The State Legislature found in Food and Agricultural Code section 29000 that a healthy and vibrant apiary industry is important to the economy and welfare of the people of the State of California and the protection of the industry is in the interest of the people of the State. Food and Agricultural Code sections 29000 et seq., as well as California Code of Regulations Title 3 Food and Agriculture, Article 3, establish regulations for apiaries that are enforced by the Director of the State Department of Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation and county agricultural commissioners. This chapter establishes regulations intended to implement and supplement State regulations and ensure that beekeepers maintain apiaries in a responsible manner as to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the County of San Diego.
Any word or phrase used in this chapter and not defined in this section shall be given the meaning established for such word or phrase by Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 29000) of Division 13 of the Food and Agricultural Code.
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
(a) "Abandoned Apiary" includes, but is not limited to, a colony(s) or hive(s) and equipment a beekeeper has ceased to manage, is deserted, not maintained and/or left unattended, remains without authorization on the property of another, is without proper identification and/or registration, and/or where the owner is unable to be located and/or contacted. Hives will be considered abandoned when the owner fails to contact the Commissioner within 30 calendar days of a notice posted at the apiary requesting the beekeeper to do so.
(b) "Abate" means to eliminate a public nuisance or to reduce the degree or intensity of a public nuisance.
(c) "Apiary" is where one or more managed colony(s) or hive(s) is located. An apiary consists of managed honey bee colony(s) or hive(s) that are kept in a structure(s) intentionally provided by the beekeeper for honey bee housing. The honey bee housing structure has movable frames to allow the beekeeper and inspector complete access to the inner living area of colony(s) or hive(s) and its contents for manipulations such as requeening, viewing, evaluation, and/or sampling.
(d) "Apiary Pests" means any agent or characteristic in a managed honey bee colony(s) or hive(s) that makes the existence of such colony(s) or hive(s) detrimental to the apicultural industry, other neighboring apiaries, the environment, or public safety by being kept in a manner as to contain any unhealthy condition or be a source of honey bee pests which include but is not limited to disease, parasites, fungi, foulbrood, bacteria, microsporidia, virus, insect, nematode, mites, or other organisms that damage honey bees or honey bee products.
(e) "Bee Smoker" means an appliance utilizing smoke or fire used to aid in manipulating or moving honey bees.
(f) "Bees" are the domesticated European sub-species of Apis mellifera honey bee with a cooperative temperament historically managed and kept by beekeepers for agricultural purposes.
(g) "Beekeeper" is any person or persons who owns, operates, maintains, possesses or otherwise controls an apiary and/or the owner of property upon which an apiary is situated.
(h) "BMP Checklist" is a Best Management Practices (BMP) list issued and periodically updated by the Commissioner pursuant to this chapter that beekeepers are required to review, sign, and submit with the required annual apiary registration.
(i) "Colony" has the same meaning as the term "colony" in Food and Agricultural Code section 29006 and is a single managed colony or hive consisting of a queen and all life stages to support sustenance and reproduction kept by a beekeeper and synonymous with "hive."
(j) "Commissioner" means the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner and any inspector or person the Commissioner employs or appoints to implement or enforce this chapter.
(k) "Flyover Barrier" is a solid wall, fence, or dense vegetation or combination thereof that provides an obstruction through which honey bees cannot readily fly. Barrier must surround the immediate vicinity of the colony(s) or hive(s) yet leave sufficient space for beekeeper to maintain colony(s) or hive(s). Property line fences or barriers do not constitute flyover barriers.
(l) "Inspector" means any person who is employed or appointed by the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner to implement or enforce this chapter.
(m) "Location" means any property upon which an apiary is located.
(n) "Neighboring Dwellings" means a place where a person resides and may include, but is not limited to, the following: any part of an attached home, unattached residential office, unattached garage, mobile home, guest home, granny flat, inhabited boat or other waterborne vessel, a condominium, or apartment.
(o) "Property Line" is the demarcation, whether natural or artificial (man-made), of legal ownership between two contiguous estates, usually contained in a grant deed or shown on a subdivision map of record.
(p) "Road" is a public or private thoroughfare, paved or non-paved travel way, route, trail, pathway, easement or way on land between two places, which allows travel by foot or some conveyance, including a horse, bicycle, motorcycle or other motor vehicles, by the public or local neighbors. A roadway will include sidewalks and roadside paths where people travel.
(q) "Sensitive Sites" are areas where people such as the elderly, small children, individuals with medical conditions or confined animals inhabit or frequent that are more at risk if stinging incidents were to occur. Sensitive sites are characterized by demonstrated need for a greater safety buffer. These areas include, but are not limited to, schools, playgrounds, picnic areas, outdoor sports facilities, daycare centers, senior care facilities, medical facilities, kennels and horse-boarding facilities. Property operators, owners, or residents who have medical reasons may apply to have their locations designated as sensitive sites. Businesses with employees who have medical reasons or where bees could cause a nuisance during normal work activities may also apply to have their locations designated as sensitive sites. The Commissioner may remove sites previously approved or designated as sensitive sites upon request. The Commissioner has final discretion to approve designation of locations as sensitive sites upon review of supportive documentation.
(r) "Undesirable Honey Bee Behavior(s)" is any behavior exhibited by honey bees from a managed hive, colony or apiary that may result in undue harm to others. Undesirable honey bee behaviors include, but are not limited to, characteristics of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) guarding a larger territorial perimeter around the hive in greater numbers than is typical of European (Apis mellifera) honey bees, responding to minimal or no provocation into over-defensiveness, aggressiveness, repeated swarming, unpredictability, reactiveness, and agitation during, but not limited to, apiary inspection. Undesirable honey bee behavior includes bees congregating on properties other than where the apiary is located, including at water sources (such as pools, fountains, irrigation, and/or livestock and pet water) in an amount such as to endanger public health or safety, or to create unreasonable interference with the use of property of others, as determined by the Commissioner. Honey bees foraging on flowering vegetation is considered normal and desirable.
Beekeepers located in all jurisdictions in the county shall:
(a) Register with the Commissioner the number of colonies and the location of each apiary on the first day of January of each year or within 30 calendar days of acquiring an apiary consistent with Food and Agricultural Code Sections 29040-29056.
(b) Notify the Commissioner within 72 hours of relocating any colony into or within the County, consistent with Food and Agricultural Code Sections 29070-29070.5.
(c) Inform the Commissioner if they desire advance notice of qualified pesticide applications shall inform the Commissioner consistent with Food and Agricultural Code Sections 29100-29103.
Other than section 62.903 which applies to all jurisdictions, this ordinance applies to apiary locations in the unincorporated areas in the County of San Diego. This ordinance is not meant to regulate undomesticated or feral honey bee swarms or hives.
Beekeepers shall maintain honey bees in a structure(s) intentionally provided by the beekeepers for honey bee housing. The honey bee housing structure shall have movable frames to allow full access to the inner honey bee living quarters by the inspector for viewing, evaluation, and/or sampling of the structure and its contents including but not limited to brood, drones, queens, workers, beeswax, comb, honey, and pollen.
The following are tiered levels of apiaries applicable to this chapter.
Tier A: 1-2 colonies per apiary location with up to 5 colonies on a temporary basis (up to 30 calendar days) to prevent swarming.
Tier B: 3-20 colonies per apiary location.
Tier C: More than 20 colonies per apiary location.
Apiaries must be located at or greater than the following distances from roads:
(a) Tier A: Twenty-five (25) feet.
(b) Tier B: Fifty (50) feet.
(c) Tier C: One hundred (100) feet.
The distance will be measured from the nearest edge of the road as defined by this chapter.
Apiaries must be located at or greater than the following distances from a neighboring dwelling:
(a) Tier A: Thirty-five (35) feet.
(b) Tier B: One hundred (100) feet.
(c) Tier C: Three hundred (300) feet.
The distance will be measured from the nearest portion of the neighboring dwelling.
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