Honey, It\u27s All the Buzz: Regulating Neighborhood Beehives

Beekeeping’s popularity has surged in recent years, perhaps culminating in the introduction of the first ever White House bee hive. Local apiaries provide a wide variety of benefits to communities, ranging from pollination services for gardens to producing honey that can be used in a wide array of foods and products. Apiaries are not always welcome in a community, however, perhaps because of their potential to cause a nuisance, or to harm crops or people. Although beekeeping regulation implicates both state and federal concerns, a number of localities have developed unique and practical regulations that promote backyard beekeeping, while maximizing its benefits and minimizing its potential harm. This Article examines those regulations with the hope of aiding land use regulators in developing strategies to promote beekeeping activities