Allentown, PA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Article II of Chapter 163, adopted in 1988, requires anyone propagating, keeping, or selling domestic bees for profit or otherwise to first obtain a registration certificate from the Bureau of Health under §§ 163-25 and 163-26, submitting an application naming the applicant, describing the premises, and naming the property owner. The Bureau issues the certificate with no fee under § 163-27, listing the number of hives permitted, and it must be displayed at the beekeeping site; certificates are nontransferable and expire automatically every December 31, requiring annual renewal under § 163-28.

Section 163-29 sets the physical standards: only domestic honeybees may be kept, colony density cannot exceed one colony per 2,500 square feet of lot area, and no lot may hold more than five colonies regardless of size. Hives must sit at least 25 feet from any property line, public street, sidewalk, or alley unless they sit behind a solid fence or hedge at least six feet high running parallel to the property line and extending at least 15 feet beyond the hive in both directions, or unless the hive is elevated at least eight feet above the adjacent ground.

A water source must be kept on the lot whenever bees are flying, hives must use movable frames and standard beekeeping equipment, and hives must be shaded from neighbors' night lighting. Beekeepers must let City and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors examine hives under § 163-30. Feral bee colonies are handled separately under § 163-31: the Bureau of Health can order a property owner to exterminate a feral colony, and if the owner doesn't comply the City can have it exterminated and lien the property for the cost.