Thornton, CO Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 6-102(a) bars keeping any hive of bees on any lot in the city without first obtaining a beekeeping permit; feral, unmanaged bees are exempt. The initial application under Section 6-102(b) requires the applicant's contact information, a site plan showing hive locations, an owner's consent statement if the applicant is not the property owner, a signed compliance statement, mailed notice to every adjacent property's principal residents, and an application fee set by council resolution; the permit is valid only as long as the same owner holds the property and cannot be transferred.

Beekeeping is limited to the Agricultural, Residential Estate, Single-Family Detached Legacy, Residential - Low Density, and Eastlake Residential districts, other districts' detached single-unit lots, and nonresidential districts paired with a community garden under Section 6-103. Hive density under Section 6-104 scales with lot size: two hives on a quarter acre or less, four hives up to a half acre, six hives up to a full acre, and eight hives on a full acre or more, with no cap at all if every hive sits at least 200 feet from all property lines.

Section 6-105 requires hives in the rear yard, set back at least five feet from rear and side lines, with removable, inspectable frames kept in good condition. Section 6-106 requires a six-foot flyway barrier extending ten feet beyond the hive when a hive sits within 25 feet of a property line, a continuous non-stagnant water source, prompt disposal of bee comb, and re-queening of unusually aggressive colonies.