Why the Howard County Zoning Law is bad for Beekeepers

At the heart of the recent ruling by the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) of Howard County, Maryland is an interpretation that the definition of livestock includes bees and beehives. With this ruling, bees are considered "livestock" and beehives are considered "animal shelters".

Current zoning laws requires that animal shelters be set back 200 feet from an existing dwelling on another lot when it houses or provides protection for animals. To be in accordance of the 200 foot set back, a property containing a beehive would minimally require a 400 foot by 400 foot lot size (200 feet on each side of the beehive). A 400 foot by 400 foot lot equates to a 3.5 acres (if it were perfectly square). If you are a beekeper lucky enough to have a 3.5 acre square lot in Howard County, you would be able to keep bees on your property assuming you situated the hives in the exact center of your lot.

In addition to the setback regulation, the DPZ has also deemed that beekeeping would fall under the category of farming. Certain districts of the county, specifically the New Town (NT) district and the Mixed use districts (MXD), do not allow farming uses, so apiaries are not permitted in those districts, regardless of setback zoning laws.

Of the 84 beekeepers in Howard County, over 92% of those beekeepers are backyard beekeepers with fewer than 5 hives. The overwhelming majority of the backyard beekeepers in Howard County have lot sizes much less than 3.5 acres. This means that the overwhelming majority of beekeepers in Howard County will be unable to keep bees due to the zoning law.