Lake Elsinore, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Chapter 6.13, adopted in 1985 to protect public safety, health and welfare, permits beekeeping as a matter of right so long as a property keeps no more than two bee colonies or beehives, with no more than two supers, or honey-collecting cells, per colony. Section 6.13.020 attaches four conditions to that by-right allowance: each hive or colony must sit at least 50 feet from any neighboring property; the hives must belong to, or be maintained by, the resident or owner of the property where they sit, ruling out a third-party apiary operator working someone else's yard; an adequate water supply must be available on site at all times so bees do not seek water from neighbors' pools or spigots; and every hive or colony must be registered with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner, the county office responsible for apiary inspection under state agricultural law.

A property owner who wants more than two colonies, smaller setbacks, or another departure from these standards can seek a conditional use permit under § 6.13.030, which is the sole avenue the chapter provides for exceeding the by-right limits; there is no administrative variance or waiver process outside that permit track. Violating any part of Chapter 6.13, including keeping more colonies than permitted or failing the setback or registration conditions, is an infraction under § 6.13.040.