Queen Creek, AZ Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Article 6-3 of the Town Code, adopted by Ordinance 52-94 in December 1994, makes beekeeping a licensed activity anywhere in Queen Creek. Before placing a hive, colony or apiary, the keeper must file an application with the Lead Customer Service Representative naming the property owner (with written permission if the applicant is not the owner), a drawing showing the hive's location, and an acknowledgment that an adequate water supply will be available nearby. A separate ten-dollar annual license is required for each distinct location where bees are kept, and every receptacle inhabited by bees must be marked on the outside with the town license number.

Section 6-3-3 requires a permanent water supply within thirty feet of the hive at all times, and imposes the thirty-foot property-line setback: in the R-1-35 zone or smaller residential zones, hives must sit at least thirty feet from any exterior lot line, while larger residential lots (R-1-43 or greater) and commercial or industrial parcels only carry that thirty-foot buffer where they abut a smaller residential zone. Section 6-3-4 makes it unlawful to keep bees without the permit, to skip the water-supply requirement, or to keep bees in a way that endangers public health or safety.

A narrow exception in Section 6-3-5 excludes wild, transient swarms that land on someone's property uninvited: the property owner is not required to obtain a permit for a swarm attempting to establish itself. Section 6-3-7 treats any hive lacking the required marking, water supply and permit as presumptively abandoned, and the town may act on a complaint to remove it from the property.