The City of Flint Code Chapter 9 has no beekeeping-specific ordinance. Apiaries fall under the Michigan Bee Law (1976 PA 412, MCL 286.301 et seq.) administered by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), and may also qualify for Right to Farm Act protection if operated per the relevant GAAMPs.
Chapter 9 of the Flint City Code does not list bees among prohibited or regulated animals, and Section 9-14.4 expressly excludes fowl, ferrets, and small laboratory rodents from its exotic-animal prohibition without addressing insects. The default regulatory floor is therefore the Michigan Bee Law (1976 PA 412, MCL 286.301 to 286.319) administered by MDARD. The Bee Law authorizes MDARD apiary inspections, requires beekeepers to maintain hives in movable-frame equipment to permit inspection, and provides for the destruction or treatment of colonies infected with American foulbrood or other regulated diseases. Michigan does not require general statewide hive registration in the manner of New York, but MDARD encourages voluntary registration through its apiary program for disease surveillance. The Michigan Right to Farm Act (MCL 286.471 et seq.) and the Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMPs) can preempt local restrictions for commercial apiary operations meeting the GAAMP standards, but RTFA protection is narrower for hobby beekeepers in residential districts. Nuisance complaints (aggressive bees, swarming, stinging incidents) may be addressed under Flint's general nuisance authority in Chapters 9 and 31 (Noise/Nuisance) and through the Flint Zoning Code in Chapter 50. Hive placement should follow MSU Extension and Michigan Beekeepers Association guidance for setback, water source, and re-queening of defensive colonies.
Failure to maintain inspectable equipment or to treat regulated diseases under the Michigan Bee Law can result in MDARD orders to treat, destroy, or relocate colonies, with civil penalties. Local nuisance citations in Flint may include civil penalties and an order to abate. Loss of Right to Farm Act protection follows from failure to comply with the relevant GAAMPs.
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