Antioch, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed zoning
- Agricultural or open space districts only
- Permit issuer
- Animal Control Supervisor
- Neighbor notice
- 300 feet, 10-day comment period
- Permit standard
- No nuisance, hazard, odor or noise
Summary
Antioch confines beekeeping to agricultural or open space zoning districts: AMC § 6-1.602(E) requires a permit from the Animal Control Supervisor before anyone keeps bees, and the Supervisor must first find the hives won't create a nuisance, health hazard, or neighborhood disturbance from odor or noise.
(E) Bees. Bees may only be kept in an agricultural or open space zoning district and with a permit from the Animal Control Supervisor. (See § 6-1.601.) ... Whenever a permit is required under this Article 6, the permit procedures in § 6-1.303 apply. In addition to other requirements, the Animal Control Supervisor must first determine that the keeping of an animal, bird or bees is not likely to result in harm to the creature, create a public nuisance or health hazard, or cause an unreasonable disturbance to the neighborhood due to odors, noise or the creature's behavior.
Full Breakdown
Antioch's animal-keeping chapter treats bees as a regulated species alongside excess dogs, cats, fowl and rabbits. 602(E) states that bees may only be kept in an agricultural or open space zoning district and with a permit from the Animal Control Supervisor, which means hives are off-limits by right in every residential and commercial zone in the city regardless of lot size. 303 applies, including inspection of the site and a ten-day comment window for adjacent property owners and tenants within 300 feet. Because the zoning-district restriction and the permit requirement are separate, stacked conditions, a beekeeper cannot cure the zoning problem by simply obtaining the Animal Control permit; the parcel itself must already carry an agricultural or open space zoning designation before a hive can be permitted at all.
Antioch's AG and open space districts are described in the zoning chapter as reserved for agricultural, open-space and compatible low-intensity uses, which is why the code channels apiaries there rather than into residential neighborhoods.
Violations & Fines
Keeping bees outside an agricultural or open space zoning district, or without the Animal Control Supervisor's permit, is an unlawful act enforceable under § 6-1.204: a misdemeanor or infraction, an administrative citation, or public nuisance abatement, and the Animal Control Supervisor can order the hives removed or relocated as a condition of resolving the violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a backyard beehive in a residential part of Antioch?
What does the Animal Control Supervisor check before approving a bee permit?
Do neighbors get a say before a beekeeping permit is issued?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Antioch
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How other cities in Contra Costa County handle beekeeping.