Killeen, TX Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 6 lets residents keep bees anywhere in Killeen but conditions it on a no-fee registration permit issued annually by the animal services manager under Sec. 6-211, backed by proof of at least eight hours of beekeeping education or a letter from a certified master beekeeper or beekeepers association officer. Applicants who don't own the property need the landlord's written permission on file. Hives themselves must be modern moveable-frame equipment holding at least fifty liters of active colony space, kept in sound condition, under Sec.

6-212. Placement rules under Sec. 6-217 bar hives from any front yard, from within 50 feet of a pre-existing pool or kenneled animal, and from within 50 feet of any building on an adjacent property, and cap colony counts by tract size: four colonies on a quarter acre or less, up to sixteen on a full acre, with no cap at all once every hive sits at least 200 feet from every property line or all adjoining land is undeveloped. Any hive within 25 feet of a property line triggers Sec.

6-213's flyway barrier requirement: a six-foot solid wall, fence, or dense hedge running parallel to the line and extending ten feet past the colony in each direction, forcing bees to fly at least six feet high at the boundary, unless the adjoining land is undeveloped for at least 25 feet. Beekeepers must also provide a standing water source so bees don't congregate at neighbors' pools, requeen unusually aggressive or swarm-prone colonies under Sec. 6-216, and mark at least two hives with the beekeeper's name and phone number under Sec. 6-218.