Yorba Linda, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Yorba Linda Municipal Code § 18.20.630(F) allows up to three beehives by right in the R-A, RLD, R-E, OS and OSR zones. In the R-S and R-U zones, up to three beehives are allowed only with a conditional use permit approved by the Planning Commission; beekeeping is not a by-right use in those two zones at any hive count. Once a property in any of the seven eligible zones (R-A, RLD, R-E, R-S, R-U, OS or OSR) wants to keep four or more hives, § 18.20.630(F) requires a conditional use permit regardless of zone, so scaling up an apiary always triggers Planning Commission review and the public hearing notice procedures of Chapter 18.36.

Beehives sit within the same Article 7 animal-keeping framework as the City's other backyard-animal rules, so a beekeeping property must also meet the general maintenance duty of § 18.20.630(G) and § 18.20.680, which requires that animal-keeping areas be kept free of conditions that create dust, odor or nuisance effects on neighboring properties, and the citywide leash and restraint standard in § 18.20.650(B) that requires an owner to control any animal kept on the property. Because Article 7 defines beehives as a form of animal keeping rather than a use under the standard zoning-use tables, a beekeeper cannot rely on any home-occupation or accessory-use permit elsewhere in Title 18 to avoid the hive count limits; § 18.20.630(F) is the controlling cap for every residential zone in the City.