How Lynnwood Handles Animal Ordinances: A Practical Guide

Lynnwood maintains 115 local ordinances across all categories, and 9 of those deal specifically with animal ordinances. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Lynnwood falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Breed Restrictions

Lynnwood does not ban dog breeds by name. Instead, the animal control authority declares individual animals dangerous or potentially dangerous based on documented behavior, then imposes registration, insurance, enclosure and leash requirements on that specific animal's owner.

Key details: Governing law: Behavior-based, not breed-based. Liability coverage required: $250,000 bond or insurance. Leash length outside enclosure: Not more than 8 feet. Compliance window after declaration: 30 days. Max penalty: 1 year jail, $5,000 fine.

Owning a dangerous animal without a current certificate of registration, or letting one outside its enclosure unrestrained and unmuzzled, is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in confinement and/or a $5,000 fine under LMC 6.02.025(I). Failing to notify the animal control authority of a change of ownership, address or a bite within 14 days is a separate violation under LMC 6.02.025(J).

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Lynnwood actively enforces its breed restrictions requirements.

Exotic Pets

Lynnwood bans exotic animals outright. No person may possess, breed, import, export, barter, buy or sell an animal defined as exotic, including primates, big cats, bears, non-domestic canids, venomous reptiles and large constricting snakes.

Key details: Covered animals: Primates, big cats, bears, wild canids. Also covered: Venomous reptiles, large pythons, crocodilians. Exempted: Domestic cats and dogs. Max penalty: $1,000 fine (misdemeanor). Permit exception: None for exotic animals.

Violating the exotic animal ban is a misdemeanor under LMC 6.02.030, punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $1,000. Each animal possessed, bred, imported, exported or sold in violation can support a separate charge, and the animal control authority may seize the animal as part of enforcement.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Lynnwood actively enforces its exotic pets requirements.

Wildlife Rescue Permits

Lynnwood requires anyone keeping a wild animal to hold a State Game Department or federal Fish and Wildlife permit, but the animal control authority may let a rescuer temporarily care for an injured or orphaned native wild animal while that permit is obtained.

Key details: Permit required: State Game Dept. or federal F&W. Local allowance: Temporary care of injured native wildlife. Who authorizes it: Animal control authority. Max penalty: $1,000 fine (misdemeanor). Cross-reference: Must also comply with LMC 6.02.030.

Keeping a wild animal without the required state or federal permit, or beyond the animal control authority's temporary-care allowance, is a misdemeanor under LMC 6.02.040, punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $1,000.

Dog Leash Laws

Lynnwood bars dogs and other domestic animals from running at large citywide, defining "at large" as off the owner's property and not on a leash, cord or chain of eight feet or less, with fines starting at $25 for a first offense.

Key details: Max leash length: 8 feet. First offense fine: $25.00. Second offense fine: $50.00. Repeat violation: Misdemeanor, up to 90 days/$1,000. Exception: Posted dog training areas.

A first at-large violation is a civil infraction carrying a $25.00 fine and a second offense $50.00 under LMC 6.02.070(C). An owner who ignores a civil infraction notice, or who racks up two infractions within 12 months and offends again, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days confinement and a fine not to exceed $1,000.

Cat Rules

Lynnwood exempts domestic cats from its at-large running ban, letting cats roam free while dogs and other domestic animals may not. Cats are still capped at three per household and must wear an identifying tag past six months old.

Key details: At-large rule for cats: None, expressly exempt. Max cats per household: 3 (over 6 months old). Tag requirement: Required after 6 months old. Tag violation fine: $25 first, $50 second offense. Over-limit penalty: Up to $1,000 fine.

Failing to tag a cat over six months old is a civil infraction under LMC 6.02.020(C), $25.00 for a first offense and $50.00 for a second; ignoring the notice or repeating the violation becomes a misdemeanor with up to 90 days confinement and a $1,000 fine. Exceeding the three-cat limit is a misdemeanor under LMC 6.02.130, punishable by a fine up to $1,000.

The rules around cat rules in Lynnwood lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Microchipping

Lynnwood requires a mandatory AVID-compatible microchip before release if a domestic animal is impounded and taken to the contract shelter more than twice in a 12-month period, with the owner paying the shelter's implant cost.

Key details: Microchip trigger: 3rd+ impound in 12 months. Chip standard: AVID or equivalent scanner-readable. Who pays: Owner covers shelter's chip cost. Also required for: Registered dangerous animals. Removing a chip: Misdemeanor, up to 90 days/$1,000.

Removing a required microchip is a misdemeanor interference violation under LMC 6.02.180, punishable by confinement not to exceed 90 days and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000. Failing to pay for the mandated microchip implant blocks release of the animal from the contract shelter under LMC 6.02.090(C) until the owner covers the shelter's charge.

Pet Limits

Lynnwood caps household pets at three cats, three dogs, or any combination of cats and dogs exceeding three, plus up to two miniature pot-bellied pigs, once the animals are over six months old.

Key details: Max dogs/cats combined: 3 (over 6 months old). Max pot-bellied pigs: 2 per household. Applies to: Any single premises in the city. Age threshold: Over 6 months of age. Max penalty: $1,000 fine (misdemeanor).

Keeping more than three cats or dogs in combination, or more than two miniature pot-bellied pigs, on one premises is a misdemeanor under LMC 6.02.130, punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $1,000.

Pet Groomer Rules

Lynnwood zones pet grooming as a commercial use permitted by right in the city center, Alderwood, ACC, PCD, neighborhood commercial, general commercial, Highway 99 mixed-use, college district mixed-use and light-industrial districts, but prohibited outright in residential, manufactured-home-park and public/institutional zones. Grooming parlors with indoor pet housing must also meet ventilation, drainage and sanitation standards.

Key details: Governing use table: LMC § 8.35.0280 (Animal). Permitted districts: CC, Alderwood, ACC, PCD, NC, CG, HMU, CDM, LI. Prohibited districts: RN, MHP, RM-45, P-I, OSP. Indoor air change rate: 3+ times per hour. Disposal ban: No cremation or incineration on-site.

Operating a pet grooming business in a district where the LMC § 8.35.0280 use table marks it '–' is a zoning code violation subject to the city's land use enforcement process; a grooming parlor with indoor pet housing that fails the ventilation, drainage or soundproofing standards in LMC § 8.35.0380(A) is separately out of compliance, and cremation or incineration of animals or refuse at the facility is prohibited outright under LMC § 8.35.0380(C).

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Lynnwood's Title 8 use table permits veterinarian offices by right in nine commercial and mixed-use zones, including city center, Alderwood, and CG, but bars them entirely from the RN, MHP, RM-45, P-I, and OSP districts under LMC 8.35.0280.

Key details: Permitted zones: City Center, Alderwood, ACC, PCD, NC, CG, HMU, CDM, LI. Not permitted zones: RN, MHP, RM-45, P-I, OSP. Kennels (separate use): conditional use permit in LI only. Boarding facility standard: 3+ air changes/hour, soundproofing.

Operating a veterinary clinic in a zoning district where the Title 8 use table marks the use as not permitted, such as the RN or P-I districts, is a Unified Development Code violation. The development and business services department can issue a notice of violation and corrective order under LMC Chapter 1.40, with civil penalties starting at $100 the first day and rising to $500 per day until the use is brought into compliance or relocated.

Lynnwood is more permissive than most cities when it comes to veterinary clinic zoning. That said, there are still limits.

The Bottom Line

Lynnwood's animal ordinances rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Lynnwood is broadly strict or permissive.

Keep in mind that Lynnwood can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.