Lynn, MA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

3, which states that hens and honey bees are the only animals allowed to be kept in the city for agricultural purposes; all other livestock, including goats, rabbits and pigs, is prohibited outright. Before installing a single hive, a resident must obtain a permit from the Building Commissioner, the same official who administers building permits and zoning enforcement citywide. The ordinance defines a honey bee hive as a manufactured receptacle or container prepared for the use of honey bees that includes movable frames, combs, and substances deposited into the hives by honey bees.

Once permitted, a keeper is limited to two hives per parcel, and each hive cannot exceed 5 feet in height or 20 cubic feet in size, roughly two stacked standard boxes. The ordinance also requires that owner contact information be posted visibly at the hive site so a city or state inspector, or a concerned neighbor, can identify who to reach. Because beekeeping is regulated as a zoning accessory use rather than a public-health license, review runs through Inspectional Services rather than the Board of Health.

Hives sited without the required permit, or that exceed the two-hive, 5-foot or 20-cubic-foot caps, are zoning violations enforced the same way as any other Zoning Ordinance breach, with appeal rights running to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The rule applies citywide across every residential and mixed-use district; the ordinance draws no distinction between the R1 single-family district and denser R3 or R4 zones.