Avondale, AZ Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Beekeeping in Arizona is largely unregulated at the state level. The state deregulated beekeeping in 1994 at beekeepers' request, leaving no statewide hive-registration requirement, apiary inspection program, or per-lot colony cap. Avondale does not publish a stand-alone beekeeping ordinance in the sources reviewed; hobby beekeeping is therefore generally treated like other backyard animal-keeping and is permitted where the Avondale Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 28) allows, subject to the city's general nuisance and animal provisions in City Code Chapter 3 (Animals and Fowl). Beekeepers remain subject to A.R.S. 3-367.02, which requires that before locating bees on an apiary site, the owner obtain the landowner's or lessee's permission and give written notice to persons engaged in commercial agriculture on whose land the bees may forage; the notice must include the beekeeper's contact information, the hive location within a quarter section, and the dates the bees will be present. Because Avondale lacks a published per-hive setback ordinance, beekeepers should confirm any local placement or HOA limits with the city's Community Development Department before installing hives, and follow best practices (water source, requeening aggressive colonies) given Africanized honey bee concerns in the region.