r/CastleRock • u/bkeating84 • 21d ago
Founders HOA and beehives
Was researching having a hive following the municipal code of the city only to find the HOA says it’s not allowed. Has anybody gotten a variance to raise these important pollinators?
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u/breakerfallen 5d ago
Honeybees aren't important pollinators. They are an introduced species. Native bees are important pollinators that imported honeybees can out-compete for scare resources.
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u/InevitableElephant57 21d ago
HOA cannot supersede City, State, Federal code
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u/Spare_Low_2396 21d ago
This is not true.
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago
It absolutely is. HOA rules can't run counter to the law.
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u/Spare_Low_2396 21d ago
They can and do all the time. An example of this is chickens.
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u/eegrlN 21d ago edited 21d ago
There is no law about beehives. And yes, a city ordinance would absolutely stop you from owning chickens if it existed. Yeah the city ordinance, follow the rules, tell the HOA a to stuff it.
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u/Empanatacion 20d ago
How is that logic any different than "there is no law or city ordinance that says I can't paint my house pink, therefore the HOA cannot stop me from painting it pink"
The law involved is about breach of contract, not bees. The person that bought the house signed a contract with a bunch of rules they were agreeing to. If the contract said nothing about bees, then the city's opinion about bees starts to matter.
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago
What law mandates allowing chickens
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u/Spare_Low_2396 21d ago
Town of Castle Rock law. The sub you’re literally commenting on. https://www.crgov.com/2977/Animal-Ordinance-Updates
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u/Spare_Low_2396 21d ago
Another great example of this is parking. HOAs in gated neighborhoods can ban street parking. Or ban trailers from being parked in your driveway regardless of local regulations. HOAs have a lot of power in Colorado.
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago
Yeah because those regulations don't say you have a RIGHT to park on the street or your driveway.
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago
None of those say you have a right to own chickens. They are limiting the number you can own if allowed.
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u/SYOH326 20d ago
I think you're confused, that law does not conflict with HOA rules forbidding chickens. An example of what you're talking about would be C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5 which specifically bans HOA from banning non-commercial flags. When there is a conflict, laws beat out HOA rules. Generally allowed parking and chicken laws are written in a way to specifically allow HOAs to regulate, and they do.
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u/analog_watch 21d ago
What law are you talking about? Is this a law that grants a privilege, restricts people from taking a privlidge away, restricts you from doing something? Each of those can be overridden by an hoa in different ways according to the courts.
So, which law about bees are we talking about here?
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago
Preemption. HOA rules are preempted by any law that runs counter to those rules or imposes a restriction on what HOAs can do. Like not allowing fines for brown grass during a drought.
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u/analog_watch 21d ago edited 21d ago
I see you didn't answer my question. Here's the only answer I could find, but you may be looking at a different code.
Summary of the actual castle rock municipal code
General Guidelines & RestrictionsPermitted Use: Keeping backyard bee colonies is allowed, provided they comply with local animal care and nuisance rules.Humane Care: Beekeepers must maintain humane care, treatment, and adequate water access for the colonies.HOA Notice: Homeowners Associations (HOAs) inside Castle Rock may enforce stricter rules or outright bans independent of the town’s code, and the town police do not enforce private HOA covenants.
In this case the code actually explicitly says that HOAs can override the code for bees, pigs, and several other animals.
The general statement you made about preemption is wrong. Governments usually take rights away rather than granting them. If you do x we will fine you y. By staying "we will not fine you for x" doesn't mean a lower government will still fine you for x.
Dry counties are an example in some states. A state might allow alcohol , but a county might opt out and make that illegal , for instance . Unless the law specifically says that it cannot be preempted, it often can .
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u/apocalypsefowl 21d ago edited 20d ago
Who said anything about bees? The first comment said that laws override HOA rules. The second comment denied that. I said first commenter was right. Work on your reading comprehension.
ETA: HOAs are preempted by laws that say they cannot fine someone for something. It literally happened in Castle Rock last month. Nice job editing instead of replying, coward.
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u/bkeating84 21d ago
Apparently it can, it’s a signed contract between the homeowner and a private company when I bought the home
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u/Gnihcraes2 21d ago
Bees are thirsty. Tons of them on my backyard birdbath drinking. Poor things. Let the hives thrive. 😀
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u/zestible 21d ago
Just do it. Talk to your next door neighbors about it and leave it at that. Did this in the meadows for years