Clovis, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

040(B) treats apiaries as a narrow exception rather than a general residential right. No person may keep or maintain any stand of bees within the City except in conjunction with a permitted agricultural operation, and even then, the use is restricted to seasonal pollination of that agricultural operation, not year-round honey production or hobby beekeeping. 106 for the animal-keeping side of the rule, and requires an adequate fresh water supply for the bees on site at all times. Where an agricultural apiary is allowed, distance buffers scale with hive count.

For three hives or fewer, hives must sit at least 200 feet from any public road, street or highway, and at least 200 feet from any residence or other occupied structure other than the property owner's or occupant's own, unless the affected neighbor gives written permission. Four to twenty hives push that buffer to 400 feet, and any apiary of twenty-one hives or more requires a 600-foot buffer, the same categories of neighboring roads, residences and occupied structures applying at every tier. 040 sits within Chapter 40's animal-keeping standards, it applies citywide alongside the chapter's general finding that keeping animals must not create adverse impacts, such as noise, odor, dust or visual blight, on surrounding properties.

A typical single-family residential lot, lacking a permitted agricultural operation and unable to meet even the smallest 200-foot buffer from neighboring homes, cannot host a compliant apiary under this section.