York County does not regulate backyard beekeeping. Statewide, every Pennsylvania beekeeper must register colonies with the PA Department of Agriculture under the Bee Law. Where hives may be placed, and any hive limits or setbacks, are set by your borough or township zoning ordinance, not the county.
Pennsylvania's Bee Law requires anyone keeping honeybees to register with the Department of Agriculture, which inspects for disease; registration is renewed periodically and applies statewide. That registration is separate from land use: whether hives are allowed on your lot, how far they must sit from property lines, and any colony caps are decided by your municipality's zoning ordinance under the Municipalities Planning Code (53 P.S. §10101 et seq.). York County has no countywide beekeeping ordinance and issues no hive permits. Many York County boroughs and townships permit backyard hives as an accessory use with setback and screening rules; some limit hives on smaller lots. Check both your municipal zoning ordinance and register with the state before keeping bees.
Keeping unregistered bees violates the PA Bee Law and can bring Department of Agriculture enforcement. Placing hives contrary to your municipal zoning ordinance is a local zoning violation enforced by the borough or township zoning officer, with fines and an
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York County, PA
The York County Solid Waste Authority actively encourages backyard composting and mulch-mowing and runs a county yard-waste drop-off at the Resource Recovery...
York County, PA
York County has no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any permit or stormwater requirement, is decided by your borough, city, o...
York County, PA
York County does not require or ban native-plant landscaping. Native meadows and pollinator gardens are legal and encouraged, but any 'natural landscaping' e...
York County, PA
Pennsylvania places no restriction on collecting rainwater, and York County does not ban it. Rain barrels and cisterns for garden use are legal statewide; la...
York County, PA
York County imposes no countywide lawn-watering restriction. Limits, if any, are set by your water supplier (such as the York Water Company) or your municipa...
York County, PA
York County has no countywide weed ordinance. Noxious weeds and overgrown vegetation are declared a nuisance and abated by your borough, the City of York, or...
See how York County's beekeeping rules stack up against other locations.
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