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Santa Barbara County · Building on your lot

Pets, chickens and bees in Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County's own rules on pets, chickens and bees, with the code text for every value.

Ask about pets, chickens and bees in Santa Barbara County See coverage

Each rule below links to the section of the Santa Barbara County Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Santa Barbara County's code says

Santa Barbara County code What Santa Barbara County's code adds
Bees
  • Yes; apiaries at least 600 feet from any home the beekeeper does not own, unless the occupant agrees.
    Applies: Applies to distance from buildings used as homes.
    § 7-31 · code text
    No person shall place or keep an apiary, or cause or allow an apiary, to remain closer than six hundred feet to any building used as a dwelling other than buildings owned by such person, without the permission of the occupant of such building.
  • Yes; keep a firebreak of at least 30 feet around the apiary.
    Applies: Applies to apiaries in, on or next to a hazardous fire area.
    § 7-35 · code text
    Maintain around and adjacent to such apiary an effective firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance therefrom of not less than thirty feet on each side thereof, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth.
  • At least 300 feet from a property line or road.
    Applies: Applies to apiaries not pollinating crops; they must not create a nuisance or hazard for road users.
    § 7-31 · code text
    Except when pollinating crops, no apiary shall be located within three hundred feet of a property line or road.
Permit
  • A written permit from the fire chief.
    Applies: Required to use lighted or smoldering material when smoking bees.
    § 7-35 · code text
    No person shall use any lighted or smoldering material in connection with smoking bees except by the authority of a written permit from the fire chief.

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep chickens or bees at my home in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County's code: Yes; apiaries at least 600 feet from any home the beekeeper does not own, unless the occupant agrees. (Applies to distance from buildings used as homes.) (§ 7-31); Yes; keep a firebreak of at least 30 feet around the apiary. (Applies to apiaries in, on or next to a hazardous fire area.) (§ 7-35).

General information, not legal advice.

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Ask GoCodebook how Santa Barbara County's pets, chickens and bees rules apply to your situation and get an answer that cites the section.

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Santa Barbara County Municipal Code — full text