San Diego County Beekeeping Regulations

Beekeeping is allowed in the unincorporated county under a three-tier scheme sized by colony count, with setbacks, a signed best-practices checklist at registration and a monthly hive check. Registration applies everywhere in the county, including inside cities.

Hive limit: No maximum. Tier A is 1-2 colonies per location (up to 5 for 30 days to prevent swarming), Tier B is 3-20, Tier C is more than 20. Setbacks grow with the tier.

Note: San Diego County has the most complete beekeeping ordinance in California, and the first thing to know is which part of it reaches you. One section reaches everybody: if you keep bees anywhere in the county, city or country, you must register your colony count and every apiary location with the Agricultural Commissioner each January, or within thirty days of getting bees. Everything else in the ordinance applies only in the unincorporated county, so if you are inside a city read that city card instead. Out in the county, the rules scale with how many colonies you run. One or two colonies is Tier A: 25 feet from the road and the property line, 35 feet from a neighbour home, 150 feet from a sensitive site such as a school or a care facility. Three to twenty is Tier B and the distances roughly double. More than twenty is Tier C. You may run up to five colonies for thirty days even in Tier A if you are heading off a swarm. Two duties catch people out. You sign a best practices checklist for your tier when you register, and that checklist is then binding on you. And you must inspect every colony at least once a month, which is the county saying it expects hives to be managed rather than parked. Note the flyover barrier rule carefully: in a residential area within 300 feet of a neighbour dwelling you need a six-foot barrier, and your boundary fence does not count, because the barrier has to surround the hives themselves. Keep fresh water with landing places so bees do not drown, and do not let it go stagnant. Keep the ten feet around your hives cleared to bare earth, keep a shovel and an extinguisher or a charged hose to hand, and put your name and telephone number on the hives in black letters an inch high. If you move bees in daylight the vehicle has to be screened.

• Every beekeeper in the county, inside cities as well as out, must register the number of colonies and the location of each apiary with the Agricultural Commissioner on 1 January each year, or within 30 calendar days of acquiring an apiary. Beekeepers wanting advance notice of qualified pesticide applications must tell the Commissioner. 62.903
• Apart from the registration section, this ordinance applies only to apiary locations in the unincorporated areas of the county. It does not regulate feral swarms or wild hives. 62.904
• Bees must be kept in housing the beekeeper provides, with movable frames giving an inspector full access to brood, drones, queens, workers, comb, honey and pollen. 62.905
• Tier A is 1 to 2 colonies per apiary location, with up to 5 allowed temporarily for up to 30 calendar days to prevent swarming. Tier B is 3 to 20 colonies. Tier C is more than 20. 62.906
• Distance from roads, measured from the nearest edge: 25 feet for Tier A, 50 feet for Tier B, 100 feet for Tier C. 62.907
• Distance from a neighbouring dwelling, measured from its nearest portion: 35 feet for Tier A, 100 feet for Tier B, 300 feet for Tier C. 62.908
• Distance from the adjacent property line: 25 feet for Tier A, 50 feet for Tier B. The Commissioner may allow a closer placement on an open-space-adjacent property where that would not endanger health or safety or create a nuisance. 62.909
• Distance from a sensitive site, measured from the nearest edge of its property line: 150 feet for Tier A; 150 feet for Tier B at 3 to 10 colonies and 300 feet at 11 to 20; 450 feet for Tier C. 62.910
• Complete, sign and submit the BMP Checklist for your tier at the time of annual registration, and implement every practice it requires. 62.911
• Mark the beekeeper name and telephone number on all apiary hives in black letters at least one inch high on a contrasting background. 62.912
• Inspect each colony at least once a month to catch objectionable behaviour or apiary pests in time to act. Practise swarm prevention and give colonies room to grow. Tier A may run up to 5 colonies for up to 30 days for swarm prevention. 62.913
• A Tier A or Tier B apiary of 20 or fewer colonies in a residential area within 300 feet of a neighbouring dwelling must have a 6 foot vertical flyover barrier. A property line fence does not count as one: the barrier must surround the immediate vicinity of the hives while leaving room to work them. 62.914
• Keep an adequate accessible supply of fresh water available at all times, including before bees arrive at a new location, with landing sites so bees can drink without drowning or crowding. Letting the water go stagnant or become a mosquito breeding site is unlawful. 62.915
• Firebreak: clear the 10 feet around the apiary to bare earth, which is the only firebreak required for 5 colonies or fewer in a residential area; from 10 to 30 feet keep combustible vegetation to 6 inches or less, and do the same along vehicle routes to the apiary. Live trees need not be removed unless the fire official requires it. 62.916
• Keep a shovel plus either a fire extinguisher or backpack pump, or a charged garden hose with a nozzle reaching the apiary, in working order at the apiary or in the vehicle used for maintenance. 62.917
• Plug the bee smoker with metal, hardwood or another noncombustible plug while carrying it to or from an apiary. If it still holds burning or smouldering material, carry it in a noncombustible secondary container with the lid fastened, whether by hand or by vehicle. Extinguish the contents with water after use until cold to the touch. 62.918
• A beekeeper or property owner may ask for a voluntary inspection. Inspectors may enter any apiary location at reasonable times under Food and Agricultural Code section 29201, and no apiary may be maintained in a way that hinders access to the inside of a hive. 62.919-62.920
• No one may transport a colony between sunrise and sunset unless the vehicle has bee-tight screens or other devices preventing escape. This section carries misdemeanor liability under Food and Agricultural Code sections 29300-29311. 62.921
• No beekeeper may own or operate an apiary that shows undesirable honey bee behaviour, contains apiary pests, or is abandoned, as the Commissioner determines. 62.923
• Undesirable honey bee behaviour means behaviour from a managed hive that may harm others, including guarding a larger territorial perimeter in greater numbers than European honey bees typically do, over-defensiveness to minimal or no provocation, repeated swarming, unpredictability and agitation during inspection. Honey bees foraging on flowering vegetation is normal and desirable. 62.902(r)
• Sensitive sites include schools, playgrounds, picnic areas, outdoor sports facilities, daycare centres, senior care facilities, medical facilities, kennels and horse-boarding facilities. Residents with medical reasons, and businesses whose employees have medical reasons or where bees would disrupt work, may apply to have a location designated sensitive; the Commissioner decides and may also remove a designation. 62.902(q)
• An apiary counts as abandoned when the beekeeper has stopped managing it, deserted it, left it on another person property without authorisation, or left it unidentified or unregistered. Hives are abandoned when the owner fails to contact the Commissioner within 30 calendar days of a notice posted at the apiary. 62.902(a)

No apiary may be kept within 150 feet of the nearest house or building inhabited as a dwelling, other than buildings the beekeeper owns or controls, unless the occupant gives written permission first. That permission can be withdrawn at any time by written notice. An apiary kept anywhere other than the beekeeper’s own residence must also carry an identification sign.

Hive limit: No hive count is set anywhere in the chapter. The binding number is the 150 foot separation from other people’s dwellings, and unlike most setbacks of its kind that one can be waived in writing by the neighbour it protects.

Note: Carlsbad has a real beekeeping chapter and the number that decides most cases is 150 feet: no apiary may sit closer than that to the nearest house or building someone lives in, not counting buildings you own or control yourself. On an ordinary suburban lot that cannot be met, so read the next sentence carefully, because it is the one that matters. The setback can be waived. If the occupant of that dwelling gives you written permission, the distance requirement is satisfied. The permission is revocable at any time by written notice, so it is worth having on good terms as well as on paper. That waiver is unusual and it is what separates Carlsbad from Vista next door, whose almost identical 1963 chapter sets 600 feet and writes in no exception at all. The rest is straightforward. If you keep bees anywhere other than your own home, the apiary needs a sign on the entrance side, on the longer side of the hive or super, in black letters at least an inch high on a contrasting background, giving your name, address and telephone number, or the words "No Phone" if you have none. You need the landowner’s permission before placing hives on land that is not yours. Hives moved in daylight must have the bees screened into the vehicle. One provision is worth knowing is unenforceable as written: § 7.12.050 says an apiary must not be kept at a distance from a public road "which distance would constitute a nuisance", which sets no distance you could actually comply with in advance. Enforcement runs through county law enforcement, and you get written notice before any penalty. Separately from all of this, state law requires you to register your apiary with the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.

• No apiary may be kept closer than 150 feet to the nearest house or building inhabited as a dwelling, except buildings owned or controlled by the apiary owner. The distance requirement does not apply if the beekeeper first obtains written permission from the occupant or person using that dwelling. Such permission is revocable at any time by written notice served on the beekeeper. 7.12.060
• An apiary may not be kept on the lands of another without first obtaining permission from the owner or the person entitled to possession of the land. 7.12.070
• No apiary may be kept at a distance from a public road which would constitute a nuisance. The section states no distance, so it cannot be complied with in advance by measurement. 7.12.050
• Every person maintaining an apiary on premises other than that of their residence must affix a sign showing the owner’s name, address and telephone number, or the words "No Phone" if they have none. The sign goes on the longer side of the hive or the longer side of the super, prominently located on the entrance side of the apiary, and must be maintained at all times. Lettering is black, printed or stencilled in black paint or ink, at least one inch high on white or another contrasting colour. 7.12.020—7.12.040
• Hives of bees transported during daylight hours must have the bees confined to the vehicle by screens or other means. 7.12.080
• Any county law enforcement officer may serve written notice of a violation, personally, by mail, or by posting the notice for five days in a conspicuous place on the apiary. A person who has been served and refuses to comply is guilty of a misdemeanour. 7.12.090—7.12.100
• "Apiary" includes bees, one or more hives of bees and appliances, wherever kept, located or found. "Hives" means any object or container made or prepared for the use of bees, or taken possession of by bees. "Location" means the lands upon which an apiary is located or found. 7.12.010

Full rules for Carlsbad, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Hives are unlawful within 600 feet of any building used for residential purposes, which covers effectively the whole city. Three exceptions survive, including hives kept on residential property for research or study.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The 600 ft separation from any residential building is the binding constraint.

Note: Read past the heading here, because it points the wrong way. The section is called "Beekeeping permitted when", but what it actually does is make hives unlawful anywhere within 600 feet of a building used as a residence. Chula Vista is a city of nearly 300,000 and there is almost nowhere in it that is 600 feet from somebody home, so treat ordinary backyard beekeeping as closed. There are three exceptions and one of them may matter to you. Hives are allowed in a schoolhouse or museum for study or observation, in a physician office or laboratory for medical or scientific work, and, importantly, on residential property when kept for scientific research or study purposes and maintained so as not to be a nuisance or annoyance to the neighbours. That third one is the only door into a back garden, and the code does not say who decides whether what you are doing counts as study, nor is there any permit to apply for. If that route interests you, put the question to the city planning counter in writing before you buy bees, and ask them to tell you what they would accept as research or study. Register with the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner either way, since that duty reaches inside every city in the county.

• It is unlawful for any owner or occupant to allow, permit or maintain stands or hives of bees on their premises if the premises are within 600 feet of any building used for residential purposes in the city. 6.04.100
• The section does not prohibit keeping bees in a hive or box located in a schoolhouse or museum for the purpose of study or observation. 6.04.100
• The section does not prohibit keeping bees in a hive or box located and kept within a physician office or laboratory for medical research, medical treatment or scientific purposes. 6.04.100
• The section does not prohibit keeping bees in a hive or box located on residential property for scientific research or study purposes, when maintained so as to prevent a nuisance or annoyance to surrounding property owners. 6.04.100

Full rules for Chula Vista, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Beekeeping is prohibited. The code makes keeping any bees, hive or apiary within the city unlawful and a nuisance.

Hive limit: Beekeeping is prohibited outright.

Note: Read against the current Coronado Municipal Code in August 2026. The prohibition is unconditional on its face — subsection (B) names bees, hives and apiaries specifically, alongside a separate livestock ban in (A). Confirm at the source before acting.

• It is unlawful and a nuisance for any person to keep, or cause to be kept, or to permit or suffer to be kept, or to maintain or control any bees, or hive of or for bees, or any apiary within the limits of this City. CMC 32.20.020(B)

Full rules for Coronado, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

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

Beekeeping is permitted only in the O-S, RS-40 and RS-20 zones, and there up to four hives with county registration, screening from the street and a 15 cubic foot cap on hive size.

Hive limit: Up to four beehives per property, and only in the O-S, RS-40 and RS-20 zones.

Note: Check your zone before anything else, because that is what decides the answer in El Cajon. The beekeeping section reads as though the city welcomes hives, and it does, but only on the larger residential lots: the land use table permits keeping bees for personal use in the RS-40 and RS-20 zones, which are the 40,000 and 20,000 square foot minimum lot zones, and in the O-S open space zone. In RS-14, RS-9, RS-6 and all of the multifamily zones it is marked not permitted, and those cover most of the city. If you are in one of the three zones that allow it, the rules are straightforward. Register with the County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures first, keep no more than four hives, use a docile stock, keep the hives out of the front and exterior yards and out of sight from the street, keep them outside your zone setbacks, and keep any single hive under fifteen cubic feet, which is about eight standard boxes and not a real constraint on an ordinary colony.

• Keeping of bees for personal use is permitted in the RS-40 and RS-20 residential zones and, as an agricultural use, in the O-S open space zone. It is marked not permitted in PRD, RS-14, RS-9, RS-6 and every RM multifamily zone. Table 17.140.210; 17.155.030
• Beehives must be well maintained at all times, and only docile bee species may be kept. 17.205.035(A)-(B)
• Registration with the County of San Diego Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is required before beekeeping activities begin. 17.205.035(C)
• Beehives must not be visible from the public right-of-way, and must not be located in exterior or front yards. 17.205.035(D)-(E)
• Up to four beehives may be kept per property. 17.205.035(F)
• A beehive may be no larger than 15 cubic feet in volume, and must not sit within the required setbacks of the underlying zone. 17.205.035(G)-(H)

Full rules for El Cajon, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Bees are permitted in every residential zone under a three-tier scheme modelled on the county ordinance. Tier A covers all single-family zones; Tiers B and C are confined to the rural residential zones and need an agriculture permit.

Hive limit: Set by tier under § 4.04.020F. Tier A applies in all single-family residential zones without an agriculture permit.

Note: Encinitas allows beekeeping in every residential zone, which makes it one of the more open cities in the county, and it organises the rules into three tiers in the same way San Diego County does. Tier A is the ordinary backyard tier and applies in all single-family residential zones with no agriculture permit needed. Tiers B and C allow more and are confined to the rural residential zones, and both require an agriculture permit from the city. What we cannot yet tell you is how many hives each tier allows, because those numbers live in section 4.04.020F, which sits in a different part of the code from the zoning chapter we have read. Ask the city for that section before you buy equipment, and do not assume the county tier numbers apply here, because a city adapting a county scheme routinely changes the thresholds. One further point to raise with them: the animal chapter sets a 100 foot buffer from wetlands and 50 feet from riparian areas for animal enclosures, and Encinitas has a good deal of both, but the code defines an enclosure as a pen, coop, hutch, stable, barn or corral, so whether a beehive is caught by that is worth confirming rather than assuming.

• Bees are listed under specialty animal raising as permitted, subject to section 4.04.020F, in the RR, RR-1, RR-2, R-3, R-5, R-8 and RS-11 zones. 30.55.020
• Tier A applies to all single-family residential zones and needs no agriculture permit. 30.55.020 note 1
• Tier B applies to the RR and RR-1 zones and requires an agriculture permit. 30.55.020 note 1
• Tier C applies to the RR zone and requires an agriculture permit. 30.55.020 note 1
• Animal enclosures must be at least 35 feet from any dwelling unit on an adjacent lot, must keep a 100 foot buffer from all wetland areas and 50 feet from riparian wetlands, and may not sit in the required front or street side yard setbacks unless the lot is over half an acre or in an RR zone. The chapter defines an enclosure as a pen, coop, hutch, stable, barn, corral or similar structure, so whether a beehive counts is unclear. 30.55.030(A)-(C)

Full rules for Encinitas, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Keeping bees is not prohibited, but it is unlawful to keep them where they annoy or damage residents, and the chief of police may order removal within five days on a complaint.

Hive limit: No hive count and no setback are set in the health and sanitation title. The zoning chapter has not yet been checked.

Note: Escondido does not ban beekeeping, and the wording matters here. The code makes it unlawful to keep bees where they accumulate to the annoyance or damage of residents, or prejudicial to their comfort, so it is the annoyance that is prohibited rather than the hive. Bees kept quietly and well are not caught by it. What you should know before you start is the removal power. The code makes it the duty of the chief of police, acting on their own information or on somebody else information, to tell you to remove the bees within five days, and that notice can be given orally. There is no hearing written into the section and no standard the complaint has to meet, so a single unhappy neighbour can start a five day clock. Both sections date from the 1957 code and have not been amended since, which is worth knowing if you end up discussing them with the city. Talk to your neighbours before you site a hive, keep the flight path away from their yards and doorways, and put water on your own property so the bees are not drinking from somebody else pool. We have not yet read the zoning chapter, so ask the planning counter whether it says anything further about apiaries.

• No person shall keep any bees, bee stand or bee house where bees may accumulate or harbour to the annoyance or damage of any of the inhabitants of the city, or prejudicial to their comfort. 17-13
• It is the duty of the chief of police, on their own information or the information of others, to notify the keeper either orally or in writing to remove the bees within five days of that notice. 17-14
• Chapter 1 of Division 4 of Title 6 of the San Diego County Code, covering disease control, is adopted by reference. 17-18

Full rules for Escondido, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

No beekeeping or apiary provisions found in the Imperial Beach code.

Hive limit: None found in the code.

Note: Searched the current Imperial Beach code in August 2026 for beekeeping terms — no matches. The 2020 record said the same but nothing had ever confirmed it; this is that confirmation. It means no provision was found, not that beekeeping is unregulated: California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner (BeeWhere), and San Diego County rules may apply.

Must meeting Zoning Ordinance requirements. No person shall transport bees between the hours of sunrise and sunset.

• No person shall place or keep an apiary, or cause or allow an apiary to remain, so close to a public road as to constitute a nuisance or hazard to persons using such road and in no case shall an apiary be placed, kept, or allowed to remain within one hundred feet of the exterior line of the traveled portion of a public road. 8.04.040
• No person shall transport hives of bees between sunrise and sunset, or cause the same to be done, unless such bees are confined to the vehicle by which such transportation is accomplished by screens or other equally effective means. 8.04.040

A beekeeping permit is required. Up to four hives, 25 feet from streets and neighbouring dwellings, 15 feet from side and rear lot lines, rising to 100 feet from dwellings for three or four hives.

Hive limit: Up to four beehives, each no larger than fifteen cubic feet in volume.

Note: Lemon Grove requires a beekeeping permit from development services, with a fee, and county registration before you start rather than after. Up to four hives, each no bigger than fifteen cubic feet. The setbacks are modest for a small operation, 25 feet from streets and neighbouring homes and 15 feet from side and rear lot lines, but they step up sharply once you pass two hives: three or four hives need 100 feet from neighbouring dwellings, so plan the number and the placement together. Two requirements catch people out. Only docile bee species are allowed, and whenever you are working the hive you must have a shovel and a two-and-a-half gallon water extinguisher within reach.

• The beekeeper must apply for a beekeeping permit on a form from the development services department, with a nonrefundable fee set by council resolution. Up to four beehives may be permitted. 18.16.060(B)(1)-(2)
• Beehives must be at least 25 feet from the exterior line of the travelled way of any public street, at least 25 feet from the exterior line of any private access easement, at least 15 feet from any side or rear lot line, and at least 25 feet from neighbouring dwellings. For three to four hives, a 100 foot separation from neighbouring dwellings is required. 18.16.060(B)(2)
• Sufficient open water must be available near the hives in hot and dry weather in compliance with vector control regulations, hives must be well maintained at all times, no hive may exceed fifteen cubic feet in volume, and only docile bee species are permitted. 18.16.060(B)(3)-(6)
• Registration with the County of San Diego Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is required prior to beekeeping activities. 18.16.060(B)(7)
• Firefighting materials must be kept in good working condition and sufficiently near the hive to be immediately available in case of fire whenever the hive is attended by the keeper: a shovel, and a fire extinguisher of the two and one half gallon water-under-pressure type. 18.16.060(B)(8)

Full rules for Lemon Grove, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Beehives may be kept only on lots with a minimum area of ten thousand square feet within the open space and institutional zones. See ordinance for further requirements.

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.

Up to three hives are permitted as of right in the rural residential and RS-1 zones, more with a minor permit. RS-2 needs a permit for any hive, and RS-3, RS-4, RS-7, RC, RA and mobile home parks prohibit them.

Hive limit: Three hives as of right in RR-A through RR-C and RS-1. Four or more needs a minor conditional use permit, as does any hive in RS-2.

Note: Poway answers the question by zone and by hive count together, so find your zone first. If you are in one of the rural residential zones, RR-A through RR-C, or in RS-1, you may keep up to three hives with no permit at all, and a fourth or more needs a minor conditional use permit from the city. In RS-2 every hive needs that minor permit, however few you keep. In RS-3, RS-4, RS-7, RC and RA the code marks beekeeping not permitted, and those are the smaller-lot zones where much of the city lives. Mobile home parks are a flat no. If you own or manage open space in the OS-RM zone, hives are possible there with a minor permit, which is a useful option for someone placing colonies away from houses. Register with the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner as state law requires, and note that the county registration duty at section 62.903 reaches inside the city even though the rest of the county ordinance does not.

• One to three beehives are permitted. 17.08.110(J)(1)
• Four or more beehives require a minor conditional use permit. In RS-2 a minor conditional use permit is required for any number of hives. 17.08.110(J)(2)
• Keeping of beehives is marked not permitted. 17.08.110(J)
• Keeping of beehives in the open space-resource management zone requires a minor conditional use permit. 17.14
• Keeping of beehives is not permitted in the mobile home park zone. 17.16.020

Full rules for Poway, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Beekeeping is allowed. Two or fewer hives may be kept in a back yard under detailed siting rules; three or more must sit 600 feet from any other residence.

Hive limit: No fixed maximum, but three or more hives triggers a 600 ft separation from other residences, so two is the practical limit on a city lot.

Note: San Diego allows beekeeping and has done so in detail since 1977, but read the hive count first, because the rules split hard at three hives. Keep two or fewer and you are in the backyard tier: set the hive at least 15 feet from the property line and 20 feet from the street (or your zoning setbacks if those are larger), put a six-foot barrier around it unless you raise it eight feet off the ground, keep it out of sight from the street and secured, point the entrance at your most distant property line and away from walkways, paint the box a pale colour, and requeen at least every two years. Go to three hives and a 600-foot separation from every other residence kicks in, which on an ordinary city lot cannot be met, so two is the practical limit. Register with the County Agricultural Commissioner within 30 days of starting, not just in January, since that 30-day clock is the city adding to the state rule. Keep a shovel and a fire extinguisher by the hive while you work it, keep water with a float valve within ten feet, and if you move hives during daylight the bees have to be screened into the vehicle.

• Register the apiary with the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner within 30 days of establishing it, and re-register every January thereafter. 44.0404
• Only docile Apis mellifera species (honey bees) are permitted. 44.0406
• An apiary of three or more beehives must be at least 600 feet from a building used as a residence other than the one on the same premises, and at least 100 feet from the public right-of-way. 44.0408(a)
• The apiary must sit outside all zoning setbacks required by Chapter 13 Article 1, or 15 feet from the property line and 20 feet from all public rights-of-way, whichever is greater. 44.0408(b)(1)
• A barrier at least 6 feet tall must surround the hive, leaving room to work it, unless the hive is elevated at least 8 feet above grade. 44.0408(b)(2)
• The hive must not be visible from the public right-of-way and must be in a location secured against unauthorised access. 44.0408(b)(3)-(4)
• The hive entrance must face the most distant property line, and face away from entrances and walkways on the premises so far as that is possible. 44.0408(b)(5)-(6)
• The hive structure must be a pale colour, and the hive must be requeened at least once every two years. 44.0408(b)(7)-(8)
• It is unlawful to place or keep an apiary on land you do not own or possess without the permission of the owner or lawful possessor. 44.0410
• An apiary on premises other than where the owner resides must display a sign on its entrance side giving the owner name, address and telephone number in black letters at least one inch high on a contrasting background. 44.0411
• Hives may not be transported between sunrise and sunset unless the bees are confined to the vehicle by screen or equally effective means. 44.0412
• A firebreak at least 30 feet wide must surround the apiary: vegetation cut to 6 inches within the innermost 10 feet and to 12 inches across the remaining 20. It does not apply in a residential zone unless the Fire Department finds it necessary. 44.0413(a)
• Hives must be located within Brush Management Zone One as defined by Municipal Code section 142.0412. 44.0413(b)
• A shovel and a fire extinguisher (2 1/2 gallon water-under-pressure or 5 gallon back-pump type) must be kept in working order near the apiary whenever the keeper is attending it. A garden hose connected to water may substitute for the extinguisher. 44.0414
• A bee smoker must be plugged with metal or hardwood while being carried to or from an apiary, its contents extinguished with water, or else carried in a covered metal container fastened to the vehicle. 44.0415
• A water supply with a float valve or similar device must be maintained within 10 feet of each apiary, adequate and accessible for the bees. 44.0416
• The division does not apply to an apiary kept inside a school building or museum for study or observation, or inside a physician office or laboratory for medical or scientific purposes. 44.0419

Full rules for San Diego City, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

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.

Apiaries are permitted in the residential districts on lots of two and a half acres or more, but every hive must be 400 feet from any property boundary, street, school, park or other dwelling, which no lot of that size can satisfy.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The 400 ft separation from every property boundary is the binding constraint and needs roughly 15 acres to satisfy.

Note: Santee lists apiaries as a permitted use in its residential districts, and on paper that reads well, but the numbers do not work. The permission applies to lots of two and a half acres or more, and then requires every hive to sit at least 400 feet from any property boundary, as well as from any street, school, park or neighbouring dwelling. To be 400 feet from every boundary of a square parcel you need that parcel to be about 800 feet on a side, which is close to fifteen acres. A two and a half acre square is only about 330 feet across, so on a lot of the size the code itself names there is nowhere legal to put a hive, not even in the middle. Unless you hold genuinely large acreage, treat Santee as closed and take it up with the planning counter rather than assuming the listed permission is available to you. If you do have the land, note the one positive requirement: a water source on site, which is good practice everywhere and is written into the rule here. Register with the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner as state law requires.

• Apiary is listed as a permitted agricultural use in the residential districts, on lots of two and one-half acres or more, subject to section 13.10.030(F). 13.10.030(C)(2)
• All hives or boxes housing bees must be placed at least 400 feet from any street, road or highway, any public school, park, property boundary, or any dwelling or place of human habitation other than the one occupied by the owner or caretaker of the apiary. A water source must be provided on site. 13.10.030(F)(1)(a)(i)
• Agriculture is defined to include apiaries, alongside horticulture, floriculture, viticulture and animal and poultry husbandry. 13.04

Full rules for Santee, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

Apiaries are not allowed in any residential zone. The non-residential zones have not been checked.

Hive limit: Not applicable in the residential zones, where apiaries are not allowed.

Note: Solana Beach does not allow apiaries in any of its residential zones, and the code says so in words rather than leaving it to a mark in a column, so there is no ambiguity about it for a home garden. What we have not been able to check is the rest of the city: this rule comes from the residential zones chapter, and we have not yet read whether the commercial, light commercial or open space zones say anything different. If you own or have access to land outside a residential zone it is worth asking the city directly rather than assuming the answer is the same. State law still requires you to register any hives with the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner, wherever they sit, and the San Diego County card is worth reading alongside this one.

• The residential zones animal regulations table lists apiaries as not allowed in any residential zone (ER, LR, LMR, MR, MHR or HR). Table 17.20.040-A(h)

Full rules for Solana Beach, with the county and state duties that apply there ›

An apiary may not be within 600 feet of any dwelling other than the beekeeper's own, nor within 100 feet of a public road. A 30 foot firebreak, a shovel and a fire extinguisher are required, and enforcement is by the County Agricultural Commissioner.

Hive limit: No hive count is set. The binding constraint is the 600 foot separation from other people's dwellings, which on an ordinary suburban lot cannot be met.

Note: Vista has a real beekeeping chapter, and it is the oldest one in this collection: adopted in 1963 and, so far as we can see, never substantially rewritten. The number that decides almost every case is 600 feet. No apiary may be within 600 feet of any house used as a dwelling except your own, and there are no exceptions written in. On a normal Vista lot that cannot be met, because 600 feet in every direction is around twenty six acres that would have to contain no other house. So unless you are on large open land, the honest answer is that this chapter does not leave room for backyard beekeeping, and it is worth putting that to the city in writing before you spend anything. There is also a 100 foot separation from the travelled part of any public road. If you do have the land, the rest of the chapter is mostly about fire, and it is specific. You need a firebreak at least 30 feet wide around the apiary, with a ten foot strip cleared right down to bare soil and the vegetation beyond it cut low. You need a shovel and a fire extinguisher to hand whenever you are working the bees. Your smoker has to be plugged with metal or hardwood when you carry it, and either fully doused with water first or carried in a closed metal container bolted to the vehicle. If you move hives during daylight, the bees must be screened in. Two things are worth knowing about how this is enforced, and they are unusually favourable. Enforcement runs through the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner rather than city code enforcement, and you get 48 hours written notice to put a problem right. And if it comes to abatement, the Commissioner is expressly forbidden from destroying your bees unless the nuisance cannot be dealt with any other way. That is a stronger protection than most modern ordinances give, and it has been sitting in Vista's code since 1963. One caution on the text itself: the chapter says its undefined terms take their meaning from the state Agricultural Code, but that code was replaced by the Food and Agricultural Code in 1967, so the definitions it points at have not existed for sixty years. If a dispute ever turns on a definition, expect to argue about it.

• An apiary may not be placed or kept on land the beekeeper does not own or possess without first obtaining the permission of the owner or person lawfully in possession. 6.16.030(A)
• No apiary may be placed or kept closer than 600 feet to any house or building used as a dwelling, other than one owned or possessed by the beekeeper. 6.16.030(B)
• No apiary may be so close to a public road as to be a nuisance or hazard to people using it, and in no case within 100 feet of the exterior line of the travelled portion of a public road. 6.16.030(C)
• An apiary on premises other than where its owner resides must carry a sign prominently displayed on the entrance side, in black letters at least one inch high on a contrasting background, giving the name, address and telephone number of the owner or possessor, or a statement that they have no telephone. 6.16.040
• Hives may not be transported between sunrise and sunset unless the bees are confined to the vehicle by screens or other equally effective means. 6.16.050
• A firebreak at least 30 feet wide must be maintained around every apiary. Within the 20 foot band closest to the apiary, a 10 foot wide strip must be cleared to mineral soil of all combustible material, and vegetation inside that strip's inner perimeter cut to no more than six inches. Out to 30 feet beyond that strip, vegetation must be trimmed to no more than 12 inches. Individual live trees need not be cut unless required in writing by an enforcing officer. 6.16.060(A)
• A bee smoker must be plugged with a metal or hardwood plug while being carried to or from an apiary. Burning or smouldering contents must be completely extinguished with water before transport, or the smoker must travel in a metal container with a metal cover fastened closed and secured to the vehicle. 6.16.060(B)
• Whenever the apiary is attended, a shovel and a fire extinguisher of either the two and a half gallon water-under-pressure type or the five gallon back pump type must be kept in working order near enough to be immediately available. An equally effective extinguisher may be used with prior written authority. 6.16.060(C)
• The County Agricultural Commissioner or any city law enforcement officer may serve written notice to cease or remedy a violation within 48 hours. Where the Commissioner finds a violation endangers public health, safety or welfare, they may abate it, but must not destroy any bees or any apiary unless in their opinion the nuisance cannot otherwise be effectively and timely abated. 6.16.070
• Any fire prevention or control agency may enforce the fire protection provisions within its jurisdiction. The County Agricultural Commissioner may enter any premises where bees are kept or believed to be kept, and no person may interfere with the Commissioner's official actions. 6.16.080
• The chapter is to be construed to supplement and harmonize with state law on bees and the beekeeping industry. 6.16.020

Full rules for Vista, with the county and state duties that apply there ›