Fairfield, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Fairfield's Municipal Code permits the keeping of honey bees in all zoning areas of the city, provided the apiary does not become a public nuisance under Chapter 27 (Community Preservation). Bees that swarm, sting neighbors, or otherwise interfere with the use of adjacent property may be ordered removed. Beyond local rules, California Food and Agricultural Code Section 29040 requires every person who owns or operates apiaries (one or more hives) to register annually with the county agricultural commissioner where the bees are located. In Fairfield this means registering with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner by January 1 each year, listing the number of colonies and apiary locations. Best practices encouraged statewide and recommended by Solano County include placing hives at least 15 to 25 feet from property lines, providing a constant water source on the beekeeper's property to keep bees off neighbors' pools, and using six-foot flyway barriers (a solid fence or dense hedge) where hives are near a property line to direct the bees' flight path upward.