Hayward, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

2735(i). A parcel keeping bees needs a minimum 4,000 square feet of lot area, and the hive count itself is capped: no more than two hives on a lot smaller than 40,000 square feet, and no hives at all on anything under 4,000 square feet. Every hive must sit at least 5 feet from any property line and at least 6 feet from any dwelling on the same or an adjoining lot, though the Planning Director can reduce or waive that distance on a finding it isn't needed to protect nearby residences.

Wherever bees are kept, the beekeeper must install a solid fence at least six feet tall along every property line within 10 feet of the hive, and a hive cannot be sited anywhere that fence height would exceed what the zoning district allows for fences. Beehive structures themselves are capped at four feet tall, lower than the six-foot limit for other small-livestock enclosures. A Zoning Conformance Permit is required before establishing an apiary as a secondary use, but that permit is waived if every hive sits at least 100 feet from any residence.

Where a hive sits within 100 feet of a residence, an application triggers mailed notice to every property owner within that radius, and the City must deny the permit if it receives documentation, such as a doctor's note, that a bee-allergic resident lives within 100 feet. If no such objection arrives within 30 calendar days of the notice and the application otherwise meets the design standards, the permit issues. Keepers whose hives sit within 100 feet of a residence must also personally reside on the property.