Chelan County, WA Ordinances (2026)

In unincorporated Chelan County's Rural Residential/Resource district (RR20, one dwelling unit per 20 acres), Chelan County Code § 11.08.020(3) caps building height at thirty-five…

In unincorporated Chelan County's RR20 district (Rural Residential/Resource, one dwelling unit per 20 acres), Chelan County Code § 11.08.020(4) limits lot coverage: buildings and…

In unincorporated Chelan County's RR20 district (Rural Residential/Resource, one dwelling unit per 20 acres), Chelan County Code § 11.08.020(5) sets minimum yard setbacks: twenty-five…

In unincorporated Chelan County, the five-member Chelan County Weed Board can eradicate noxious weeds on private land, and the county recovers its costs by placing a lien on the…

Property owners in unincorporated Chelan County must clear snow and ice from the full width of any sidewalk in the county right-of-way adjacent to their land within twenty-four hours…

Chelan County enforces the 1973 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings throughout the unincorporated county under Chapter 3.08. The county building director acts as…

In unincorporated Chelan County's Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas Overlay District, Chelan County Code § 11.78.060 bars introducing plants, wildlife or fish that aren't…

In unincorporated Chelan County, camping on any county property outside a legally established camping or rest area is a declared public nuisance under Chapter 8.42. Designated County…

A street fair, race, parade or similar organized activity that uses a Chelan County road needs a right-of-way activity permit from the Sheriff's Office before it can go forward…

Holding an assembly, entertainment, meeting or business transaction inside a Chelan County park requires the written consent of the park manager first. The same chapter separately…

Chelan County requires a right-of-way activity permit for parades and other events on county roads under Chelan County Code § 9.26.030, but exempts military and public-safety parades…

Dumping litter or garbage on a street, alley, sidewalk, waterway or someone else's property in unincorporated Chelan County violates the county's Litter Control ordinance, Chapter…

Unincorporated Chelan County has no curbside bulk pickup; residents self-haul brush, appliances and scrap metal to county transfer stations, where the Dryden Transfer Station rate…

Unincorporated Chelan County runs no municipal curbside pickup of its own; instead, Chelan County Code § 4.04.020 bans dumping garbage anywhere except places the county commissioners…

Unincorporated Chelan County residents can drop brush and yard waste at the Leavenworth Quarantine Area Brush Recycling Program site for a flat $25.00 minimum charge, or $25.00 per…

Unincorporated Chelan County has no clock-based nighttime noise curfew for private property; general noise is judged by a reasonable-person disturbance standard under Chapter 7.35. The…

In unincorporated Chelan County, a dog that habitually howls, yelps or barks and annoys or disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood is declared a public nuisance under §…

Every vehicle operated in unincorporated Chelan County must have a working noise-muffling device under Chelan County Code § 9.44.040, and passenger vehicles cannot exceed 76 dBA at or…

In the Peshastin Urban Growth Area of unincorporated Chelan County, Code § 11.22.040(6)(C) caps noise from any use within or adjoining a residential district at fifty decibels measured…

Construction activity within one thousand feet of an occupied residence in unincorporated Chelan County cannot run between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., under Chelan County Code Section…

Anyone soliciting or canvassing door to door in unincorporated Chelan County must obtain a permit and license before selling goods or taking orders. The Chelan County Auditor processes…

Posting 'No Trespassing,' 'No Peddlers or Agents,' or 'No Advertisement' on your unincorporated Chelan County property makes it unlawful for anyone to leave handbills or advertising…

Unincorporated Chelan County has no general outdoor public-smoking ordinance covering streets or plazas, but the county's own campground draws a hard line: § 7.24.040(i) bans smoking…

Alcoholic beverages may not be displayed or consumed in public view inside a Chelan County park except in designated campsites or established picnic areas. Intoxicated people are…

In unincorporated Chelan County, recreational marijuana use is strictly prohibited anywhere inside a county park under Chapter 7.24's park rules. Medical marijuana is allowed only by a…

In unincorporated Chelan County, loitering or prowling in a place, time or manner that manifests an unlawful purpose or creates reasonable alarm for public safety is a misdemeanor…

Chelan County Code Chapter 5.36 shields any farm operation that follows accepted agricultural practices from being called a public or private nuisance. The protection covers noise…

Unincorporated Chelan County zones its working farmland as Commercial Agricultural Lands (AC) under Chelan County Code § 11.30.020, which sets a ten-acre minimum lot size, a…

Chelan County imposes an additional two percent lodging tax under Chapter 6.30, layered on top of the existing two percent tax collected under RCW 67.28.180. Twenty percent of the…

In unincorporated Chelan County, anyone under 18 who isn't with a parent, guardian or responsible adult may not be on the streets, in public buildings or places of amusement, or on…

Chelan County parks post their own hours of operation on site rather than following one countywide closing time. Wenatchee River County Park runs seasonally, open April 1 through…

Land-disturbing projects of one acre or more in unincorporated Chelan County must prepare and implement a construction stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) before breaking…

New construction and substantial improvements in Chelan County's special flood hazard areas must raise the lowest floor, including any basement, at least three feet above the base…

In unincorporated Chelan County, no one may start construction or fill in a special flood hazard area without a floodplain development permit from Community Development. The permit…

Chelan County's critical areas code lets an owner of a legally built structure request vegetation removal for defensible space inside a wetland, habitat or geologic-hazard buffer…

Chelan County bans dumping anything but stormwater into its municipal separate storm sewer system in the unincorporated county. Section 13.14.050 prohibits illicit discharges and…

Unincorporated Chelan County does not ban any dog breed by name. Instead, § 7.40.015 adopts the state definitions of "dangerous dog" and "potentially dangerous dog" from Chapter 16.08…

Unincorporated Chelan County requires anyone keeping a "potentially dangerous wild animal," a defined list running from big cats and bears to venomous snakes and crocodilians, to hold…

Unincorporated Chelan County declares a dog to be a public nuisance if it wanders at large without apparent home, care or supervision, roams in a pack of three or more dogs, or is at…

In unincorporated Chelan County, the county's dangerous-wild-animal nuisance rule exempts anyone licensed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Washington State Game Department…

Unincorporated Chelan County does not microchip ordinary dogs, but Section 7.40.060(b)(4) makes microchipping mandatory for any dog classified dangerous or potentially dangerous under…

Chelan County does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but Section 7.40.070 requires every cat over six months old to carry a current rabies vaccination from a licensed…

Unincorporated Chelan County limits backyard chickens and other livestock by lot size and whether the parcel sits inside a county urban growth area. A lot under one acre inside a UGA…

In unincorporated Chelan County, the Board of Chelan County Commissioners may by resolution designate no-parking zones on any county road right-of-way that poses a public health or…

Several county roads in unincorporated Chelan County carry seasonal winter parking bans written directly into the Chelan County Code parking table, including Entiat River Road and…

Chelan County designates specific loading and unloading areas on county roads with short time limits, such as a 20-minute allowance near the Sleepy Hollow Bridge and a 15-minute…

A vehicle left on a Chelan County road right-of-way or public property for 24 hours or longer counts as abandoned under Chelan County Code § 9.32.010, and the Sheriff impounds it…

Chelan County's Peshastin Urban Growth Area multifamily standards, Code § 11.22.040(12)(A)(ii), flatly bar parking in the front yard of any multifamily housing development in…

Unincorporated Chelan County allows electric vehicle charging stations as a permitted use when the site sits within one thousand feet of an urban or rural collector road or a state…

Outside a municipal urban growth area, unincorporated Chelan County caps outdoor vehicle storage at a combined five cars, boats, trucks or RVs per dwelling unit, with no more than…

Unincorporated Chelan County requires a permitted 'highway low impact business' to screen its commercial vehicle parking from adjacent residentially zoned land under Chelan County Code…

Retail fireworks sales in unincorporated Chelan County require a $50 fire marshal permit plus a $300 bond under Section 7.44.040, but actually discharging fireworks anywhere in the…

Chelan County's fire hazard code defines a lawful "campfire area" as a noncombustible ring no more than 36 inches across and 24 inches tall, cleared to mineral soil, under Section…

The Board of County Commissioners divides unincorporated Chelan County into two wildfire danger zones, a Valley Zone and a Chelan Mountain Zone, under Section 7.52.020, and can…

Once a fire hazard area is declared, Section 7.52.040 bans all land clearing and yard-debris burning outright and prohibits any outdoor fire in unincorporated Chelan County starting…

Chelan County's amended fire code bans charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction, but exempts LP-gas…

In unincorporated Chelan County, every bedroom used inside a short-term rental must carry a working smoke alarm in the room itself. Chelan County Code § 14.98.267 folds the mandate…

In the Icicle Valley design review overlay district near Leavenworth, unincorporated Chelan County requires every residence to clear weeds and combustible debris thirty feet out and…

Portable fireplaces, chimineas, and gas camp stoves stay legal in unincorporated Chelan County's early fire-restriction window if set on noncombustible material under Section…

Chelan County requires every short-term rental's property management plan to include a fire protection plan restricting fireworks, open flame devices, fire pits, chimeneas, and BBQ…

Chelan County requires manufactured, park model, and factory-built homes and commercial coaches to pass five inspection stages before occupancy: site location, footings and…

Chelan County requires a building permit for most construction in the unincorporated county, though Section 3.04.100 exempts small sheds, low fences and retaining walls, sidewalks and…

Chelan County requires a plumbing permit under the Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted county-wide through Chapter 3.04, before altering a building sewer or plumbing connection in the…

Unincorporated Chelan County requires a conditional use permit for any freestanding day-care center or preschool caring for more than twelve children, under Chelan County Code Section…

Chelan County has codified its own Keep Washington Working Act policy in unincorporated Chelan County: county law enforcement, including school resource officers, cannot ask about a…

Unincorporated Chelan County charges an annual short-term rental permit fee that scales with tier: six hundred dollars for a Tier 1 owner-occupied rental or a Tier 2 non-owner-occupied…

No short-term rental may advertise, operate, or accept guests in unincorporated Chelan County without a valid short-term rental administrative land use permit or…

A Tier 1 short-term rental in unincorporated Chelan County must be owner-occupied: Chelan County Code § 11.88.290(2)(A)(i) requires the owner to be personally present at the dwelling…

A Chelan County Tier 1 short-term rental may rent out the entire dwelling for no more than fifteen total days in a calendar year without full-time owner presence, provided a qualified…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Chelan County must be operated out of the owner's primary dwelling or a legally established accessory dwelling unit, never an RV, tent, or other…

In unincorporated Chelan County, short-term rental occupancy is capped by tier: eight people overnight for Tier 1, twelve for Tier 2, and sixteen for Tier 3, all figured at two persons…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Chelan County must provide residential parking on the same parcel as the rental, sized to Section 11.90.060's off-street parking table, and never…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Chelan County must operate in compliance with Chapter 7.35, Noise Control, and that requirement has to appear in the property's management…

Chelan County built a repeat-violation trigger into its short-term rental ordinance: two verified violations of the same standard, each left unabated within the required sixty-minute…

Owners and operators of short-term rentals in unincorporated Chelan County must maintain primary liability insurance consistent with RCW 64.37.050. The county made this a condition of…

Any mobile food preparation vehicle, food truck, trailer or cart operating in unincorporated Chelan County needs a fire marshal operational permit under International Fire Code Section…

In the Peshastin Urban Growth Area of unincorporated Chelan County, the district use chart at Chelan County Code § 11.22.030 permits mobile food service only as a matter of right in…

Buying or selling secondhand goods, metal or junk in unincorporated Chelan County requires a county license under § 5.08.010, fifteen dollars a year, plus a five-dollar license for…

In unincorporated Chelan County, an accessory dwelling unit's property owner must live in either the primary residence or the ADU as a permanent residence, but only if the property is…

A detached, one-story tool or storage shed, agricultural building, playhouse or similar accessory structure of 288 square feet or less needs no building permit in unincorporated Chelan…

Unincorporated Chelan County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a single-family home or duplex, capped at 1,200 square feet of floor area, under Chelan County Code Section…

In unincorporated Chelan County, home occupations may use no more than 25% of a dwelling's floor area, must stay secondary to the home's residential use, and can employ only one person…

In the Peshastin Urban Growth Area of unincorporated Chelan County, Code § 11.22.040(2)(E) limits signage in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential zones to neighborhood or subdivision…

Unincorporated Chelan County allows in-home daycare for up to twelve children under Chelan County Code § 11.88.240, covering children age twelve or under for stays longer than four but…

Chelan County's Peshastin Urban Growth Area use chart, Code § 11.22.030, permits 'Mini-Casinos, Game, Card Rooms' by right in the Downtown Commercial (C-D), Highway Commercial (C-H)…

Chelan County's Peshastin Urban Growth Area planned-development rules, Code § 11.22.050(5)(B)(iii), give a density credit for planting street trees along the entire road frontage of a…

Unincorporated Chelan County exempts political campaign and ballot-measure signs from a sign permit, but caps them at six square feet in residential and resource districts and…

Unincorporated Chelan County bans off-premises billboard signs outright and, outside the county's urban growth areas, also bans changing message center and electronic reader-board…

Unincorporated Chelan County lets residents post yard and garage-sale signs without a permit, but only for up to five consecutive days at a time. Chelan County Code Section…

In unincorporated Chelan County, wall and window signs are measured together on each building face and sized off a sliding scale in Chelan County Code Section 11.92.060(1)(A): a…

A residential pool in unincorporated Chelan County cannot sit in the required front-yard setback and must comply with the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, per Chelan County…

Fences in unincorporated Chelan County top out at seven feet in side and rear yards and four feet in front yards; public, utility, industrial, agricultural and commercial fences can…

In unincorporated Chelan County, a retaining wall needs no county building permit if it measures 4 feet or less from the bottom of its footing to the top of the wall and does not…

Chelan County's planned unit development standards, at Chelan County Code § 11.76.090(7), push native, drought-tolerant landscaping over lawns in every PUD's common open space. The…

In the Manson urban growth area of unincorporated Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County Code § 11.23.040(7) requires every new development to control its outdoor lighting. Fixtures…

Chelan County's zoning code bars exterior lighting from spilling onto a neighbor's land anywhere in the unincorporated county. Section 11.88.080 requires parking lot lights, security…

Chelan County's open space current-use tax program treats historic sites as a high-priority resource. Under Chelan County Code § 14.22.060(3)(A)(v), a property listed on a local, state…

Chelan County's planned unit development overlay lets a project boost its residential density well beyond the underlying zone. Under Chelan County Code § 11.76.090(5), density can rise…

Chelan County's enforcement title doesn't set up a resident complaint hotline; per Chelan County Code § 16.06.010, the administrator opens a case whenever documents or physical…

Chelan County's enforcement title runs on fixed clocks, not open-ended review. A cited person has 14 days to pay a citation or appeal it under Chelan County Code § 16.08.020, and 14…

Unincorporated Chelan County enforces code violations under Titles 3 (Building), 11 (Zoning), 12 (Subdivisions), 13 (Environment) and 15 (Development Standards), plus the shoreline…

In unincorporated Chelan County, no state-licensed cannabis producer, processor or retailer may locate within 1,000 feet of any elementary or secondary school, playground, recreation…

Chelan County has not opted out of cannabis; it channels licensed producers, processors and retailers into specific unincorporated zones. Indoor cannabis production and processing are…