Riverside County Beekeeping Regulations

Lots of 1 acre or more in most zones required. (15 zoning sections related to apiaries with varying regulations per zone). See Ord. 551 relating to the control of bees for all regulations in the unincorporated area of Riverside County.

• A plentiful supply of fresh water must be furnished and kept available to all apiaries at all times, unless an apiary is so located that the nearest supply of water is an isolated stream or reservoir where water is available to such bees, and all other sources of water at locations where people or animals congregate, dwell, reside or remain are farther from the apiary than the stream or reservoir. 8.12.040
• Whenever there exists upon any premises within the unincorporated territory of the county a bee hazard, written notice shall be given to the person having control or possession of the apiary on such premises and the owner of such premises in the manner hereinafter stated, to abate such nuisance. 8.12.100
• All apiaries owned or kept within the unincorporated territory of Riverside County near school yards or places where people congregate shall be located and maintained behind barriers, natural or otherwise, so as to cause bees to fly at a high altitude over such school yard or places where people congregate. 8.12.020
• When the temperature exceeds fifty-five (55) degrees Fahrenheit, no person shall transport within the county between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset hives of bees, or cause the same to be done, unless such bees are confined by screens in good repair or other equally effective means of confinement. 8.12.050
• In the enforcement of this chapter, the commissioner and his or her employees, or other county employees, may, upon routine inspection, or whenever they are informed or have reasonable cause to believe that there is an existing condition upon any premises upon which an apiary is located that is causing a bee hazard, to enter upon such premises and to determine whether or not there is an existing bee hazard. 8.12.090
• If it is determined at the hearing that the apiary was placed on the premises without the consent of the owner of such premises and that he has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, costs for the abatement shall not be assessed against such premises or otherwise attempted to be collected from the owner of such premises. 8.12.110
• By a sign which is prominently displayed on the entrance side of the apiary, that states in black letters not less than one inch in height on a background of contrasting color that name of the owner or person having control or possession of the apiary, his or her address and telephone number, or if he or she has no telephone, a statement to that effect; or B. 8.12.030

The code defines apiaries but sets no standards for keeping them.

Colony numbers are set by the size of your tract: two on a quarter acre or less, four up to half an acre, six up to an acre and eight on an acre or more. There is no limit at all if every hive sits two hundred feet from the property lines. A six foot flyway barrier is required wherever a colony is within twenty five feet of a property line, and there is a standing duty to requeen a colony that turns aggressive or swarmy.

Hive limit: Two colonies on a quarter acre or less, four on more than a quarter but under half an acre, six from half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or larger. Unlimited where all hives are at least two hundred feet from every property line, or where everything within two hundred feet of each hive is undeveloped. On top of that, one nucleus colony for every two full colonies, kept no more than thirty days.

Note: Beaumont uses the model beekeeping ordinance, and it is the most beekeeper-literate text in this whole dataset. It opens by saying honey bees benefit people through pollination and hive products, and that gentle strains can be kept in populated areas at reasonable densities without becoming a nuisance if they are sited and managed well. The rules follow from that. How many colonies you may keep depends on your land, not on an arbitrary cap: two on a quarter acre or less, four above a quarter acre and under half, six from half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or more. If every hive sits at least two hundred feet from all your property lines, or if everything within two hundred feet of your hives is undeveloped, there is no limit at all. And it understands swarm management: for every two colonies you are allowed, you may run one nucleus colony in a single ten frame box with no supers, so long as you combine or dispose of it within thirty days. Keep bees in Langstroth hives with removable frames, in sound condition, which is the standard that lets an inspector actually examine brood. Where any colony is within twenty five feet of a property line, public or private, build a flyway barrier at least six feet high, running parallel to that line and extending ten feet past the colony in each direction, so the bees are pushed up over head height before they cross. If the neighbouring land is undeveloped for at least twenty five feet from your line, that is a defence and you do not need the barrier. Give the bees a convenient water source available at all times, specifically so they do not end up at swimming pools, taps, pet bowls and bird baths. Do not leave comb or hive materials on the ground: once out of the hive they go straight into a sealed container or a bee proof building. And if a colony stings without due provocation or shows an unusual disposition to swarm, requeening it promptly is a duty, from stock bred for gentleness. Mark at least two hives at opposite ends of the apiary with your name and telephone number, or post a sign. Keeping the colonies on the same tract where you live is a defence to that one.

• Two colonies on a tract of a quarter acre or less, four on more than a quarter but less than half an acre, six on half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or larger. There is NO limit at all where every hive sits at least two hundred feet in any direction from the property lines, or where all property within a two hundred foot radius of every hive is undeveloped. § 6.20.070(A)
• For every two colonies allowed, you may also keep one nucleus colony, in a hive body no larger than a single standard nine and five eighths inch ten frame box with no supers, for swarm management. Each nucleus must be combined with an authorised colony or disposed of within thirty days of acquiring it. § 6.20.070(B)
• Keep all colonies in Langstroth type hives with removable frames, maintained in sound and usable condition. § 6.20.020
• Where a colony is within twenty five feet of a public or private property line, maintain a flyway barrier at least six feet high, of solid wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination, parallel to that line and extending ten feet beyond the colony in each direction, so bees are forced to fly at least six feet above ground level over the line. It is a defence that the adjoining property is undeveloped for at least twenty five feet from the line. § 6.20.030
• Keep a convenient source of water available to the bees at all times, so they do not congregate at swimming pools, taps, pet watering bowls, bird baths or other water where they may come into contact with people, birds or pets. § 6.20.040
• Leave no comb or other hive materials on the apiary grounds. Once removed from the hive they must go promptly into a sealed container, a building or another bee proof enclosure. § 6.20.050
• If a colony stings or tries to sting without due provocation, or shows an unusual disposition toward swarming, you have a duty to requeen it promptly. Queens must be selected from stock bred for gentleness and non-swarming characteristics. § 6.20.060
• Mark your name and telephone number on at least two hives at opposite ends of the apiary, or post a conspicuous sign with the same. It is a defence that the colony is kept on the same tract where the owner lives. Without marking, the person in possession of the land is presumed to be the beekeeper unless a written agreement names someone else. § 6.20.080

In the City of Blythe, there are no municipal codes set in place for the ownership of apiaries.

Apiaries are permitted in the Open Space district at 300 feet from other dwellings, and in one residential district at 500 feet from dwellings and 300 feet from any public road.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The distances and the zoning district are what govern.

Note: Calimesa allows apiaries in its Open Space district and in one of its residential districts, and the two carry different distances: 300 feet from other people’s homes in Open Space, but 500 feet from homes plus 300 feet from any public road in the residential case. We could not reliably determine which residential district carries the permission, because the use table’s columns do not survive the way the code is published, and guessing at a column is how a card becomes wrong. So confirm the district with the city planning counter before anything else. On most residential parcels the 500 foot separation will be the deciding factor regardless.

• Apiaries are a permitted use, provided hives or boxes housing bees are kept no closer than 300 feet from any dwelling other than that occupied by the owner of the apiary. 18.35.020 Table, note a
• An apiary is permitted in one residential district and not allowed in the others, provided hives or boxes housing bees are kept no closer than 500 feet from any dwelling other than that occupied by the owner of the apiary, and 300 feet from any public road. Residential use table, note i

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.

Cathedral City adopts Riverside County Ordinance 551, Control of Bees, by reference and sets no beekeeping standards of its own.

Hive limit: Set by Riverside County Ordinance 551, not by the city.

Note: Cathedral City does not write its own beekeeping rules. It adopts Riverside County Ordinance 551, Control of Bees, by reference, so that county ordinance is the document you need rather than the city code. Ordinance 551 is codified as Riverside County Code Chapter 8.12, Bees, and the county also publishes the ordinance itself as a PDF, which is worth having because it carries the amendment history the codified version drops. Both are linked from this card. Register with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner as state law requires.

• The city’s schedule of miscellaneous county ordinances adopted by reference includes, at item 27, Riverside County Ordinance 551, Control of Bees. County ordinances adopted by reference
• The fugitive dust rules exempt unpaved roads associated with growing crops or the raising of animals, fowl or bees, except where average daily traffic exceeds twenty vehicles. Fugitive dust emissions

Apiaries are a permitted use in the agricultural residential zone and in at least one other zone, and noncommercial raising of bees among other small animals is permitted in more than one zone.

Hive limit: No hive count is set in the permitted use lists we read.

Note: Coachella permits beekeeping, and it does so in two different ways that are worth telling apart. One is the apiary, which the code calls bee farming and lists as a permitted use in the agricultural residential zone and at least one other. The other is noncommercial raising of small animals, where bees appear in a list with poultry, rabbits, fish and earthworms, and which is permitted in more than one zone. If you want a couple of hives in a garden, the small animal route is likely the one that fits you; if you are running an apiary as an agricultural operation, it is the first. Neither provision sets a hive count. What you should confirm with the city is which zone your parcel is in and which of the two categories they consider your plans to fall under, because an earlier version of this card named specific zone codes that we could not verify against the published chapters, and getting the category right decides which list applies to you.

• Apiaries, described as bee farming, are a permitted use, as is noncommercial raising of small animals such as poultry, birds, fish, fowl, rabbits, chinchilla, mice, frogs, earthworms and bees. 17.10.020
• Apiaries, described as bee farming, are a permitted use. 17.13.020
• Noncommercial raising of small animals including bees is a permitted use. Apiaries as such are not named in this section. 17.11.020
• Apiculture is within the definition of agriculture, alongside dairying, pasturage, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture and animal and poultry husbandry. 17.06.020

Beekeeping is prohibited in PART of Corona — anywhere north of the southerly line of Chase Drive. The prohibition is geographic, not citywide, so which side of that line you are on decides whether you may keep bees at all.

Hive limit: Not stated in the prohibition section — see the code for the standards that apply where beekeeping is allowed.

Note: Read against the current Corona Municipal Code in August 2026. This card previously showed a blanket "Beekeeping prohibited" badge, which was wrong: 8.28.010 is a GEOGRAPHIC prohibition covering only the area north of the southerly line of Chase Drive. Separately, the setback figures on this record remain unverified — a 2020 note and a 2026 read disagree (1,500 ft vs 500 ft from buildings) and neither is quotable, so neither is published as fact.

• No person shall keep, maintain or harbor any bees in hives or any other device for harboring bees northerly of the southerly line of Chase Drive within the city. Corona Municipal Code 8.28.010 Prohibited area

Aviaries and apiaries require a conditional use permit in the open space districts where they are allowed, and are not permitted in the others.

Hive limit: No hive count or setback is set in the table. Conditions come with the use permit.

Note: Desert Hot Springs treats an apiary as a conditional use rather than something permitted by right, so the route is a use permit application with conditions attached to it. We could not reliably record which districts allow it, because the use table’s column headings do not survive the way the code is published and guessing a column is how a card becomes wrong. Ask the planning counter which of the open space districts your parcel falls in and whether apiaries are conditional there, and expect the hive numbers and setbacks to be set as conditions on the permit rather than read off the code.

• Aviary and apiary is listed under agriculture and animal keeping as requiring a conditional use permit in the districts where it is allowed, and as not permitted in others. Use table

A residential beekeeping permit from the community development department is required. No more than four bee boxes per residential lot, none taller than six feet, all in a rear yard, secured against unauthorised access and screened from any adjacent public street. Boxes must be continuously occupied by bees under the permit holder's control, and a swarm must be contained or relocated within three days.

Hive limit: Four bee boxes per residential lot, and each must be continuously occupied by bees under the control of the permit holder. That last condition means empty equipment left standing does not simply sit outside the count.

Note: Eastvale rewrote this in 2024 and it is a well-made suburban ordinance. Get a residential beekeeping permit from the community development department first. You may then keep up to four bee boxes on a residential lot, none more than six feet tall, which is worth planning your supers around in a good year. All boxes go in a rear yard, must be secured against unauthorised access, and must be screened so they cannot be seen from an adjacent public street. Two conditions here are unusual and both are worth knowing. Boxes must be continuously occupied by bees under your control, so a permit does not let you store empty equipment in the back garden, and a dead-out is something to deal with rather than leave. And if your bees swarm you must contain or relocate them as quickly as possible and in no case more than three days, which is the only hard deadline on swarm retrieval in this whole dataset. Plan for it: know who you would call, or keep a swarm box ready. The nuisance test is written in terms of behaviour rather than distance. It is a public nuisance to keep bees in a way that lets them exhibit defensive or objectionable behaviour, or interfere with the normal use of neighbouring properties. There is no setback and no lot size minimum in the section, so siting is governed by the rear yard, screening and security requirements instead. California still requires apiary registration with the Riverside County agricultural commissioner.

• Obtain a residential beekeeping permit from the community development department before keeping bees in a residential zone. § 120.04.080(e)(2)
• Keep no more than four bee boxes on any residential lot. § 120.04.080(e)(3)
• Bee boxes may not exceed six feet in height. § 120.04.080(e)(4)
• Bee boxes must be continuously occupied by bees under the control of the permit holder. § 120.04.080(e)(5)
• Locate bee boxes in a rear yard, secured from unauthorised access, and screened so they cannot be seen from an adjacent public street. § 120.04.080(e)(6)
• It is a public nuisance to keep bees in a manner that allows them to exhibit defensive or objectionable behaviour, or to interfere with the normal use of neighbouring properties. § 120.04.080(e)(7)a
• If your bees swarm you must contain or relocate them as quickly as possible, and in no case more than three days. § 120.04.080(e)(7)b
• Residential beekeeping means keeping or maintaining bees as an accessory use. § 120.04.080(e)(1)

Three hundred feet from any public road, and five hundred feet from the nearest dwelling or business unless the owner or occupant gives permission. Colony numbers are set by tract size, two on a quarter acre up to eight on an acre or more, with no limit at all where every hive sits two hundred feet from the property lines. A six foot flyway barrier is required near dwellings, businesses, school yards or anywhere people congregate.

Hive limit: Two colonies on a quarter acre or less, four on more than a quarter but under half an acre, six from half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or larger. Unlimited where all hives are at least two hundred feet from every property line, or where everything within two hundred feet of each hive is undeveloped. Plus one nucleus colony for every two full colonies, kept no more than thirty days.

Note: Start with the two distances, because they are what will decide your site, and one of them can be negotiated. Every apiary must be at least three hundred feet from any and all public roads, and that one has no exception written into it. Every apiary must also be at least five hundred feet from the nearest structure used as a dwelling or a business, unless the owner or occupant of that building has given permission, and the city inspector can ask you to produce evidence of the permission on request. So in practice Hemet outside open land runs on your neighbours agreeing, and it is worth getting that in writing and keeping it. What earlier summaries got wrong is the two hundred feet. It is not a setback. It is the threshold at which the colony limit vanishes: if every hive sits at least two hundred feet in any direction from all your property lines, or if everything within two hundred feet of your hives is undeveloped land, you may keep as many colonies as you like. Otherwise the count goes by tract size, two on a quarter acre or less, four above a quarter and under half, six from half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or more, with one nucleus colony allowed for every two full colonies so long as it is combined or moved on within thirty days. The husbandry rules are the same model text used in Beaumont. Langstroth hives with removable frames in sound condition. A flyway barrier at least six feet high extending ten feet past the colony in each direction wherever a colony sits near a dwelling or business structure, a school yard, or anywhere people congregate, so bees are forced up over head height. A duty to requeen promptly, from gentle non-swarming stock, if a colony stings without due provocation or shows an unusual disposition to swarm. And your name, address and telephone number branded, painted or marked on at least two hives at opposite ends of the apiary, or on a posted sign. Separately from all of that, an apiary is unlawful anywhere in Hemet if its bees enter other people's land in enough numbers to endanger public health or safety or create an unreasonable nuisance, however far away the hives are.

• Keep every apiary at least three hundred feet from any and all public roads. No exception is written into this distance. § 10-109(a)
• Keep every apiary at least five hundred feet from the nearest structure used as a dwelling or a business, unless the owner or occupant of that building has given permission. The city inspector may require satisfactory evidence of the permission. § 10-109(b)
• Two colonies on a tract of a quarter acre or less, four on more than a quarter but less than half an acre, six on half an acre to under an acre, and eight on an acre or larger. There is NO limit at all where every hive sits at least two hundred feet in any direction from the property lines, or where all property within a two hundred foot radius of every hive is undeveloped. § 10-108(a)
• For every two colonies allowed, you may also keep one nucleus colony, in a hive body no larger than a single standard nine and five eighths inch ten frame box with no supers, for swarm management. Each nucleus must be combined with an authorised colony or disposed of within thirty days of acquiring it. § 10-108(b)
• Keep all colonies in Langstroth type hives with removable frames, maintained in sound and usable condition. § 10-104
• Where a colony sits near a dwelling or business structure, a school yard, or anywhere people congregate, maintain a flyway barrier at least six feet high of solid wall, fence, dense vegetation or a combination, extending ten feet beyond the colony in each direction, so bees are forced to fly at least six feet above ground level near the apiary. § 10-110
• If a colony stings or tries to sting without due provocation, or shows an unusual disposition toward swarming, you have a duty to requeen it promptly. Queens must be selected from stock bred for gentleness and non-swarming characteristics. § 10-107
• Mark your name, address and telephone number on at least two hives placed at opposite ends of the apiary, or post a conspicuous sign with the same. Without marking, the person in possession of the land is presumed to be the beekeeper unless a written agreement names someone else. § 10-111
• No apiary may be kept anywhere in the city where its bees enter the land or property of others in sufficient amounts to endanger public health or safety, or to create an unreasonable nuisance, regardless of the distances above. § 10-109(c)

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 Riverside 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.

Indio has a dedicated beekeeping standards section within its 2022 animal keeping chapter, and classes beekeeping as noncommercial animal raising and keeping.

Hive limit: Set by § 4.04.03, whose text we were unable to recover from the published document.

Note: Indio rewrote its animal keeping rules in 2022 and gave beekeeping its own standards section, § 4.04.03, which is the provision you need. We were not able to read that section reliably from the way the code is published, so we have not recorded hive numbers or setbacks for Indio and you should not assume there are none. Ask the city for § 4.04.03 directly. What we can tell you is that the code treats beekeeping as noncommercial animal raising and keeping, and that the chapter’s stated aim is to prevent adverse effects on neighbouring properties rather than to prohibit.

• The purpose of the chapter is to ensure that the keeping, raising and maintenance of animals and bees does not create an adverse impact on adjacent properties by reason of dust, fumes, noise, odour, insect or vermin infestation or visual blight, and to maintain animal welfare and public health and safety. 4.04.01
• Beekeeping falls within "animal raising and keeping, small livestock, poultry, and beekeeping", the raising, care and maintenance of animals on private property for noncommercial purposes. That classification is distinct from animal husbandry and production, which separately includes beekeeping among its typical uses. Definitions
• The chapter contains a dedicated section headed "Standards for Beekeeping", the text of which we were unable to recover from the published document. 4.04.03

See municipal code for further regulations such as water supply and apiary identification.

• A plentiful supply of fresh water must be furnished and kept available to all apiaries at all times, unless an apiary is so located that the nearest supply of water is an isolated stream or reservoir where water is available to such bees, and all other sources of water at locations where people or animals congregate, dwell, reside or remain are farther from the apiary than the stream or reservoir. Sec. 6.90.040.
• All apiaries owned or kept within the city near school yards or places where people congregate shall be located and maintained behind barriers, natural or otherwise, so as to cause bees to fly at a high altitude over such school yard or places where people congregate. Sec. 6.90.020.
• Whenever there exists upon any premises within the city a bee hazard, written notice shall be given to the person having control or possession of the apiary on such premises and the owner of such premises in the manner hereinafter stated, to abate such nuisance. Sec. 6.90.100.
• When the temperature exceeds fifty-five (55) degrees Fahrenheit, no person shall transport within the city between one-half (½) hour before sunrise and one-half (½) hour after sunset hives of bees, or cause the same to be done, unless such bees are confined by screens in good repair or other equally effective means of confinement. Sec. 6.90.050.
• In the enforcement of this chapter, the city officers and employees, may, upon routine inspection, or whenever they are informed or have reasonable cause to believe that there is an existing condition upon any premises upon which an apiary is located that is causing a bee hazard, to enter upon such premises and to determine whether or not there is an existing bee hazard. Sec. 6.90.090.
• If it is determined at the hearing that the apiary was placed on the premises without the consent of the owner of such premises and that he has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, costs for the abatement shall not be assessed against such premises or otherwise attempted to be collected from the owner of such premises. Sec. 6.90.110.
• (1) By a sign which is prominently displayed on the entrance side of the apiary, that states in black letters not less than one (1) inch in height on a background of contrasting color that name of the owner or person having control or possession of the apiary, his or her address and telephone number, or if he or she has no telephone, a statement to that effect; or (2) In letters not less than one (1) inch in height on a background of contrasting color, the name of the owner or person in possession of the apiary, his or her address and telephone number stenciled on a beehive located at the entrance of the apiary. Sec. 6.90.030.

The code defines apiaries but sets no standards for keeping them.

Two colonies or hives maximum, each with no more than two supers, with exceptions available by conditional use permit.

Hive limit: Two colonies or beehives, and no more than two supers or honey-collecting cells per colony.

Note: Lake Elsinore limits you to two colonies, and unusually it also limits the equipment: no more than two supers per colony. That is a cap on how much honey a hive can store rather than on where it sits, and a strong colony in a good year will want more than two supers, so if you intend to run full stacks you will need the conditional use permit that § 6.13.030 provides for. The ordinance dates from 1985 and has not been modernised, so it is worth confirming with the city how the super limit is applied in practice before you buy equipment.

• The purpose of the chapter is to regulate the keeping of bees to protect public safety, health and welfare. 6.13.010
• Not more than two bee colonies or beehives, with no more than two supers or honey-collecting cells per colony, are permitted, subject to the conditions of the section. 6.13.020
• Exceptions to the limits in § 6.13.020 may be made by the granting of a conditional use permit. 6.13.030

The City of Menifee hereby adopts Riverside County Code 551; Control of Bees

Hives must be 400 feet from any street and 500 feet from any school, park, property boundary, dwelling or place of business, with a water source on site.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The separations are what govern.

Note: Moreno Valley allows apiaries in principle but the distances rule out most sites. The one to check first is the 500 feet from any property boundary, because unlike a setback from a neighbour’s house it applies to your own parcel edges, so you need a holding wide enough to put hives 500 feet inside every line. Add 400 feet from any street and 500 feet from schools, parks, dwellings and businesses, and this becomes a rule for large acreage rather than a residential lot. A water source must be provided on site.

• An apiary is permitted provided all hives or boxes housing bees are placed at least 400 feet from any street, road or highway, and a minimum of 500 feet from any public school, park, property boundary, or from any structure used as a dwelling or as a place of business. A water source must be provided on site. 9.09.090

Apiaries are allowed for the noncommercial use of the occupants only, and every box or hive must sit at least four hundred feet from any highway, road or street, any public school, park, property boundary, dwelling or place of business. The four hundred feet from a property boundary is the constraint that decides almost every site.

Hive limit: No hive count. Murrieta controls apiaries entirely by distance.

Note: Measure before you do anything else, because in Murrieta the geometry decides it. Every box or hive must be at least four hundred feet from any highway, road or street, from any public school, park, dwelling or place of business, and from any property boundary. That last one is the one to think about: four hundred feet from your own property line in every direction means the hive has to sit in the middle of a parcel roughly eight acres or larger before it clears the boundary alone, and then the roads and dwellings still have to clear too. On a normal residential lot there is no compliant location. This is not written as a prohibition and it is fair to say the city has not banned beekeeping, but the practical effect on most parcels is the same, and it is worth knowing that before buying bees rather than after. Apiaries are also limited to the noncommercial use of the occupants of the premises, so keeping hives on land you do not live on, or running them as a business, is outside what this section provides for. If your parcel is large enough, note there is no hive count and no permit. California still requires apiary registration with the Riverside County agricultural commissioner.

• Apiaries are for the noncommercial use of the occupants of the premises only. § 16.44.040
• Every box or hive must be placed at least four hundred feet from any highway, road or street. § 16.44.040
• Every box or hive must be placed at least four hundred feet from any property boundary. § 16.44.040
• Every box or hive must be placed at least four hundred feet from any public school or park. § 16.44.040
• Every box or hive must be placed at least four hundred feet from any structure used as a dwelling or as a place of business. § 16.44.040

Norco’s apiary ordinance is written expressly to implement and supplement the state scheme, and opens by quoting the Legislature’s finding that a healthy apiary industry is in the state’s interest.

Hive limit: See the chapter for the operative standards; the framing provisions are recorded here.

Note: Norco is worth reading even if you keep bees elsewhere. Its beekeeping ordinance opens by quoting the California Legislature’s own finding that a healthy apiary industry matters to the state’s economy and that protecting it is in the public interest, and it describes the city’s rules as implementing and supplementing the state scheme rather than standing apart from it. For a beekeeper that framing is useful: it puts the city’s requirements in the context of Food and Agricultural Code section 29000 and following, which is the law the county agricultural commissioner enforces. Register with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner, and read the chapter itself for the siting standards.

• The chapter is known as the City of Norco beekeeping and apiaries ordinance. It recites the Legislature’s finding in Food and Agricultural Code section 29000 that a healthy and vibrant apiary industry is important to the economy and welfare of the people of California and that protecting the industry is in the interest of the people of the state. Ch. 5.36 purpose
• Food and Agricultural Code section 29000 and following, together with California Code of Regulations Title 3, Food and Agriculture, Article 3, establish apiary regulations enforced by the Director of the State Department of Agriculture, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and county agricultural commissioners. The chapter is intended to implement and supplement those state regulations and to ensure beekeepers maintain apiaries responsibly. Ch. 5.36 purpose

Beekeeping is permitted with standards in several districts, under regulations adopted expressly to promote urban beekeeping.

Hive limit: Set by § 25.34.170. The use table permits apiaries in several districts and excludes them from others.

Note: Palm Desert regulates beekeeping in order to encourage it. The chapter says so directly, citing the federal Pollinator Health Task Force and describing its rules as minimum standards that allow beekeeping in residential settings rather than restrictions on it. Whether you may keep bees on a particular parcel is decided by the zoning use table, which permits apiaries in several districts and not in others, so check your district first and then work to the standards in § 25.34.170. Rancho Mirage uses almost identical purpose language.

• The purpose of the beekeeping provisions is to provide for the safe and orderly keeping of bees in Palm Desert and to promote urban beekeeping, supported by the Pollinator Health Task Force created by 2014 Presidential order to address the decline of honey bees and other pollinators. The regulations create minimum standards that allow beekeeping in residential settings. 25.34.170
• Apiary is listed as a permitted agriculture-related use in several zoning districts and as not permitted in others, subject in each case to the standards of § 25.34.170. 25.42 use table

Palm Springs defines an apiary in its zoning code, including keeping bees for pollination, but no hive count, setback or permit was found.

Hive limit: No hive count, setback or permit was found in the documents searched.

Note: Palm Springs defines an apiary in its zoning code, and notably its definition covers hives kept for pollination as well as for honey, which is broader than most. Beyond the definition we found no hive count, setback or permit requirement in the zoning regulations searched. Because the code names the use, it is worth asking the planning counter which districts permit it before siting hives, since a defined use is usually a use the tables allocate somewhere. Register with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner as state law requires.

• "Apiary" means a place where bees are kept, especially a collection of hives or colonies of bees kept for their honey and/or for pollination purposes. Definitions

Apiaries are a permitted use in the A-1 light agricultural zone, listed with nurseries, greenhouses, orchards and aviaries.

Hive limit: No hive count is set in the permitted use list.

Note: Perris permits apiaries in its A-1 light agricultural zone, in a list alongside nurseries, greenhouses, orchards and aviaries, and it does not attach a hive count or setbacks to them. The context of that list matters though: it is framed around growing on a commercial scale, so if you are on a residential lot rather than agricultural land, this provision is probably not the one that governs you, and we did not find a separate residential allowance. Check your zoning first. One thing to be ready for: Perris's vector control chapter defines a vector broadly enough to include bees, in the same breath as mosquitoes, flies, ticks and wasps. That is a public health abatement definition written for pest control and it is not a rule about keeping hives, but it is the sort of provision that gets quoted at a beekeeper during a complaint, so it is better to know it is there.

• Apiaries are a permitted use, together with nurseries, greenhouses, orchards, aviaries and the raising of field crops, tree crops, berry or bush crops, or vegetable or flower growing on a commercial scale. 19.20.020
• The vector control chapter defines a vector to include any animal capable of transmitting disease or producing human discomfort or injury, listing mosquitoes, flies, ticks, bees, wasps, other arthropods and rodents. 7.54.010

Residential beekeeping is allowed with hives ten feet from all property lines, entrances facing away, requeening every two years and a water source.

Hive limit: See the chapter for hive numbers; the siting and management standards are recorded here.

Note: Rancho Mirage opens by saying it wants to promote urban beekeeping, and its standards are the ones now common across California: hives ten feet off every property line with the entrances turned away, enough space inside to prevent swarming, requeening at least every two years, and water on site so your bees are not drinking from a neighbour’s pool. One thing to plan around, because it sits oddly with the rest: a colony that swarms is listed as a public nuisance even though the same section requires you to manage against swarming. Keep records of your space management and requeening dates in case you ever need to show you did the work.

• The purpose is to provide for the safe and orderly keeping of bees and to promote urban beekeeping, supported by the Pollinator Health Task Force created by 2014 Presidential order. 6.70.010
• Hives must be located at least ten feet from all property lines, and beehive colony entrances must face away from the nearest property lines to ensure an appropriate flight path height. 6.70.030(D)
• Colonies must be continually managed to provide adequate living space to prevent swarming, requeened at least once every two years, provided with a water source at all times to discourage bees visiting swimming pools and hose bibs, and their maintenance equipment stored in a sealed container or enclosure. 6.70.030(E)
• Bees or hives are a public nuisance where colonies show defensive behaviour associated with guarding, pursuing and stinging, interfere with the normal use of neighbouring properties, or swarm. A violation is an infraction and is also subject to administrative fines and penalties. 6.70.030(F)-(G)

Three hundred feet from any public street, road or freeway unless natural barriers stop the bees being a nuisance to people using it, and five hundred feet from houses or buildings unless the occupant gives permission. Within five hundred feet of a school yard or anywhere people congregate, the apiary must sit behind a barrier at least six feet high. A plentiful fresh water supply is required before the apiary is placed.

Hive limit: No hive count anywhere in the chapter. Riverside controls apiaries by distance, barriers and nuisance powers rather than by number.

Note: Read the two big distances together with the words that follow them, because both come with a way out. Apiaries must sit at least three hundred feet from any public street, road or freeway, unless there are natural barriers that stop the bees being a nuisance or hazard to people using it. They must sit at least five hundred feet from houses or buildings, unless you first get permission from the occupant or the person in charge of that building. Within five hundred feet of a school yard, or anywhere people congregate, the apiary has to be behind a barrier at least six feet high, natural or built. Water comes before the bees do: before placing an apiary you need a plentiful fresh water supply available at all times, either within one hundred feet of the apiary, or a stream or reservoir with fresh water within three hundred feet. If you rely on the stream, any other water the bees could use at a place where people or animals are present has to be a quarter mile away from it. Every water source has to be on land you own or have written permission for. If the apiary is not at your own home it needs a sign on the entrance side, or stencilled on the hive, giving your name, address and telephone number in dark letters at least an inch high on a contrasting background, or the number of someone who has agreed in writing to be responsible for the bees. Two things to take seriously. Bees that interfere with the normal use of property, or show unusual aggression towards a person or animal, are a public nuisance, and whoever is in possession of the property has a duty to make a good faith effort to exterminate them. If that does not happen, the Director of Public Works will have it done and the property owner pays for the removal of the dead bees, comb and hives. And bees leaving your land in substantial numbers and causing a public nuisance is itself a breach, regardless of how far the hives are from anything. Penalties escalate: a fine for a first and second offence, and a misdemeanour carrying up to a thousand dollars or six months from the third, with each day counting as a separate offence.

• Get written permission from the property owner or occupant before locating or maintaining an apiary on land you do not own or lease. § 8.20.060(A)
• Keep the apiary at least three hundred feet from any public street, road or freeway, unless there are natural barriers preventing the bees from being a nuisance or hazard to people using it. § 8.20.060(B)
• Keep the apiary at least five hundred feet from houses or buildings, unless you first obtain permission from the occupant or the person in charge of that house or building. § 8.20.060(C)
• An apiary within five hundred feet of a school yard, or of any place where people congregate, must be located and maintained behind a barrier, natural or otherwise, at least six feet high. § 8.20.060(D)
• Before placing an apiary, provide a plentiful fresh water supply kept available at all times: within one hundred feet of the apiary, or a stream or reservoir with fresh water within three hundred feet. Where you rely on a stream or reservoir, every other water source available to the bees at a place where people or animals are present must be a quarter mile from it, and all water sources must be on land you own or have written permission for. § 8.20.070
• An apiary on premises other than your own residence must carry a sign, prominently displayed on the entrance side or stencilled on the hive, giving the name, address and telephone number of the person responsible, in dark letters at least one inch high on a contrasting background. If you have no telephone, give the number of someone who has agreed in writing to be responsible for the bees. § 8.20.060(F)
• No apiary may be kept if substantial numbers of its bees enter other land and cause a public nuisance endangering health, safety and welfare or damaging property. § 8.20.060(E)
• Bees that interfere with the normal use of private or public property, or show unusual aggressive behaviour towards a person or animal, are a public nuisance, and whoever owns or is in possession of the property has a duty to make a good faith effort to exterminate them. § 8.20.020
• On a notice to abate you have ten days to destroy the nuisance bees and remove the dead bees, comb and hives, with a right of appeal within ten days. If you do not, the Director of Public Works has it done and the property owner pays. In cases of manifest public danger the city may act immediately with no notice at all. §§ 8.20.030, 8.20.040, 8.20.050
• Penalties escalate. A first offence is an infraction fined between fifty and one hundred dollars, a second between one hundred and two hundred, and a third or later offence is a misdemeanour carrying up to one thousand dollars or six months in jail, or both. Each day the violation continues is a separate offence, and the court may order you to reimburse the city's enforcement costs. § 8.20.100

The chapter sets requirements of sound beekeeping practice and expects all beekeepers to be registered with the state as required by law.

Hive limit: See the chapter for hive numbers; the framing and definitions are recorded here.

Note: San Jacinto frames its rules as sound beekeeping practice for populated areas rather than as restrictions, and it expects you to be registered with the state, which in practice means registering your hives with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner. Its chapter carries the same number, 8.12, as Riverside County’s bee chapter, so read the county rules alongside it. Confirm the current hive numbers and setbacks with the city, since the chapter dates from 1994.

• The chapter establishes requirements of sound beekeeping practices intended to avoid problems otherwise associated with keeping bees in populated areas. All beekeepers are expected to be certified and registered with the state of California as required by state law and to abide by any other state or federal law governing beekeeping. 8.12.010
• "Apiary" means a place where bee colonies are kept. "Bee" means any stage of the common domestic honey bee, Apis mellifera. "Colony" means a hive and its equipment and appurtenances including bees, comb, pollen and brood. "Hive" means a structure intended for the housing of a bee colony. "Tract" means a contiguous parcel of land under common ownership. 8.12.020

Apiaries are permitted by right on half an acre or more in all zones except HR, HR-SM and OS/OS-C, with a 400 foot setback and a continuous water source.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The half-acre minimum and the 400 ft setback are what govern.

Note: Temecula is refreshingly direct: half an acre or more, in any zone except HR, HR-SM and OS/OS-C, and beekeeping is permitted by right with no permit to obtain. The catch is the setback. Four hundred feet applies not only to streets, day cares, schools and parks but to any property line in different ownership and any dwelling other than your own, and on a half-acre parcel the property line is what will bind. In practice that means this works on larger holdings and rarely on the minimum half acre unless neighbouring land is yours. Water must be continuously available on site.

• Apiaries or beekeeping are permitted by right on a minimum of 0.5 acres in all zones except HR, HR-SM and OS/OS-C. Animal keeping standards
• A 400 foot minimum setback applies to all bee hives, apiaries or boxes housing bees from any public street or highway, day care, educational institution, park, property line to a different ownership, or from any dwelling or place of human habitation other than that occupied by the owner or caretaker of the bees. Animal keeping standards
• A source of fresh water must be made continuously available on site for the bees. Animal keeping standards

Apiaries must be 300 feet from any public road and 500 feet from the nearest dwelling or place of business, unless that owner gives permission.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The separations govern.

Note: Wildomar’s rules are Riverside County’s, copied into the city code at the same section numbers, so the county chapter and the county’s Ordinance 551 are worth reading alongside this card. The two distances that matter are 300 feet from any public road and 500 feet from the nearest home or business, and the second can be waived if that owner agrees, though you may be asked to show the Agriculture Commissioner evidence of it. Near a school yard or anywhere people gather you must also put barriers between the hives and the people so the bees fly high over them, which is written as a purpose rather than a fixed height, so a hedge or fence that actually lifts the flight path will do.

• All apiaries owned or kept within the city must be located at least 300 feet from any and all public roads. 8.12.020(A)
• All apiaries must be at least 500 feet from the nearest structure used as a dwelling or place of business, and may only be closer if the owner or person in possession of that structure gives permission. Satisfactory evidence of that permission must be furnished to the Agriculture Commissioner on request. 8.12.020(B)
• Apiaries near school yards or places where people congregate must be located and maintained behind barriers, natural or otherwise, so as to cause bees to fly at a high altitude over such places. 8.12.020(C)
• An apiary kept on premises other than the beekeeper’s own must be identified. 8.12.030