Littleton, CO Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

A(D)(3) of the Unified Land Use Code lets a property owner keep bee colonies as an accessory use, subject to a detailed set of standards. Every colony must be kept within a fenced area, in hives with removable combs kept in sound, usable condition, and every hive must sit at least five feet from any adjoining property line with the back of the hive facing that property. Where a colony sits within 25 feet of a developed public or private property line, the beekeeper must install and maintain a flyway barrier at least six feet tall, made of a solid wall or fence running parallel to the property line and extending 10 feet beyond the colony in each direction, so bees are forced to fly at least six feet above ground level as they cross into neighboring lots.

Colony density is capped by lot size: four colonies on a lot smaller than half an acre, six colonies on a lot of a half-acre up to one acre, and eight colonies on a lot of one acre or more, with no numeric limit at all where every hive sits at least 200 feet from every property line. The code also requires a constant water source for the bees so they do not congregate at neighbors' pools, spigots, pet bowls or birdbaths, and it bars keeping any colony at all on a multi-family lot.