Glen Cove, NY Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 87-13, in Article I of Chapter 87, Animals, states the citywide default plainly: keeping bees for any purpose is prohibited in Glen Cove unless the Zoning Board of Appeals authorizes it, and any authorization comes with whatever specific requirements the Board sets. The article does not provide a separate application form for bees the way it does for livestock and fowl in Section 87-15, so a resident who wants to keep hives applies directly to the Zoning Board of Appeals for the case-by-case authorization Section 87-13 requires rather than the standard permit and public-hearing process that governs cows, chickens, or rabbits.

Section 87-18 confirms that nothing in the surrounding permit sections is meant to override Chapter 280, Zoning, or any other restriction in this article, so a zoning district's own rules on accessory structures and setbacks still apply to any hive placement the Board approves. Because the chapter treats bees as prohibited by default rather than as one more animal needing a routine permit, beekeeping sits at the strict end of Glen Cove's animal rules: there is no as-of-right ownership even on the largest residential lots, and the Zoning Board of Appeals can attach any condition it deems necessary, such as hive placement, screening from neighboring lots, colony limits, or a water-source requirement, before granting authorization.

Violations of Article I of Chapter 87, including keeping bees without ZBA authorization, are punishable under Section 87-19 by the general penalty fixed in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II.