Burien, WA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Burien handles leash rules in a single short section, Burien Municipal Code § 6.10.100. It does two things. First, it draws the map: the entire city, with the exception of city-recognized off-leash dog parks, is a dog control zone. There is no neighborhood carve-out for Olde Burien, Seahurst or anywhere else, and the only exception printed is the off-leash dog park. Second, it adopts specific sections of Chapter 11.08 of the King County Code as city law.

The adopted sections are KCC 11.08.010 Purpose, 11.08.020 Definitions, 11.08.030 Dogs at large prohibited in dog control zones, 11.08.050 Violations – Misdemeanor penalty, and 11.08.060 Violations – Civil penalty. They are adopted as now in effect and as subsequently amended, so Burien follows future King County changes to those sections without a separate Burien ordinance. In the adopted text the word county and the words King County mean the city, and references to violations of the county code are read as violations of city ordinances.

The operative leash text sits in KCC 11.08.030, which the Burien code incorporates by title rather than reproducing. The dollar amount of the leash civil penalty likewise sits in KCC 11.08.060.

Other Burien sections fill in who enforces and how. BMC 6.05.100 makes the animal control authority the persons or legal entities employed by or under contract with the city. BMC 6.05.400 designates the city's hearing examiner to hear appeals of violations of city animal control ordinances. BMC 6.05.300(2) adds a Burien-specific rule for dog waste: it is a violation to fail to remove fecal matter deposited by an animal on public property before leaving the immediate area, and the civil penalty is $250.00.