Fort Collins allows backyard beekeeping under City Code Ch. 4, Article III: colonies must be kept in hives with movable combs in sound condition, with colony numbers scaled to lot size. Rural county land is governed by agricultural zoning.
Fort Collins City Code Sec. 4-228 requires that "all bee colonies shall be kept in hives with movable combs, which shall be kept in sound and usable condition." Sec. 4-233 (colony densities) limits how many colonies may be kept per tract and permits one nucleus (swarm-management) colony for each two authorized colonies, to be disposed of or combined within sixty days. Movable-comb hives let inspectors check for disease. In unincorporated Larimer County there is no animal-code hive rule; beekeeping on rural or agricultural land is treated as an agricultural use under the Land Use Code and protected by Colorado's Right to Farm Act (C.R.S. 35-3.5-102).
Keeping bees in fixed-comb hives or in unsound condition, or exceeding the colony-density limits, violates Fort Collins City Code Ch. 4, Article III and is enforced by the city.
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