Roanoke County, VA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Article III of Chapter 5 governs apiaries countywide. Sec. 5-91(a) makes it unlawful to keep or place an apiary closer than ten feet to an adjoining property line, closer than forty feet to any house or building used for residential purposes, apartment, hotel, motel, office, commercial establishment, church or school owned by someone outside the beekeeper's immediate family, or closer than forty feet to any public highway, street or avenue. Where a hive's landing platform faces an adjoining lot line, Sec. 5-91(b) requires a flight-path barrier, a fence or planting at least six feet high, placed in front of the hive so bees are forced to fly up and over foot traffic.

Sec. 5-91(c) caps density at four hives per ten thousand square feet of lot area, treating beekeeping as an accessory use rather than a stand-alone permitted use, so it rides along with whatever the underlying zoning district otherwise allows. A beekeeper who cannot meet the setbacks can seek a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals under Sec. 5-91(d), citing Va. 2-2309. Sec. 5-92 separately requires every apiary owner to keep an adequate, accessible supply of fresh water within fifty feet of the hives, aimed at keeping bees from congregating at neighbors' pools or birdbaths.

Sec. 5-93 exempts bees kept at an educational institution, museum, physician's office or laboratory for study, observation, medical research or treatment, provided the bees are not allowed to fly at large. Sec. 5-94 makes any violation of the article a Class 4 misdemeanor and separately declares it a public nuisance that an injured neighbor may pursue in a suit in equity for correction, removal or abatement, independent of any criminal charge the county brings.