I kept bees in San Diego from 1974 to 1990. Within San Diego City Limits
you have everything from urban cities, suburban and rural neighborhoods,
large agricultural holdings and open space. The code there is reasonable
and includes the following provisions:

* You can't put an apiary closer than 600 feet from somebody else's home,
prohibiting commercial beekeeping in most neighborhoods.

* You can put one hive as close as 100 feet, allowing hobby beekeeping in
most neighborhoods.

* They require a 30 foot fire break and a water supply for the bees, since
bees often end up gathering water on people's lawns.

* They prohibit transporting bees during daylight hours unless they are
screened in.


(Note: a 100 foot buffer requires about 1 acre. A 600 foot buffer requires
about 30 acres)

source: San Diego Municipal Code Chapter 4: Health and Sanitation (6-2000)


If you can persuade the neighbors that bees are safe, you can get around
the rules. But then -- they may change their minds and complain and force
you to move at any time. (This happened to me many many times.)  Another
way around it is to put them behind enough trees so no one knows they're
there.

Last summer I ran 200 hives in 13 apiaries. The only one I had trouble with
was 16 hives in the woods across the street from an elderly couple. We
thought the trees would keep the bees away from them. Unfortunately, the
couple spent a lot of time in the front of the house gardening and the bees
would fly over and sting them. We worked those hives about once a month, so
WE weren't riling them up. I think they were mad all the time because of
skunks. Skunks can really put a hive in a bad mood all summer. Of course,
if your bees are actually causing a nuisance, you are obligated to move
them regardless of the codes.


pb