Editorial policy
This policy explains how UrbanBee researches, labels, updates, and corrects educational content. It applies to guides, regulation summaries, equipment comparisons, structured data, and outreach resources published at urbanhivelife.works.
Editorial independence and limitations
- UrbanBee is an independent educational website, not a government, university, law, veterinary, or apiary-inspection service.
- Legal summaries do not approve an address and are not legal advice.
- Health content does not diagnose a colony or replace an inspector, laboratory, extension specialist, or veterinarian.
- Advertising and affiliate relationships do not determine factual conclusions or source selection.
Source hierarchy
For legal and regulatory claims, sources are prioritized in this order:
- Enacted statutes, ordinances, administrative rules, and official code publishers.
- Current government agency instructions, forms, maps, and program pages.
- Written clarification from the responsible agency, when available and suitable for publication.
- University extension or association guidance, clearly labeled as guidance rather than law.
For bee-health and management claims, UrbanBee favors USDA and state apiary materials, land-grant university extension, peer-reviewed research, and directly relevant technical documentation. A source is not added merely because its domain is authoritative; it must actually support the claim.
Legal research workflow
- Identify the complete installation address and legal jurisdiction rather than relying on a ZIP code.
- Check city or county code, zoning, parcel overlays, and current agency instructions.
- Check the state apiary, registration, inspection, movement, and disease-control layer.
- Separate public law from leases, owner approval, HOA or condominium rules, deed restrictions, and building requirements.
- Record the source URL, controlling section, and date reviewed.
- Disclose ambiguity or a source conflict instead of choosing an unsupported interpretation.
Dates, freshness, and status labels
“Updated” records an editorial change. “Sources checked” records a review of the cited material. They are not interchangeable. City comparison records use a 180-day review interval and can be labeled current, review due, stale, or source conflict. A timestamp is not advanced unless the source was actually reopened and assessed.
Bylines and professional review
UrbanBee Editorial Team is an organizational publishing byline. It does not imply a professional license or named subject-matter expert. Independent review is claimed only when the article shows the reviewer's name, relevant credentials, review date, and profile link. Reviewer metadata is never filled with a fictional or generic expert.
Inline citations and references
Consequential legal, diagnostic, structural, and safety claims should link to the supporting source where the claim appears. A visible references section provides the full source set. Association guidance must be labeled as non-binding when it is not issued by the governing authority.
Images, diagrams, and AI-generated media
An image is illustrative unless a caption and source record establish a documentary or diagnostic purpose. UrbanBee does not use a decorative image as evidence of disease, legality, or structural suitability. Assets intended for outreach require a documented creator or source, creation date, license or permission, and modification record. If that evidence is incomplete, the image is suppressed from the outreach page and structured data or replaced before reuse.
Advertising and affiliate content
Pages may contain advertising or affiliate links when disclosed. Primary outreach resources on local law, address research, placement, balcony suitability, hive types, and foulbrood are kept free of programmatic ads. References appear before any advertising on other article templates.
Corrections process
Submit a correction through the contact page with the page URL, disputed wording, official source URL, relevant section, and effective date. UrbanBee checks the primary source, updates affected prose and structured data together, changes the source-check date only after verification, and records material corrections below.
Public corrections log
- August 9, 2026 - Portland flyway alternatives
- Disclosed that Portland Code 13.30.020(D) uses a ten-foot-above-ground alternative while the city web guide separately refers to more than ten feet from a property line. Updated the Portland page and comparison record to require agency confirmation.
- August 9, 2026 - Los Angeles zoning scope
- Rechecked city and county sources, removed ZIP-wide and fee/penalty assertions, and separated the Original Zoning Code from the New Zoning Code applied by community-plan area.
- August 9, 2026 - NYC association recommendations
- Added NYCBA placement recommendations with an explicit statement that its six-foot barrier and approximate ten-foot flight-path guidance are association best practices, not citywide legal setbacks.