From the minutes of the last Lake in the Hills Village Board meeting:
Request to Approve Ordinances Amending the Zoning and Municipal Codes to Allow for Residential/Hobby Beekeeping
Summarized by Director of Community Development John Svalenka
On July 21, 2026, the Village received an anonymous complaint reporting that the resident at 2630 Fairfax Lane wass keeping bees on their property for honey collecting.
Village staff responded to the complaint and was able to view the rear yard of the residence from the Village-owned property along Lakewood Road behind the property, and found bees being kept in violation of the Municipal Code.
Therefore, staff issued a written Notice of Violation, requiring the bee colony and hives to be removed from the property.
Per Section 14.01 of the Lake in the Hills Municipal Code, bees fit within the definition for Prohibited Animals (any naturally wild animal). Section 14.05 prohibits the keeping of Prohibited Animals, except as permitted in the A-1 Agricultural Zoning District.
Section 11 of the Zoning Code sets forth the list of permitted and conditional uses for all zoning districts in the Village, and lists apiary (bee keeping) as a permitted use only in the A-1 Agricultural Zoning District. Therefore, the keeping of bees in Lake in the Hills is generally prohibited, except on a property within the A-1 zoning district.
The owner of the residence at 2630 Fairfax Lane, Artem Tkachenko, created a community petition asking the Village of Lake in the Hills to consider allowing responsible residential/hobby beekeeping under reasonable regulations.
Over 300 people have signed the petition, demonstrating significant interest in the issue.
Mr. Tkachenko does not wish to allow unrestricted apiaries or to eliminate reasonable protections for neighboring properties but instead has asked the Village to consider a regulatory framework specifically designed for small-scale residential beekeeping.
In consideration of the significant public interest in the issue, and due to the fact that such regulation would affect the entire Village as opposed to one individual property, Village staff has developed proposed regulations for consideration.
Zoning Code Amendments
Section 11 of the Zoning Code sets forth a table of permitted and conditional uses for all zoning districts in the Village.
The table lists “Agriculture/Apiary (bee keeping) Farm/Farming/Horticulture” as a permitted use only in the A-1 Agricultural Zoning District.
The keeping of honeybees on residential properties for hobby purposes is proposed to be only allowed accessory to a single-family-detached residential dwelling.
Therefore, staff has proposed an amendment to the permitted and conditional use chart in Section 11 of the Zoning Code to clarify that the beekeeping allowed in the A-1 zoning district is only intended for commercial/non-residential purposes.
With the proposed amendment, the clarified language in the table would read as, “Agriculture/Commercial Apiary (i.e. nonresidential beekeeping)/Farm/Farming/Horticulture”.
As noted above, the keeping of honeybees on residential properties for hobby purposes is proposed to be only allowed accessory to a single-family-detached residential dwelling.
Therefore, staff has proposed an amendment to the table of permitted accessory structures in Section 13.5 of the Zoning Code to allow residential hobby beekeeping in all residential zoning districts except the R-4 Multiple Family Dwelling zoning district, and only in the rear yard.
The table is proposed to be revised to add the following accessory use:
Yards Allowed: Rear.
The Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) conducted a public hearing on October 12, 2026 to consider the zoning code amendments noted above regarding Section 11 and Section 13.5. The PZC recommended approval of the amendments by a vote of 5-0.
Municipal Code Amendments
The Zoning Code amendments above deal with the locations for beekeeping.
The amendments to the Municipal Code detailed below set forth specific standards and requirements to limit the chance of beekeeping becoming anuisance.
First, staff has considered the potential benefits and drawbacks of allowing hobby beekeeping in the Village’s residential neighborhoods.
Permitted Accessory Structure: Bee hives, for the residential/ hobby keeping of honeybees in compliance with Municipal Code Chapter 14.
Permit Zoning Districts: All R districts except R-4.
Honeybees provide the benefit of enhancing local pollination, which increases the yields of backyard vegetable gardens and local flowers.
There are over 300 different species of bees in northeastern Illinois, so it is common to find bees in residential neighborhoods.
Adding honeybee colonies to these neighborhoods provides safe havens away from large-scale agricultural pesticides, helping counter honeybee population declines.
Additionally, it provides residents with a way to locally produce raw honey and beeswax.
The biggest potential drawback is the risk of stings and allergies.
A swarm or defensive hive can pose a severe health risk to neighbors with bee venom allergies.
The proposed standards below address this by requiring hives to be well maintained or removed.
When a colony outgrows its hive, it naturally splits, creating a large, intimidating-looking swarm.
While swarming bees are generally docile, their presence could cause panic for neighbors.
The proposed standards allow up to two temporary nucleus colonies (a small starter colony housed in a reduced-size hive,
commonly called a nuc), which allows beekeepers to split a colony before it exceeds the size of its hive and needs to swarm.
Finally, honeybees can become a nuisance if they congregate around neighbor’s swimming pools, birdbaths, or pet water bowls.
Therefore, the standards require a constant water source to be provided on the same property as the beehive.
In recognition of the potential benefits of beekeeping, and to help mitigate the potential drawbacks, staff has developed the proposed amendments (attached to the agenda) to Chapter 14 of the Municipal Code for consideration by the Village Board.
The code language would set standards for beekeeping but not require any license or permit from the Village.
The individual standards have been set based on a review of the regulations from other area municipalities that allow residential beekeeping. Specifically, staff reviewed codes from the cities and villages that surround Lake in the Hills or are nearby.
A table comparing the various regulations is attached to the agenda for review.
Beekeeping is not addressed in the code for Algonquin and Cary.
The proposed code language is similar to existing beekeeping regulations in Crystal Lake, Huntley, Lakewood, McHenry and Carpentersville.
Staff proposes the following standards:
- Honeybees Defined: Residential beekeeping is limited to the common western or European honeybee, Apis
mellifera. To be clear, honeybees are generally docile. They should not be confused with wasps and
yellowjackets, which are much more aggressive. - Hive Type and Orientation: Inspectable-type hives with removable combs are required, and they must be kept
in sound usable condition. Hive entrances must be oriented away from places where humans regularly
congregate, such as decks and patios. Since there aren’t any building codes that apply to bee hives, staff finds
that it is not necessary to require a permit for the placement of bee hives. - Fencing of Flyways: For honeybee colonies located less than 25 feet from the nearest property line, the
beekeeper must install a flyway barrier. The barrier would be a solid fence or dense hedge at least six feet in
height, running parallel to the property line and extending at least ten feet beyond the hive in each direction.
