BEEKEEPINGin the CITY OF SAN DIEGO

BENEFITS • Freshnaturalhoney.• Reductioninthenumberofaggressive(Africanized)

beesinthevicinityofthedocilehoneybeehive.• Reducedcarbonfootprintduetolocalproduction.• Increaseinthepopulationofdocilehoneybees.• Increasednumberofpollinators.• Freshhoneycanbeusedtoalleviatesomeseasonal

allergies.

RISKSTheprimaryriskofbeekeepingisbeesting.Ifyouaregoingtokeepbeesyouwillgetstung.Asmallpercentageofthepopulationisallergictobeestings(estimatesrangeform2to5percentofthepopulation).Ifyoudonotknowifyouareallergicyoushouldhaveaphysiciantestyou.Ifyouareallergicyoushouldnotkeepbees.Thedocilehoneybeesthatarepermittedbythisordinancearenotaggressive.Beekeepingwhendoneproperlyposesverylimitedriskstosurroundingpropertiesorpropertyowners.Thefollowingprovideawaytoreducetherisks:

• Discussbeekeepingwithyourneighbors.• Open/manipulatehivesonlyduringfavorableweather.• Surveyyoursurroundingsforneighborsandpets

beforeopening/manipulatingthehive.• Facethehiveopeningawayfromentrancesand

walkways,andtowardthemostdistantpropertyline.• Evenifyouarenotallergicconsidergettinganepi-

penfromyourphysician,sothatoneisalwaysonhand.

InJanuary2012theCityofSanDiegoamendeditsMunicipalCodetoallowresidentsofsinglefamilyhomes,communitygardens,andretailfarmstokeepandmaintaintwobeehives.ThespecificregulationsarelocatedinChapter4,Article4,Division4oftheMunicipalCodeand

canbefoundbydownloadingthefollowing:Chap04Art04Div

04,Beekeeping.

Whereyoulocateyourapiaryisdeterminedbythenumberofhivesandseveralfactorsrelatedtodistanceincludingzonesetbacks.Forspecificinformationregardingthezonesetbackforyourpropertygoto

thefollowinglinkandtypeinyouraddress:View

yourpropertybyaddress.Youwillthenreceivethezone

nameforyourproperty.Alinkto”MoreInfo”takesyoutoanotherpagethatdirectsyoutotheregulationsforyourzone.WhenviewingtheregulationsgototheDevelopmentRegulationsTableforyourzoneandlookup“SetbackRequirements.”YoucanalsocalltheDevelopmentServicesDepartment’sinformationlineat(619)446-5000,provideyouraddress,andrequestthenameof

yourzoneandthezoningsetbackinformation.Youwillreceivea

returncallwiththeinformation.

SUMMARYOFREGULATIONS• AbeekeepershallregistertheapiarywiththeSan

DiegoCountyAgriculturalCommissionerwithin30daysofestablishingtheapiary.

• Anapiaryofthreeormorehivesmustbeatleast600feetfromabuildingusedasaresidenceand100feetfromthepublicright-of-way.

• Anapiaryofoneortwohivesmustbelocatedoutsideofallsetbacks,orfifteenfeetfromthepropertylineand20feetfromthepublicright-of-way,whicheverisgreater

• Anapiaryofoneortwohivesmustdothefollowing:

• Locatethebeehiveinasecuredarea.• Requeenthebeehiveeverytwoyears.• Locatethebeehivesothatitisnotvisiblefrom

thepublicright-ofway.• Surroundthebeehivewithasix-foottallbarrier

unlessitisatleasteightfeetabovetheground.

FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONSIs a permit required to keep bees?

Beekeeping in theCityof SanDiegodoes not require a permithowever, as stated in theregulationsbeekeepersarerequiredtoregistertheirhiveswiththeCountyofSanDiegoDepartmentofAgriculture,WeightsandMeasures.

Why do bees sting?Beesstingonlytoprotectthehive.

How far do honey bees fly to get food?Theycanflythreetofourmilestocollectnectarandpollenbutgenerallynomorethanonemile.

How much honey does a beehive produce?Onaverageahivewouldproduceapproximately25poundsofhoneyaseason.

How long do bees live?Workerbeesliveabout40days.Aqueenbeecanliveupto5yearsbutforbeekeepingpurposesaqueenispassedherprimeatthreeyears.Theregulationsrequirethatthebeekeeperreplacethequeeneverytwoyears.

Are honey bees responsible for all plant pollination?Notallbutmost.Honeybeesareresponsibleatleastathirdofallourfoodcropsandevencottoncrops.Otheranimalsthatpollinateincludebats,butterflies,andbirds.

OTHERINFORMATIONRESOURCESAdditional informationregarding keeping and main-taining chickens can be found at the following web-sites.• SanDiegobeekeepingSociety www.sandiegobeekeepingsociety.com• AmericanBeekeepingFederation www.abfnet.org