Keeping backyard bee colonies — at the moment — isn’t allowed in residential areas in Glendale, but that may change.
The city at its Sept. 14 council workshop discussed a potential new ordinance to allow and regulate backyard bee colonies for enthusiasts. While the council expressed support for the proposed ordinance and will revisit the issue likely for a vote at a future meeting, Glendale could become the fifth Valley city to write a specific ordinance related to residential beekeeping, joining Phoenix, Queen Creek, Maricopa and Tempe.
“As long as the city is not just outright saying no, you can’t have bees, that they actually talk to some real beekeepers and people who know about bees, I think they could do some real good for beekeepers in the city and neighbors,” said Cricket Aldridge, executive director of the Arizona Backyard Beekeepers Association, which was founded in 2017 to teach and encourage better methods among backyard beekeepers around the state. “I think it’s a good idea as long as it’s not something that dissuades people from keeping bees.”
