Bellevue, NE Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Article VI of chapter 6, §§ 6-115 through 6-117, regulates beekeeping citywide. Section 6-115 makes it unlawful to keep, control, harbor or maintain bees, hives or boxes containing hives anywhere in Bellevue except on agriculturally zoned land, unless the keeper first obtains a permit from the Department of Permits and Inspections; a single permit covers only one parcel. Applying under § 6-116 requires the keeper's name and current address, the parcel's address, the number of hives to be kept, and a nonrefundable Master Fee Schedule fee; the resulting permit is nontransferable and revocable, stays in effect until the keeper stops or changes the activity, and lapses automatically after six calendar months of inactivity regardless of the reason.

Section 6-117 adds the siting rules that make or break most residential permits. No hive may sit within 100 feet of a public outdoor recreational area or park, and on lots zoned RS120, RS84, RS72, RD60, RG50, RG20 or RG8, the applicant's own hives plus any others on the lot cannot exceed three, rising to four hives per quarter acre on parcels over one acre. Every hive must stay at least 25 feet from any dwelling or building other than the applicant's own, from any street or public right-of-way, and from an abutting property line unless a six-foot flight barrier is built or the neighbor waives it in writing. A fresh water source must be kept near the hives at all times, and the keeper must register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture under Neb. RS § 81-2,173.