Yuba County, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 11.32.050(3), part of the county's animal raising and keeping standards, states the rule in two sentences: "The keeping of bees shall not be permitted within the valley growth boundary except on existing agricultural properties. Where bees are permitted they are subject to the requirements of the Agricultural Commissioner." The Valley Growth Boundary is a defined term in § 11.73: it covers the existing suburban and urbanized communities of Linda, Olivehurst, Plumas Lake, the North Arboga Study Area, the Sports and Entertainment Zone, job-generating areas along Highway 65, and designated future growth reserve areas. That leaves the large rural and agricultural expanse of the county, the bulk of its unincorporated land, outside the boundary and open to beekeeping under Agricultural Commissioner oversight rather than a flat ban.

The apiary rule sits in the same section as the county's other animal-keeping standards, which opens by stating the intent "to keep and maintain domestic, farm/livestock, and exotic animals on their private property in a manner that will protect the health, safety and welfare or nearby residents, and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of animals." Unlike the livestock provisions earlier in § 11.32.050, which set minimum parcel sizes and animal-unit calculations, the bee rule doesn't set a hive count or setback; it works purely as a boundary-based prohibition paired with agency oversight once outside that boundary.