King County Code Title 21A allows state-licensed cannabis retailers, producers, and processors only in specific commercial, industrial, and rural zones in unincorporated areas. Each city sets its own zoning, and several cities ban retail sales entirely.
After I-502, the King County Council adopted zoning amendments placing cannabis retailers in Community Business and Regional Business zones with conditional use review, and producer-processor operations in Industrial, Forest, and Agricultural zones with size caps. Stores must also satisfy state buffer rules and obtain a Liquor and Cannabis Board license. Cities such as Seattle, Bellevue, and Kirkland adopted their own siting rules; some smaller cities including Federal Way and Covington enacted moratoria or bans. Tribal compacts govern stores on tribal lands.
Operating without proper zoning approval triggers code enforcement notices, daily civil penalties under KCC 23, and possible referral to the LCB for license revocation or suspension.
King County, WA
In unincorporated King County, fences 6 feet or less in height may be built on or within property lines without a building permit. Fences over 6 feet require...
King County, WA
Unincorporated King County's marine shoreline along Puget Sound and Vashon-Maury Island is regulated under the Shoreline Management Act (RCW 90.58), the King...
King County, WA
In unincorporated King County, an above-ground pool that can hold water more than 24 inches deep is regulated as a swimming pool under the Washington State R...
King County, WA
In unincorporated King County, a one-story detached storage shed of 200 square feet or less, accessory to a residential or agricultural use, is exempt from a...
King County, WA
Unincorporated King County requires private swimming pools to be enclosed by a barrier at least five feet high under K.C.C. 16.70.020, with self-closing/self...
King County, WA
King County Ordinance 18467 (2017) limits county cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and Washington's Keep Washington Working Act (RCW 10.93.16...
See how King County's dispensary zoning rules stack up against other locations.
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