Temecula, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

010 of the Temecula Municipal Code lists apiaries and beekeeping among the animal and agricultural uses permitted by right, meaning no conditional use permit is required as long as the standards are met. 5 acres, and beekeeping is allowed in every zoning designation except Hillside Residential (HR), Hillside Residential-Sensitive (HR-SM), and Open Space-Conservation (OS/OS-C), where the table's footnote declares all animal-keeping uses incompatible and prohibited outright. There is no numeric cap on the number of hives, but every hive, apiary, or bee box must be set back at least 400 feet from any public street or highway, day care center, educational institution, park, a property line under different ownership, or any dwelling other than the beekeeper's own home.

The table also requires a continuously available source of fresh water on site for the bees, aimed at keeping bees from congregating at neighbors' pools or irrigation systems. Because the 400-foot separation is measured from streets and neighboring parcels rather than just structures, it functions as the real limit on where hives can go even on qualifying half-acre-plus lots; on a typical suburban lot the setback usually rules out beekeeping entirely unless the parcel backs onto open space or a large buffer. 070.