Newport Beach, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Apiaries in residential areas
- Prohibited outright
- Definition source
- Cal. Food & Agric. Code § 29002
- Exceptions
- None stated in Chapter 7.25
- Violation class
- Infraction (§ 7.25.020)
- Governing chapter
- NBMC Chapter 7.25
Summary
Newport Beach outright bans keeping bee apiaries in any residential area of the city. The prohibition uses California's own statutory definition of an apiary, and violating it is charged as an infraction under the municipal code.
It is unlawful for any person to maintain or keep an apiary as that term is defined in California Food and Agricultural Code Section 29002 in any residential area within the City.
Full Breakdown
25, Apiaries, contains a single flat prohibition. 010, Keeping of Apiaries - Prohibited, states that it is unlawful for any person to maintain or keep an apiary, as that term is defined in California Food and Agricultural Code Section 29002, in any residential area within the city. That statutory cross-reference matters: California Food and Agricultural Code Section 29002 defines an apiary broadly as any place where one or more colonies or nuclei of bees are kept, so Newport Beach's ban reaches even a single managed beehive kept in a residential yard, not just commercial-scale operations.
The chapter does not carve out any residential exception, unlike the livestock chapter's pot-bellied pig allowance, and it does not distinguish between hobbyist and commercial beekeeping; the prohibition applies wherever the area is zoned residential. 020 makes any violation of the chapter an infraction, using the same enforcement language found throughout Title 7's animal chapters: it is unlawful to violate or fail to comply with any provision of the chapter, and violators are guilty of an infraction.
Violations & Fines
Maintaining an apiary in a residential area is an infraction under Section 7.25.020, enforced by the city's Code Enforcement or Animal Control staff and prosecuted through the Orange County Municipal Courts under the adopted infraction bail schedule used across Title 7's animal-related chapters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a beehive in my Newport Beach backyard?
What counts as an apiary under Newport Beach's ban?
What happens if someone keeps bees in a residential area anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Newport Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Newport Beach to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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Beekeeping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle beekeeping.