Alger, WA
74 local rules on file · Pop. 507 · Skagit County
Showing ordinances that apply to Alger, WA
Alger is an unincorporated community with a population of approximately 507 in Skagit County, Washington. Because Alger is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal government or city code. Instead, Skagit County ordinances apply directly to residential and commercial properties here. The rules below are the county-level regulations that govern your area. Nearby incorporated cities in Skagit County may have different rules.
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🏡 Home & Property
🌿 Yard & Garden
🏠 Renting & Housing
🔊 Noise & Neighbors
🐾 Animals & Farming
🔥 Fire & Safety
🚗 Parking & Streets
💼 Business & Licensing
📋 Permits, Signs & Events
🌎 Environment & Utilities
🔊 Noise Ordinances
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County bans audio systems, radios, amplifiers and speakers from being audible more than 150 feet from the source property under SCC 9.50.040(2)(c). The 150-foot…
Quiet Hours
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County does not set one blanket quiet-hours window; instead SCC 9.50.040(2) bars specific nighttime sounds. Horns or sirens on a motor vehicle are unlawful…
Barking Dogs
Some RestrictionsSkagit County makes it unlawful for an owner to knowingly, recklessly or negligently let an animal make frequent, repetitive or continuous noise that becomes a public disturbance…
🚗 Parking Rules
Street Parking Limits
Some RestrictionsSkagit County bans parking on specific unincorporated road segments named in SCC 10.08.010, including stretches of Old 99 North, Bayview Edison Road and Cook Road marked "No Parking…
Abandoned Vehicles
Some RestrictionsSkagit County Code Chapter 10.20 lets the Sheriff impound a vehicle or "automobile hulk" left on a highway or another's property without consent for 24 hours or longer. A vehicle is…
EV Charging
Some RestrictionsSCC 14.18.790 defines a vehicle charging station, including a battery exchange station, as a distinct land use. In the IF-NRL and SF-NRL forestry resource zones in unincorporated…
🐔 Animal Ordinances
Exotic Pets
Heavy RestrictionsSkagit County bans owning, possessing or bringing into the county any potentially dangerous wild animal, a category that under SCC 7.04.010 covers all Canidae hybrids besides domestic…
Chickens & Livestock
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County the entire county is a livestock restricted area under Skagit County Code Chapter 6.44. Owners of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and similar farm…
Breed Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsSkagit County does not ban specific dog breeds. Instead, SCC Chapter 7.06 lets the county declare an individual dog potentially dangerous or dangerous based on its own conduct, such as…
Microchipping
Some RestrictionsSkagit County does not require microchips for ordinary pets, but SCC 7.06.025 makes a permanent microchip implant mandatory for any dog the county has declared potentially dangerous or…
Bird Protection
Heavy RestrictionsSkagit County bans hunting, taking or killing any game birds, migratory birds, upland game birds, predatory birds, songbirds or other birds, and firing any gun within six specifically…
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Some RestrictionsSkagit County Code § 14.18.210 lists animal clinics and hospitals, including overnight boarding, as a permitted commercial use across unincorporated zoning districts. In the SF-NRL and…
Dog Leash Laws
Some RestrictionsSkagit County does not have a general leash law for unincorporated areas outside its parks. Inside County parks, though, SCC 9.41.150 requires every dog or pet be physically controlled…
💼 Home Business
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Some RestrictionsSkagit County zones home occupations as one of three tiers under SCC 14.18.252: Home-Based Business 1, 2 or 3, each incidental to the residence. HBB1 caps business floor area at 25…
Home Daycare
Some RestrictionsSkagit County Code § 14.18.246 allows a family day care provider as an accessory use to a single-family home in unincorporated Skagit County, capped at 12 adults or children in any…
Customer Traffic Restrictions
Some RestrictionsSkagit County's home-based business tiers turn on client traffic: a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(f) may not have clients come to the site at all, while Home-Based…
Signage Rules
Some RestrictionsSkagit County bars any outside sign at all for a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(c). Stepping up to Home-Based Business 2 or 3 under (4)(c)/(5)(d) allows exactly one sign…
🔥 Fire Regulations
Propane Storage
Some RestrictionsIn special flood hazard areas of unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.34.150(6)(c) requires every above-ground propane (LPG) and home heating oil tank to be adequately supported and…
Outdoor Burning
Some RestrictionsAnyone burning outside a city or town in unincorporated Skagit County needs a written burning permit from the county Fire Warden once a fire exceeds the size set by Board of County…
Fireworks
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County it is unlawful to sell fireworks at retail except between June 15 and July 9 each year under SCC Chapter 9.20. The Sheriff may permit supervised public…
🏗️ Accessory Structures
Shed & Carport Rules
Light RestrictionsSkagit County Code § 14.18.104 lists a storage shed, workshop, garage or barn as an allowed 'miscellaneous residential support building' accessory to a house anywhere in unincorporated…
ADU Rules
Some RestrictionsSkagit County Code § 14.18.106 caps a newly built accessory dwelling unit at 1,200 square feet, excluding garage area, and requires three off-street parking spaces for the primary home…
ADU Impact Fees
Few RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, accessory dwelling units are exempt from every impact fee the county charges new development, under Skagit County Code section 14.68.040(1)(b). Other…
🧱 Fence Regulations
Material Restrictions
Some RestrictionsSCC 14.22.030 confines razor wire to commercial, industrial and aviation-related zones and caps barbed wire fencing at five feet above grade everywhere else in unincorporated Skagit…
Height Limits
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, fences up to six feet tall are exempt from Title 14 building setbacks entirely, and the exemption stretches to eight feet in twelve listed zones…
Retaining Walls
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, a retaining wall or rockery four feet in height or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, is exempt from Title 14…
🌿 Landscaping Rules
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Significant RestrictionsIn a critical area or its buffer in unincorporated Skagit County, a landowner must get prior written approval from Planning and Development Services before removing a hazardous…
Water Restrictions
Some RestrictionsNew land divisions inside one of ten named surface water source limited watersheds in unincorporated Skagit County must accept lawn watering restrictions or other water conservation…
🗑️ Trash & Recycling
Recycling Rules
Some RestrictionsSkagit County requires solid waste generated in the unincorporated area to go to a designated disposal site under SCC 12.18.040, but exempts source-separated recyclables collected…
Illegal Dumping
Heavy RestrictionsDumping any solid waste in unincorporated Skagit County outside a permitted facility violates SCC 12.16.080. The Health Officer classifies deposits over three cubic yards, or any…
🛏️ Homelessness & Encampment Rules
💡 Outdoor Lighting
Dark Sky Rules
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, the Unified Development Code requires full cutoff outdoor lighting fixtures within 250 feet of a residential zone in the Bayview Ridge Light Industrial…
Light Trespass & Shielding
Some RestrictionsSCC 14.20.040 caps light spilling onto a neighbor's land at one foot-candle at the property boundary and requires full cut-off fixtures aimed away from adjoining properties. The…
📢 Noise from Specific Sources
Delivery Truck Noise
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County limits idling refrigeration noise from delivery and commercial trucks under SCC 9.50.040(2)(g). A parked commercial vehicle's refrigeration unit, or its…
Car Alarm Limits
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County restricts horns and sirens attached to motor vehicles, including car alarms, under SCC 9.50.040(2)(a). Sounding one between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is a…
Generator Noise
Light RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County exempts portable generators from its public disturbance noise rules only while the primary electrical supplier has no service available because of a…
🏪 Business Licensing & Operations
Adult Entertainment
Significant RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, adult entertainment is allowed only in the Bayview Ridge Heavy Industrial (BR-HI) zone, and only as a Hearing Examiner special use under SCC…
Towing Companies
Some RestrictionsWhen the Skagit County Sheriff orders a vehicle towed for likely disposal as abandoned, SCC 10.20.030 requires using a tow truck operator currently appointed by the state Director of…
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Significant RestrictionsSkagit County bars a Home-Based Business 1 or 2 from installing heavy equipment, large power tools or power sources not common to a residential dwelling, under SCC 14.18.252(3)(d) and…
🚶 Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules
🌱 Cannabis Regulations
Buffer Zones
Significant RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County sets no fixed buffer distance for marijuana facilities. SCC 14.18.262(8)(b) instead requires every special use permit for a production, processing, or…
Dispensary Zoning
Significant RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, marijuana production, processing and retail facilities may locate only where the zoning code explicitly names them as an allowed use. The Ag-NRL farm…
🍔 Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors
Food Truck Permits
Some RestrictionsAny person operating a food service establishment in unincorporated Skagit County, including a mobile or event-based operation, must hold a valid permit from the Health Officer under…
Vending Zones
Light RestrictionsSkagit County's Unified Development Code has no standalone mobile-vending ordinance. The only rule addressing food trucks in unincorporated Skagit County ties them to a farm's…
🚷 Public Conduct
Outdoor Smoking Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsSkagit County bans smoking and vaping in outdoor public places controlled by a child care facility or school, and anywhere children congregate, including playgrounds, parks, beaches…
Public Urination
Some RestrictionsIt is unlawful under SCC Chapter 9.36 for anyone to urinate or defecate in a public place in unincorporated Skagit County, or in a place exposed to public view, whether or not anyone…
📐 Building Setbacks & Zoning
Setback Rules
Some RestrictionsSCC Chapter 14.28 sets minimum building setbacks for every structure and lot in unincorporated Skagit County. Setbacks are measured at right angles from the property line, front and…
Structure Height Limits
Some RestrictionsIn the Rural Mixed-Use zones of unincorporated Skagit County, including Rural Village Residential (RVR), Table 14.11.030-1 caps building height at 40 feet. SCC 14.10.100(5) explains…
Lot Coverage Limits
Some RestrictionsTable 14.11.030-1 caps impervious lot coverage in unincorporated Skagit County's Rural Mixed-Use zones: 35 percent in Rural Intermediate, 50 percent in Rural Village Residential, Rural…
🌍 Environmental Rules
Erosion Control
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.32.130 requires every development project to control erosion and sedimentation during construction. Crews must keep stabilizing materials on…
Flood Zones
Significant RestrictionsA floodplain project permit is required before any construction or development in a special flood hazard area in unincorporated Skagit County, per SCC 14.34.100. Even septic tanks…
Flood Elevation Requirements
Significant RestrictionsNew homes and substantial improvements in a Skagit County special flood hazard area must have their lowest floor elevated at least one foot above base flood elevation under SCC…
Stormwater Management
Some RestrictionsSCC Chapter 14.32 requires a project permit before new development or redevelopment breaks ground in unincorporated Skagit County, governed by the county's NPDES permit, with design…
📋 Code Violation Reporting
🪧 Sign Regulations
Digital Billboards
Heavy RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County bans billboards outright under SCC 14.29.070(1) except where a zone specifically permits one, and separately bars any flashing, revolving, animated…
Freeway-Facing Signs
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County's Rural Freeway Services zone, a tourist-oriented business may put up one freeway-oriented advertising sign under SCC 14.29.080(2)(b), up to 60 feet…
Political Signs
Some RestrictionsA temporary political sign on private land in unincorporated Skagit County is exempt from sign permits under SCC 14.29.060(3), capped at 32 square feet in area, 48 inches in vertical…
🌳 Tree Protection
Protected Tree Species
Significant RestrictionsSkagit County's critical areas code designates nest and roost trees for great blue herons, ospreys, pileated woodpeckers and other priority species as protected fish and wildlife…
Parkway Planting
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Skagit County, commercial and industrial developments must install street-frontage landscaping under SCC 14.25.070: an eight-foot-wide buffer with trees spaced no…
🎪 Special Events & Permits
Parade Permits
Significant RestrictionsAnyone hosting an outdoor concert, festival or assembly expected to draw 100 or more people in unincorporated Skagit County needs a county permit under SCC Chapter 9.08 before…
Park Event Permits
Some RestrictionsCommunity groups that want to hold an organized gathering, concession sale or fundraiser at a Skagit County park facility need a Parks and Recreation Department permit. SCC 9.41.010…
🔧 Building Safety
Plumbing Permits
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Skagit County plumbing work runs on the 2021 IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted by SCC 15.04.020(4) with several chapters carved out, and a stand-alone plumbing permit…
Building Permits
Some RestrictionsSkagit County adopts the 2021 International Residential and Building Codes for unincorporated areas under SCC 15.04.020, and its own amendment to IRC Section R105.2 sets the only…
Fire Sprinkler Requirements
Significant RestrictionsOutside a Skagit County Fire District, SCC 14.10.080(1) bars a building permit altogether, but SCC 14.10.080(2)(c) lets the county issue one for a single-family home or accessory…
Other Communities in Skagit County
These unincorporated areas are also governed by Skagit County ordinances.