Kent County does not regulate backyard beekeeping. Whether you may keep hives is decided by your city or township zoning code under Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act. The state protects registered apiaries from local bans on beekeeping itself.
Kent County's Animal Control Ordinance does not address honeybees or hives, and the county does not zone land where cities and townships have their own zoning. Under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act (MCL 125.3101 et seq.), your municipality decides hive placement, setbacks, and colony limits, so check your local zoning ordinance. Statewide, the Michigan Bees and Apiaries program (MCL 286.951 et seq., administered by MDARD) governs apiary registration and disease control. Some Michigan communities allow hobby beekeeping by right while others require zoning approval, so contact your city or township office before installing hives.
Any penalty for unpermitted hives is set and enforced by your city or township zoning ordinance, not by Kent County.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kent County, MI
Backyard composting is allowed and encouraged in Kent County. Michigan law bans yard clippings from landfills, and the Kent County Department of Public Works...
Kent County, MI
Kent County has no artificial-turf ordinance. Whether synthetic grass is allowed in a front yard is a city or township zoning and property-maintenance questi...
Kent County, MI
Kent County has no native-plant ordinance. Whether a naturalized or prairie-style yard is allowed is set by your city or township, and must be reconciled wit...
Kent County, MI
Collecting rainwater is legal in Michigan and Kent County places no restriction on it. Rain barrels and cisterns for lawn and garden use are allowed; only cr...
Kent County, MI
Kent County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Michigan is not a drought-restricted state, so there is no county odd/even or day-of-week watering rule. Any limi...
Kent County, MI
Under Michigan's Noxious Weed Act, a landowner must destroy noxious weeds before they go to seed. Enforcement runs through a local noxious-weed commissioner ...
See how Kent County's beekeeping rules stack up against other locations.
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