Cowlitz County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Anyone grading land in unincorporated Cowlitz County must install erosion control structures before work starts and keep them in place until vegetation is established, under Cowlitz…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, any construction or development within a mapped special flood hazard area needs a floodplain permit before work begins, per Cowlitz County Code…

New and substantially improved buildings in unincorporated Cowlitz County's mapped flood zones must sit above the base flood elevation, not just at it. Cowlitz County Code §…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 10.25.040(B)(4) makes it a public noise disturbance to idle a stationary truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds GVWR for over 10 minutes at…

New development in the unincorporated, non-urbanized area of Cowlitz County that adds 12,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, equal to at least 15 percent of the parcel, must…

Property owners in unincorporated Cowlitz County who use defensible space to satisfy fire-flow requirements must clear 30, 50 or 100 feet around structures under Fire Code Table…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, a retaining wall built under a valid building permit is exempt from the county's separate grading permit under Cowlitz County Code § 16.35.050(P), but…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, construction sounds are exempt from the noise ordinance only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Outside that window, or when noise reaches a rural…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County requires every motor vehicle to run a working muffler at all times and bans cutout or bypass devices under CCC § 11.04.290. A separate ordinance, CCC…

Cowlitz County's noise code defines daytime as 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends, meaning any other hour counts as night. In unincorporated Cowlitz…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 10.25.040(A)(6) bars sound amplifiers on public streets for commercial advertising or to attract attention to a vehicle, and § 10.25.040(B)(6)…

Cowlitz County's noise code does not restrict aircraft: CCC § 10.25.050(A)(1) exempts 'sounds that originate from aircraft in flight, and sounds that originate at airports and are…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, an animal that habitually barks, howls or yelps for 30 minutes or more between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., loud enough to be heard inside a neighbor's…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, keeping three or more junk vehicles visible from a street, road, or other property within 1,000 feet is declared a public nuisance under CCC §…

CCC § 11.04.500 lists specific spots where stopping, standing, or parking is banned on unincorporated county roads, including crosswalks, intersections, in front of driveways, and near…

On county-owned parking lots, public ways, and property in unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 11.34.020(B) bars parking, standing, or storing any vehicle in one spot for more than 24…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 18.10.543 sets where electric vehicle charging equipment can go by zoning district. Level 1 and Level 2 chargers are permitted uses outright in…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County has no separate card-room licensing ordinance; instead it taxes card games directly. CCC § 10.30.195 levies a 20 percent tax on the gross receipts of any…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County requires every adult entertainment enterprise, cabarets, bookstores, arcades, theaters, and similar businesses, to hold a county permit under CCC §…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County's home occupation ordinance, CCC § 18.10.552, only lists a closed set of low-impact uses like artists, musicians, clergy and professional services as…

Cowlitz County's traffic code has no separate mid-block jaywalking statute; instead CCC § 11.04.395 and § 11.04.400 govern where pedestrians may walk. Where a sidewalk exists, walking…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County bans tobacco use, including vaping, in or within 25 feet of playgrounds, public restrooms, shelters and pavilions in county parks, during public park…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County does not ban skateboarding outright, but its Code of Conduct and Trespass chapter names skating or skateboarding in a public parking area, entryway or…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 10.25.040(A)(7) makes it a public noise disturbance, at any hour, to create music or bass 'heard as comprehensible music rhythms or felt' inside…

Cowlitz County's noise code exempts car alarms from citation: CCC § 10.25.050(A)(2) excuses 'sounds created by audible alarms, unless otherwise covered by Cowlitz County Code,'…

Cowlitz County's noise code carves agriculture and forestry out of its nuisance-noise rules: CCC § 10.25.050(A)(5) exempts 'sounds originating from forest land management activities or…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County protects farming as a by-right use through its Agriculture (AG) zoning district rather than a separate right-to-farm statute. Cowlitz County Code §…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, high-volume sellers of lubricating oil and vehicle oil filters must post a used oil recycling sign, sell household used oil recycling containers, and…

The county can require a property owner or occupant in unincorporated Cowlitz County to sign up for regularly scheduled commercial solid waste collection where that service is…

Dumping solid waste anywhere but a county-approved disposal site, or into someone else's collection container without authorization, is unlawful under CCC § 15.30.230 in unincorporated…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County it's unlawful to store solid waste where it can blow away, be dragged off, or be exposed to weather, animals, or pests, including keeping trash in…

Containers used to store or collect solid waste in unincorporated Cowlitz County must be rigid, corrosion-resistant, watertight, rodent-proof, fitted with a close-fitting lid, and no…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County parks close at posted hours, and no one may remain in a county park once it is closed. Camping and fishing areas are exempt, and the Director of Public…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, leaving, placing or distributing food or other material to feed wildlife is an unlawful act inside any county park. The rule sits in the Park Code's…

Outside city limits, Cowlitz County only requires dogs to be leashed within designated "dog control zones" created by petition under CCC § 6.12.080. Inside those zones, CCC § 6.12.110…

Cowlitz County does not require cat owners in the unincorporated county to license or leash their cats. CCC § 6.12.130(E) lets any owner voluntarily register a cat with the Animal…

Cowlitz County does not ban or restrict dog breeds. CCC Chapter 6.13 instead lets the Animal Control Authority declare an individual animal "potentially dangerous" or "dangerous" based…

Cowlitz County has no general pet microchipping mandate. It only requires a microchip once the Animal Control Authority has declared an animal "potentially dangerous" or "dangerous"…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County's residential land use districts, CCC § 18.10.660 permits farming and gardening but bars housing poultry or livestock within 100 feet of any…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, a commercial dog grooming facility is a listed permitted use only in the Light Manufacturing (ML) zoning district under Cowlitz County Code §…

A small animal or veterinary clinic is a listed permitted use in Cowlitz County's Urban Commercial (C-2) zoning district under Cowlitz County Code § 18.10.220, item S, but the same…

Beekeeping is a permitted agricultural activity in unincorporated Cowlitz County, but only within the county's agricultural zoning districts. Cowlitz County Code § 18.10.241 lists…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County bans operating drones and other radio-controlled or self-propelled models in county parks except in areas the county specifically designates and posts for…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County protects reserved park areas by making it unlawful to interfere with the authorized use of a reservation, and the Public Works Director can adopt posted…

Cowlitz County has no separate street-fair ordinance; outdoor gatherings of 1,000 or more people featuring live or recorded music for 8-plus hours in a day fall under CCC Chapter 5.10…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County levies a 2 percent lodging excise tax on hotels, motels and similar lodging under CCC § 3.42.010, stacked on top of the county's separate 2 percent tax…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 18.30.340(B) lets a Planned Unit Development earn up to a 30 percent density bonus, awarded in tiers of 10, 10 and 15 percent for recreation…

CCC § 18.10.585 lets unincorporated Cowlitz County property owners build one ADU, up to 1,200 square feet and 35 feet tall, on a lot at least 6,000 square feet, in any zoned area…

A detached storage shed or playhouse in unincorporated Cowlitz County does not need a building permit if it is one story and no larger than 120 square feet, or 200 square feet when…

Retail fireworks sales in unincorporated Cowlitz County require a Building and Planning Department permit under CCC § 7.20.040, on top of the state Chapter 70.77 RCW fireworks law the…

Burning garbage, rubbish, or other solid waste that could cause a health hazard or nuisance is unlawful in unincorporated Cowlitz County unless it happens in a permitted facility…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, bulk liquefied petroleum gas storage is confined to property zoned Neighborhood Commercial (C-1), Urban Commercial (C-2), Light Manufacturing (ML) or…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County adopts the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code and rates every area of the county for wildfire risk under a locally amended Subsection 302.1…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, recreational fire and barbecue pits inside a permitted campground must be affixed to the ground and set back 100 feet from any exterior property line…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, buildings over 35 feet tall must not exceed what the local fire district's equipment can reach, under CCC § 18.10.570. Outside any fire district, the…

Cowlitz County's Table 18.10.501 caps maximum lot coverage by zoning district for unincorporated land: 50% in the RR-1 district, 30% in RR-2, 15% in the large-lot RR-5 district, 65% in…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, every zoning district, including the unzoned (U) area, has a front yard setback of at least 20 feet from the front property line or 50 feet from the…

Licensed family day care providers get special treatment under CCC § 18.10.552. Unlike other home occupations in unincorporated Cowlitz County, a licensed day care is a permitted home…

CCC § 18.10.552 lets residents run a home occupation in unincorporated Cowlitz County without a special use permit if it stays incidental to the dwelling, keeps the home looking…

A home occupation in unincorporated Cowlitz County can post one sign at the house and one more near the road, but CCC § 18.10.552(B)(8) caps each sign at three square feet and bars any…

In the AG-I zoning district of unincorporated Cowlitz County, CCC § 18.10.568(D)(3) bans window signs advertising anything unrelated to the merchandise or service sold on site, though…

CCC § 18.10.568(B)(8) exempts temporary political and ballot-measure signs from the AG-I zone's regular sign standards in unincorporated Cowlitz County, capping them at 32 square feet…

Anyone encroaching on or using a county right-of-way in unincorporated Cowlitz County, developed or undeveloped, needs a permit, license, or franchise from the Department of Public…

Any structure, device, or object that threatens, endangers, or obstructs the traveling public on a county road or right-of-way in unincorporated Cowlitz County is declared a public…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County's Agriculture-Industrial (AG-I) zone, Cowlitz County Code § 18.10.502(H) requires that lighting on commercial or light industrial development be…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County abates substandard structures under the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, adopted by reference at CCC § 16.05.130. Violating…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County enforces plumbing work under the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted by reference at CCC § 16.05.110, with only Appendix A carried over and a county-set…

All construction work regulated by an adopted code in unincorporated Cowlitz County needs a permit from the Department of Building and Planning under CCC § 16.05.160. Denials go to the…

Cowlitz County limits recreational marijuana retail stores to certain zoning designations under CCC § 18.76.060. A retail store gets administrative review in Urban and Industrial…

Unincorporated Cowlitz County sets distance buffers for recreational marijuana facilities under CCC § 18.76.070(C). Facilities in Urban or Industrial zones must sit at least 250 feet…

Cowlitz County protects locally significant buildings, structures, sites, and objects through the Cowlitz County Register of Historic Places under CCC § 18.80.050. The Historic…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, removing a hazard or diseased tree from a mapped critical area or its buffer needs planning clearance from the county first, under CCC §…

Cowlitz County's critical areas code names six invasive plants that landowners may hand-remove from wetland and stream buffers without a critical areas permit under CCC §…