Draft Beekeeping Ordinance To Be Considered For Mission Viejo

Press release from the City of Mission Viejo:

April 8, 2021

The City Council at a future meeting will consider a draft ordinance that would allow residential beekeeping in the City of Mission Viejo.

The proposed ordinance stems from a citizen who spoke at a Council meeting last year about the community benefits of beekeeping and asked Council Members to consider adopting regulations to allow private residents to perform beekeeping activities on their single-family residential properties.

Beekeeping is a critical component of urban agriculture. Urban bees play an important role in the growth and maintenance of community gardens; and they provide pollination services that are necessary to crop and plant reproduction. This list shows which Orange County cities allow and prohibit beekeeping activities. In Mission Viejo, some community members have raised concerns about health, safety, liability and impacts on neighborhood property values.

The proposed beekeeping ordinance on October 28, 2020 was considered and approved by the Planning and Transportation Commission, which recommended the City Council follow suit. More recently on March 9, 2021, the Council voted to postpone consideration so staff could conduct more research on the type of bees and a beekeeping certification program or educational/training component for inclusion in the ordinance.

The Council meeting to consider the draft ordinance has not been scheduled, but folks can stay up to date by subscribing to receive future City Council Meeting agendas.

This press release was produced by the City of Mission Viejo. The views expressed here are the author’s own.