How Minneapolis supports pollinators

The City is taking steps to make city-owned land more pollinator friendly by planting more pollinator-friendly plants and reducing pesticide use on public property.

The City:

• Encourages residents and businesses to adopt pollinator-friendly practices
• Provides education and advocacy to help residents avoid pesticides that poison bees and butterflies through direct application or through plants pre-treated with pesticides
• Supports landscaping or gardening with a mixture of flowering plants that can nourish pollinators all season long

Read more about the City's commitment to protecting pollinators in the Minneapolis Pollinator Resolution  

Beekeeping in Minneapolis

In Minneapolis, keeping bees helps home gardens and the surrounding ecosystem thrive. Pollinator populations are in sharp decline because of an ongoing loss of habitat coupled with a large-scale expansion of pesticide use by homeowners, landscapers, property managers and farmers.

Application requirements

Take a Class

Provide a certificate of completion of a honeybee keeping course from one of the following:

• University of Minnesota
• Century College
• Three Rivers Park District

Provide Details

Specify the location and number of hives, colonies and/or facilities where honeybees will be kept. Minneapolis Animal Care and Control (MACC) is required to inspect the location.

Notify Neighbors

Show proof that you have notified all your immediate neighbors that you plan to keep bees on your property. Your notification method must be approved by MACC. If you are a renter, you will also need approval from your property owner.

Pay a Fee

Visit Pet licenses and animal permits for an application and more information. 

Beekeeping rules

• Make sure to provide a water source while the colony is active outside the hive.
• Maintain beekeeping equipment – keep hives painted and secure unused equipment from weather, potential theft, or occupancy by swarms.
• Notify MACC immediately if you are no longer able or willing to maintain your beehives. MACC will make the hives available to an approved honeybee rescue entity or dispose of them if necessary. There is a fifty dollar ($50.00) hive disposal fee.
• Colonies must be located at least 20 feet away from neighbors’ homes.
• The apiary property must be enclosed by a latching fence.
• If a colony is less than 25 feet from your property line, a flyway barrier (wall, fence, dense vegetation, or combination) must be installed. The flyway barrier must be at least six feet tall and must continue 10 feet along the lot line in each direction from the hive.
• All other sides of the area around the colonies shall have a barrier (wall, fencing, dense vegetation, or a combination) at least four feet tall.
• No barrier is required if adjoining property is undeveloped, zoned for agriculture/industry, or is a wildlife management area with no horse and foot trails within 25 feet of the apiary lot line. No barrier is needed on rooftop hives if they are at least 5 feet from the side of the structure and at least 15 feet from adjacent occupied structures.

For more information and to apply for a permit, visit Pet licenses and animal permits

Other strategies for supporting bees and pollinators

Pollinator plants help pollinators by providing a diverse array of plants to support a variety of pollinators. Pollinators thrive when they have blooming flowers from April to September. Avoid using pesticides on yards and gardens and be wary of nurseries and garden centers that treat plants with pesticides before they are sold. They may also use pesticide treated seeds which imbeds the pesticide in the plant itself. 

• Find  more resources on protecting bees from pesticides (UMN Bee Lab link to pesticides).
• Learn more from the UMN Bee Squad about when and what to plant to support bees.
  UMN Bee Squad
• Find out more about Bee Health: The Role of Pesticides (Congressional Research Service)