Butte County, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

The Zoning Ordinance does not use the word "beekeeping" as its own use category. Instead, Section 24-304 (Definitions) defines "Intensive Animal Operations" as the raising or fattening of animals in a manner that produces potentially adverse environmental impacts or adverse impacts to neighboring properties, and it lists dairies, hog farms, feedlots, aquaculture, confined animal feeding operations, and "large-scale bee keeping" as examples of that classification. Small, incidental hive-keeping is not called out separately in the code, but any operation the County treats as "large-scale" apiculture is regulated as an Intensive Animal Operation, and the zoning tables treat that classification the same everywhere it appears.

Table 24-13-1 under Section 24-13 requires a Conditional Use Permit for Intensive Animal Operations in both the Agriculture (AG) and Agriculture Services (AS) zones. Table 24-19-1 under Section 24-19 marks the use "not allowed" with a dash across every one of the eleven residential zones: Foothill Residential, Foothill Country Residential, Rural Residential, Rural Country Residential, Very Low Density Residential, Very Low Density Country Residential, Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential, Medium High Density Residential, High Density Residential, and Very High Density Residential. Table 24-22-1 under Section 24-22 likewise bars the use in the General Commercial, Neighborhood Commercial, Community Commercial, Recreation Commercial, Sports and Entertainment, and Mixed Use zones. The natural resource, industrial, and special purpose zone tables show the same "not allowed" treatment. In practice this confines a large-scale apiary to agriculturally zoned land, and only after the Planning Commission grants a Conditional Use Permit following a noticed public hearing.