keeping of bees is permitted in the A-1 Zone only after a valid conditional use permit has been obtained, and no hive or box where bees are kept shall be closer than 100 feet from the boundary of any residential zone, park, school or institution for human care. 155.038(C)

Two hives on single-family residential property only, registered with the city’s Animal Control Office, five feet from property lines, with a six-foot flyway barrier and requeening every two years.

Hive limit: Two hives, and only on single-family residential property.

Note: This is one of the better written ordinances in the state: it asks for inspectable hives, managed space and requeening rather than just distances, which is a husbandry standard most cities never attempt. Two things to plan around. Hives are permitted only on single-family residential property, so most of Santa Monica’s housing is excluded outright. And § 4.04.130(e) makes it a public nuisance when a colony swarms, even though swarming is normal reproduction and subsection (d) already requires you to manage against it, so keep records of your space management and your two-year requeening in case you ever have to show you did the work.

• Hives may only be maintained on single-family residential property, no more than two per property. All colonies must be kept in inspectable hives with movable frames and combs, kept in sound and usable condition. Anyone intending to keep a hive must first register with the City’s Animal Control Office. 4.04.130(b)
• Hives must be at least five feet from all property lines, with entrances facing away from or parallel to the nearest property line. Hives must either be screened so bees fly over a six-foot barrier, which may be vegetative, before leaving the property, or be placed at least eight feet above the adjacent ground level. 4.04.130(c)
• Hives must be continually managed to provide adequate living space to prevent swarming, and requeened at least once every two years. A water source must be provided at all times to discourage bees visiting swimming pools and hose bibs. Hive maintenance materials must be stored in a sealed container or a bee-proof enclosure. 4.04.130(d)
• Bees or hives are a public nuisance if colonies show defensive or objectionable behaviour or interfere with normal use of neighbouring properties, if colonies swarm, if the bees or hives do not conform to the code, or if hives are abandoned by the bees or by the owner. 4.04.130(e)
• A violation is an infraction punishable by a fine up to $250, or a misdemeanour punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or up to six months in county jail, or both, and is also subject to administrative fines under Chapters 1.09 and 1.10. 4.04.130(f)

Hives must be 200 feet from any dwelling other than the beekeeper’s own. In a protected fire area, lighting a smoker needs the fire chief’s written permit.

Hive limit: No hive count is set.

Note: The 200 ft figure is measured to other people’s dwellings, not to property lines, so on a typical Sierra Madre lot it is the neighbouring houses that decide whether you can site a hive at all. Check the second provision too: much of the city is a protected fire area, and there § 8.28.090 requires the fire chief’s written permit before you light a smoker. That is a fire rule rather than a bee rule, which is exactly why beekeepers miss it.

• No person, firm or corporation may keep or maintain, or permit to be kept or maintained, any hive of bees within 200 feet of any dwelling house other than the one occupied by the owner or person in control of the bees. 6.08.040
• No person shall use any lighted or smouldering material in connection with smoking bees in or upon any protected fire area except under a written permit from the fire chief. 8.28.090

Beekeeping is prohibited, and keeping bees after notice to remove is a misdemeanor.

Note: This card previously stated there were no municipal codes for apiaries. The city prohibits beekeeping, and the misdemeanor provision dates from 1924.

• No person shall maintain an apiary nor keep or permit the keeping of bees within the city. 8.25.030
• Every person keeping bees or hogs within the city limits, after notice from the council to remove the same, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 9.04.030

Bees and beehives are prohibited on any property in the city.

Hive limit: None. Keeping bees is not permitted.

Note: South El Monte prohibits bees and beehives outright. The wording is worth noticing, because it is wider than the sections around it: the neighbouring provisions on sale and on breeding apply to "any residential property", while the prohibition applies to "any property in the city", so it reaches commercial and industrial land too. We read Chapter 6.04 only and have not checked the zoning title. That matters because a neighbouring city, Lakewood, had an equally flat animal-code ban that a later zoning ordinance quietly overrode, so if you have a specific parcel in mind it is worth asking the city whether any zone permits apiaries before you take this as final.

• No person shall have, possess, maintain or harbor any of the listed animals on any property in the city. The list includes, at subsection D, bees or bee hives. 6.04.040
• The permitted household pets are dogs, cats, fish and small aquatic creatures, non-venomous reptiles and amphibians, birds, small mammals and rodents, and assistance animals. Bees are not among them. 6.04.020

Apiaries are prohibited citywide, and each day bees are kept is a separate misdemeanor offense.

Hive limit: None. Keeping bees is not permitted.

Note: South Gate prohibits apiaries outright. Section 4.01.070 says no person shall maintain an apiary nor keep or permit the keeping of bees anywhere in the city, and the penalty is a misdemeanor with each day the bees are kept counting as a separate offence. We checked the separate vector control chapter in case it softened this, as similar chapters do in several neighbouring cities, and it does not: it deals with feral bees and swarms, distinguishes managed hives from wild nests, and unlike Glendale, Cudahy and others it gives no exemption to a beekeeper registered with the county. If you want to keep bees in South Gate the route is asking the council to revisit the ordinance rather than looking for a way through it.

• No person shall maintain an apiary, nor keep or permit the keeping of bees, within the city. 4.01.070(1)
• Any person who maintains an apiary or keeps or permits the keeping of bees is guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to a fine or penalty for each day that the bees are kept. 4.01.070(2)
• The vector control chapter is aimed at feral bees. It defines a beehive as managed bees and a nest as feral bees, defines a feral bee as any wild honey bee including the Africanized honey bee, and names the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District as the abating authority. It carries no exemption for registered beekeepers. 6.24.020

Three colonies maximum, and no hive within 200 feet of any outdoor swimming pool other than your own. Breaching either is both a nuisance and unlawful.

Hive limit: Three colonies, hives or nooks of bees within the city.

Note: South Pasadena is the only city we have found that measures its beekeeping setback to swimming pools rather than to houses: no hive within 200 feet of any outdoor pool that is not your own. On lots this size that distance can cross several properties, so before anything else work out where the neighbouring pools are, because one of them can rule out an entire site. The hive limit is three. Both rules are written as nuisances as well as offences, which means a neighbour can pursue abatement rather than waiting for the city to prosecute.

• It is a nuisance and unlawful to keep or maintain any bees, or a colony, hive or nook of bees, within 200 feet of any outdoor swimming pool other than one owned and possessed by that person. 5.18
• It is a nuisance and unlawful to keep or maintain more than three colonies, hives or nooks of bees within the city. 5.19

Beekeeping is prohibited within the corporate limits.

Note: This card previously stated there were no municipal codes for apiaries.

• No person, firm or corporation shall keep bees within the corporate limits. 9-1T-17(A)(6)

Keeping bees is unlawful except under permit, on industrial land or at a single-family residence. Two hives maximum in the rear yard, and hives must follow a beekeeping association’s current best management practices.

Hive limit: Two hives per property, one per 2,500 sq ft of lot area, each no larger than five cubic feet.

Note: Torrance has one of the better thought-out ordinances in California, and one procedural trap that matters more than all of it. The standards are workable: two hives in the rear yard, 15 feet off the back line and 10 off the side, a six-foot screen or eight feet of elevation, water at all times, requeening every two years, and maintenance to a beekeeping association’s current best practice, which the code names. The trap is in the permit process. Your neighbours on the two lots either side and the two lots behind are notified and have ten calendar days to object, and a single written objection automatically denies the application. Talk to those neighbours before you file, because after the letter arrives there is nothing to argue. Note too that a neighbour with certified bee sting allergy can ask for hives to be removed even after your permit is granted, that you must agree to inspections without a warrant, and that commercial keeping is not allowed on the residential route at all.

• It is unlawful to keep bees, or permit the keeping of bees, in Torrance except on industrial-zoned land or at a single-family residence, in each case under permit. 41.10.020(a)
• A permit must first be issued by the Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission. Hives must be at least 300 feet from any residence other than the beekeeper’s own, and at least 100 feet from any property line. 41.10.020(a)(1)
• A special animal permit from the Director of Community Development is required. One hive per 2,500 square feet of lot area, to a maximum of two hives per property, each no larger than five cubic feet. Hives must be in the rear yard, at least 15 feet from the rear property line and 10 feet from a side property line, with the entrance facing away from adjacent property lines. 41.10.020(a)(2)(A)-(D)
• The rear yard needs a six-foot solid perimeter barrier, which may be vegetative, or the hive must sit at least eight feet above the adjacent lot’s ground level. Hives must be continually monitored to keep colonies healthy and manageable and prevent swarming or aggressive behaviour, a water source must be provided at all times, and the property must be available at all reasonable times for inspection by the City Manager or designee without an inspection warrant. 41.10.020(a)(2)(E)-(H)
• Hives must be registered under the California Food and Agricultural Code and with the County, and beekeepers must be registered with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner. Hives must be requeened at least once every two years, and after any swarming or aggressive behaviour. Hives must be maintained in accordance with the most current best management practices established by a professional beekeeping organisation, such as the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association or the Beekeepers Association of Southern California. 41.10.020(a)(2)(I)-(K)
• The residents and owners of the two lots on either side and the two lots behind are notified and have ten calendar days to object in writing. A written objection filed within that period automatically denies the application. 41.11.010(a)(6),(10)
• The applicant must show a hardship or that the bees are for educational or hobby purposes. Keeping animals for commercial purposes is prohibited. The permit fee for keeping bees is $80. 41.11.010(a)(1),(9)
• The Director issues the permit within 30 days if all requirements are met, and must give written reasons for any denial. Denials and conditions may be appealed to the Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission within 15 days, and from there to the City Council. 41.10.040-41.10.050
• An at-risk person within the notification area, being two lots either side and the two lots nearest behind, who has adequate medical certification of a bee sting allergy may request that hives be removed from a neighbour’s property. 41.10.060(b)
• Bees or hives are a public nuisance where colonies show defensive or objectionable behaviour or interfere with neighbouring properties, live anywhere other than in hives, swarm, fail to conform to federal, state or local law, are abandoned, or are diseased. Each day of violation is a separate offence, and abatement costs are chargeable to the person responsible under Government Code section 38773. 41.10.070

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 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

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

Note: Searched in 2026 and no beekeeping provision was found: no hive count, no setback, no permit and no prohibition. Worth knowing why this took a second look. A text search of the code appears to return a hit in the business permits chapter, but every apparent match is the letters "bee" inside an ordinary word, in "beer hall", "beer garden" and "has been issued". There is no bee, hive, apiary or colony provision anywhere in that document. State registration with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner still applies, and check Los Angeles County’s own card as well as this one, since county rules reach city land.

Beekeeping is an allowable use in every residential zone with an Administrative Permit with Hearing, and in the M-1 manufacturing zone. It is not permitted in the office or mixed-use zones.

Hive limit: The use tables set no hive count or setback. Conditions are set on the individual permit.

Note: Our earlier entry recorded West Covina as having no local beekeeping rule. That was wrong, and the correction runs in your favour. The rule is not written as a chapter or an animal-code section; it exists only as a "Beekeeping" row inside the zoning use tables, which is why a text search for beekeeping language did not find it. Ask the planning counter for an Administrative Permit with Hearing under Article VI, division 6. Because it carries a hearing, expect neighbours to be notified, and expect the hive count and setbacks to be set as conditions on your individual permit rather than read off the code.

• Beekeeping is listed as allowable in the R-A, R-1, MF-8, MF-15, MF-20 and MF-45 zones, in every case requiring an Administrative Permit with Hearing (Article VI, division 6 and division 1). 26-45
• Beekeeping requires an Administrative Permit with Hearing in the M-1 zone. It is not listed as allowable in the OPMU, NMU, SMU or RMU mixed-use zones, and an unlisted use is not permitted. 26-51

West Hollywood regulates the removal of bees, not the keeping of them. Hives and swarms that must come out have to be removed by a beekeeper or applicator using non-lethal methods, and pesticides do not count as non-lethal.

Hive limit: No hive limit is set. The chapter governs removal rather than keeping.

Note: West Hollywood is the rare city whose bee ordinance protects the bees. Chapter 9.55 does not tell you how to keep hives; it tells whoever wants a hive or swarm gone that they must use a beekeeper or a licensed applicator and non-lethal methods, and it states outright that pesticides are not non-lethal. It is also worth reading if you do removals, because the city has effectively made beekeepers the default lawful responder. Two things to hold in mind. The requirement falls away where non-lethal removal would cost excessively more than extermination, and the code sets no figure for what counts as excessive. And because this chapter is the only bee provision in the code, there is no local hive count, setback or permit for keeping bees, which is not the same as permission, so ask the city before siting hives.

• Removal must be performed by an applicator or beekeeper using non-lethal methods in a responsible manner where a hive has been declared a public nuisance, where a hive sits on private property whose owner is authorised or required to remove it, where a swarm rests on a structure, property or surface, or where bees are entering other people’s land so as to unreasonably interfere with their use of it. 9.55.020(a)
• Non-lethal methods are those reasonably intended to remove a hive or swarm without destroying it. The use of pesticides is not a non-lethal method. Named examples are capture and relocation by a beekeeper using a hive box, application of smoke, burning citronella candles, spraying a garlic and water solution, and obtaining the services of a beekeeper. 9.55.010
• The non-lethal requirement does not apply where extermination is necessary to prevent imminent harm to persons or property, where non-lethal methods would impose excessive costs compared with extermination, where they would cause property damage or loss that extermination would not, where beekeepers are managing bee populations as part of their own activities, or where extermination is otherwise authorised or required by law. 9.55.020(b)
• A beekeeper is any person or entity, commercial or private, lawfully engaged in breeding or keeping hives or colonies, and must be current on all licences and permits otherwise required by local, state or federal law. 9.55.010
• Violations draw administrative citations under § 1.08.010, are deemed a public nuisance and may be abated, and the remedies are cumulative rather than exclusive. 9.55.030

Apiaries need the Planning Director’s approval of a plot plan, a parcel of at least 20 acres, and 1,000 feet from any residence, school, church or place of public assembly.

Hive limit: Four occupied boxes per acre. Up to ten may be clustered if clusters are at least 640 feet apart.

Note: Read the 20 acre minimum and the 1,000 ft separation together before anything else: between them they rule out effectively every residential parcel in Westlake Village, so this is a rural-apiary provision rather than a backyard one. If you do qualify, note that the watering device has to satisfy the Los Angeles County apiary inspector, so bring the county into the conversation early rather than after the plot plan is drawn.

• Apiaries are permitted subject to approval of a plot plan by the Planning Director. No apiary may be established or maintained on a parcel of less than 20 acres, within 150 feet of any public road, street or highway, or within 1,000 feet of any residence, school, church or place of public assembly. 9.23.030
• The total number of boxes occupied by bees, including hives and colonies, shall not exceed four per acre. A maximum of ten boxes may be clustered provided they are no closer than 640 feet from other occupied boxes, hives or colonies. 9.23.030
• A permanent functioning watering device, acceptable to the Los Angeles County apiary inspector, must be provided for all boxes or clusters of boxes occupied by bees. 9.23.030
• Approval is a plot plan reviewed by the Planning Director, not a use permit or a hearing. 9.23.030

Beekeeping is prohibited. Keeping, owning or controlling bees anywhere in the city is barred — in hives or otherwise — with no exception stated.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright.

Note: Read against the current Whittier Municipal Code in August 2026 and confirmed. This is the broadest of the LA-area bans: it reaches keeping, OWNING or CONTROLLING bees, and "in hives or otherwise", so it is not limited to a hive on your own premises. No permit route or exception appears in the section. Confirm at the source before acting.

• No person shall keep, own or control bees in hives or otherwise in the city. Whittier Municipal Code 8.20.010 Prohibited