Fresno, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 15-2707, Animal Keeping, treats bee keeping as its own use rather than folding it into the general Household Pets or Large Animals categories, and it comes down hard on residential zoning. Subsection B, which governs lots of 36,000 square feet or less in Residential Districts, lists bee keeping as not permitted, alongside a ban on fish farms. Subsection C, covering larger residential lots over 36,000 square feet where horses, cows, goats, and sheep are otherwise allowed, repeats the same prohibition. 3 caps hives at a ratio of one hive per two acres, limited to the species Apis Mellifera.

Even there, a beekeeper must provide a fresh water source within 20 feet of every hive, keep a sustaining food source on the property, and set every hive back at least 50 feet from property lines. ' A narrow, separate allowance exists outside the residential animal-keeping rules entirely: Section 15-2716(O) lets beehives be placed temporarily on crop-cultivation sites of 20 acres or more, for pollination purposes only, under a similar 20-foot water and 40-foot property-line setback pattern. Enforcement of Section 15-2707 falls to the Poundmaster under FMC § 10-302, working alongside the broader animal-control provisions in FMC Chapter 10.