Santa Clara, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Hive cap
- 2 hives per lot without City Manager consent
- Side setback
- 10 feet from side property line
- Dwelling setback
- 20 feet from a neighbor's dwelling
- Registration
- Santa Clara County Agriculture Commission
- Fencing
- 6-foot solid fence within 30 feet of hives
- Penalty
- Up to $250 infraction or $1,000 misdemeanor
Summary
Santa Clara's General Code caps backyard beekeeping at two hives per lot without written City Manager consent for more, under § 6.28.030. Hives must sit at least ten feet from a side property line and twenty feet from a neighboring dwelling or public road, must be registered with the Santa Clara County Agriculture Commission, and moving an apiary into the city requires five days' written notice to the City Manager under § 6.28.010.
No person shall keep or maintain any hive of bees in the city except under the following conditions: (a) No more than two hives may be maintained on any lot or parcel, unless the City Manager, in his or her sole discretion, consents in writing to a higher amount. ... (c) The owner's name, address, and location of all such hives must be registered with the office of the Santa Clara County Agriculture Commission. (d) No hive may be kept or maintained within ten feet of any side property line on the lot or parcel upon which such hives are situated, or within twenty (20) feet of any dwelling unit other than that occupied by the person maintaining the hive or hives, unless the owner or persons in possession of the adjacent property have given written permission to the location of such apiary at a closer distance. (e) No hive may be kept or maintained within any required front or side setbacks. (f) No hive may be located closer than twenty (20) feet from any public road.
Full Breakdown
010. 020. 030, allows no more than two hives per lot or parcel absent the City Manager's sole-discretion written consent to more, and bars keeping any hive without the written consent of the land's owner or occupant. Every hive's owner, address and location must be registered with the Santa Clara County Agriculture Commission. Placement is tightly controlled: no hive within ten feet of a side property line, none within twenty feet of any dwelling other than the beekeeper's own unless the adjacent occupant consents in writing to a closer spot, none inside a required front or side setback, and none within twenty feet of a public road.
Every apiary needs a constant, adequate water supply on-site, and hives must face a house or building on the property and sit behind a solid fence at least six feet tall located no more than thirty feet from the hives (or meet an elevated/rooftop alternative with specific clearances). 040 requires apiaries kept away from the beekeeper's own residence to be marked with a sign giving the owner's name, address and phone number, in black lettering at least one inch tall on a white or light background.
Violations & Fines
Section 6.28.050 lets the City Manager or any law enforcement officer give verbal or written notice of a violation, plus post a written notice at the site for forty-eight hours; failing to correct the violation within that window results in a citation. A conviction is punishable as an infraction, with a fine up to $250, or as a misdemeanor, with a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. The chapter does not authorize beekeeping anywhere otherwise prohibited by law.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many beehives can I keep at my Santa Clara home?
How far do beehives need to be from my neighbor's house?
Do I need to tell the city before setting up an apiary?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Clara
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Beekeeping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Santa Clara County handle beekeeping.