Island County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Large items like appliances, furniture and other oversize refuse that won't fit in a regular garbage can are "bulky waste" under Island County Code § 8.08B.030, and section 8.08B.320…

Dumping solid waste anywhere in unincorporated Island County outside a permitted disposal facility is a public-nuisance violation of Island County Code § 8.08B.070, enforced by the…

Unincorporated Island County has no mandatory curbside recycling program written into its code today. The county did adopt minimum residential recycling collection service levels in…

Unincorporated Island County's solid waste code doesn't ban or discourage recycling: section 13.02A.080 says nothing in Chapter 13.02A stops waste recycling at a reclamation site…

Unincorporated Island County doesn't run its own curbside pickup route; instead, section 13.02A.100 puts the job on you. Every owner, operator or occupant of a home, business or…

Island County Code § 9.60.030(A)(3) bars frequent, repetitive, or continuous noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. from starting, operating, repairing, rebuilding, or testing any…

Island County does not cap aircraft noise; Chapter 9.44 instead maps 'airport noise zones' around military and civilian airfields and requires sellers and landlords in those zones to…

Island County Code § 9.60.030 bans several categories of noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in unincorporated areas whenever they unreasonably disturb a neighbor's peace, comfort…

Island County Code § 9.60.030(A)(6)-(7) bans sound from motor vehicle audio systems and from tape players, radios, or CD players operated at a volume that unreasonably disturbs a…

Island County exempts construction noise from its public-disturbance ordinance only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.; § 9.60.030(B)(6) covers temporary construction sites, and (B)(5)…

Island County Code § 6.08.130 makes it unlawful for a dog's owner or keeper to allow frequent or habitual barking, howling, or yelping that annoys or disturbs a neighborhood of three…

Unincorporated Island County's numeric noise standard isn't a property-line nuisance limit; it's a construction rule tied to NAS Whidbey. Section 14.01B.050 requires new buildings and…

In unincorporated Island County, consumer fireworks may only be used July 3 (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.), July 4 (9 a.m. to midnight), and New Year's Eve into January 1 (6 p.m. to 1 a.m.)…

Island County doesn't print its own propane storage limits; it adopts the standard by reference. Section 14.01A.010(A)(1)(c) adopts the International Mechanical Code for unincorporated…

Unincorporated Island County requires a permit from the Health Services Director for residential burning, bonfires, and land clearing under Chapter 9.10. Residential and land-clearing…

A recreational fire in unincorporated Island County can be built without a permit if it stays no bigger than 3 feet across by 2 feet high and sits at least 25 feet from combustibles…

Any outdoor entertainment, amusement or assembly in unincorporated Island County expected to draw 100 or more people for live or recorded music needs a county permit under Chapter…

Any group of 50 or more people must get a free permit from the Parks and Recreation Department before meeting or holding activities in an Island County park, and cannot book more than…

Countywide, Island County's special-event rules give the Rural Residential zoning district only the lightest tier: special events there are limited to neighborhood block parties, while…

Unincorporated Island County limits parking on the west side of Ferry Dock Road near the Clinton ferry terminal on Whidbey Island to a posted 20-minute loading zone. The zone runs from…

A vehicle meeting at least three of the criteria in RCW 46.55.010 (inoperable, three years old or older, extensively damaged, or worth only scrap value) is regulated as solid waste…

Freeland developers can convert up to half of their non-handicapped parking spaces into electric-vehicle charging stalls under Island County Code Section 17.06.550.C.4. Charging…

Hotels, motels, tourist courts and trailer camps in unincorporated Island County pay a 2 percent lodging excise tax on every stay under one month, under Island County Code Chapter…

Short-term stays booked in unincorporated Island County, including vacation rentals treated as a license to use real property for under one month, owe an additional 2 percent lodging…

Island County Code § 8.03A.100 requires every licensed mobile home park in the unincorporated county to be kept as free as possible of rodents and insects, with the park operator…

Island County Code § 8.04.100.H requires anyone handling or preparing food or beverages at a tourist accommodation, camp, or park to hold a current valid foodhandlers card and, if the…

Island County does not print a fixed park closing time in its code. Instead, section 9.40.080 requires park users to follow the closure hours the Parks Division sets and posts, and…

Island County has no bar-specific noise license, but § 9.60.030(A)(5) bans frequent, repetitive sound from any building or structure, including audio systems, band sessions, or social…

Island County Code § 9.60.030(A)(2) bans frequent, repetitive, or continuous sounding of any horn or siren attached to a motor vehicle between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless it is…

In unincorporated Island County, small-scale composting is exempt from the county's solid waste handling permit under Island County Code § 8.08B.150, but only within hard caps…

In the Freeland Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area of unincorporated Island County, site design must avoid or minimize removal of significant trees, defined as any healthy evergreen or…

In unincorporated Island County, owners of vacant, unimproved land are held to the same noxious-weed duty as farmers. Island County Code Chapter 8.28 declares it county policy to…

Island County's stormwater code regulates drainage from nearly every development in the unincorporated area, from single-family lots to major subdivisions, requiring a drainage plan…

Anyone grading or cutting a lot in unincorporated Island County under a Title XI clearing and grading permit must stabilize every cut and fill slope against erosion, using planting…

In unincorporated Island County, any construction, fill, grading, or land division within a mapped area of special flood hazard requires a development permit from the Planning and…

Island County requires new and substantially improved buildings in a mapped A zone to elevate the lowest floor at least one foot above the base flood elevation, and coastal V-zone…

Building a private pier, dock, or float on Whidbey or Camano Island shoreline in unincorporated Island County needs a shoreline permit under the county's Shoreline Master Program…

Island County's only local skateboard rule is narrow: Code Section 9.36.030.C bars skateboards, along with bicycles, roller skates and motor scooters, from the Clinton Fishing Pier and…

When an Island County Sheriff's deputy arrests a driver for driving with a suspended or revoked license, the vehicle is towed and held at a registered tow truck operator's lot rather…

Anyone loaning money on pledged property or buying and selling used goods for a living in unincorporated Island County must hold the county's pawnbroker's and secondhand dealer's…

Buying, selling, or trading used goods for value in unincorporated Island County, including running a booth at flea markets or swap meets more than three times a year, makes a person a…

Island County allows small auto repair shops as a "home industry" on Rural, Rural Agricultural, Rural Forest or Commercial Agricultural land under Island County Code section…

Island County has no breed-specific ban; Chapter 6.08 instead targets individually dangerous dogs. Section 6.08.181 lets an officer slay a fierce, dangerous, or depredatory dog that…

Chapter 6.16, Stock Restricted Areas, declares the entire unincorporated area of Island County a restricted zone where no livestock may run at large. The countywide ban has applied…

Island County Code § 6.20.030 bans owning, harboring, or possessing any felidae (wild cats) in the unincorporated county and prohibits letting any inherently dangerous mammal run at…

Keeping more than ten adult dogs, ten adult cats, or a mix of both for personal, non-commercial purposes anywhere in unincorporated Island County makes the property a 'private kennel'…

Island County does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but it does require every cat, along with dogs and ferrets, to be vaccinated against rabies under section 6.08.050, and it…

Outside authorized off-leash parks, a dog anywhere in unincorporated Island County must be on a leash or chain no more than eight feet long whenever it is away from its owner's…

In unincorporated Island County, the Rural Lands use table confines veterinary clinics to the Commercial Agriculture zone, where they are a ministerial, Type I permitted use. The table…

Anyone selling or soliciting door-to-door or on someone else's premises in unincorporated Island County must get a permit from the Sheriff's Office under Chapter 5.16, pay a $10 fee…

Unincorporated Island County flatly bars using a county road right-of-way as a site to vend or sell personal property, the provision that governs roadside and sidewalk-style food and…

Freeland's zoning code lets a single food truck operate on private property in any district where the use table allows the use, but a food truck court can only go on private property…

Individual food trucks may set up on private property in any Freeland zoning district that allows them with the owner's written permission, serve customers between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m…

In unincorporated Island County, running a water pipe, gas line, cable, sewer or power line across a county road doesn't require a full franchise if the run stays short. The Board of…

New retail buildings in Freeland's Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area must keep at least 6 feet of the sidewalk in front of their façade unobstructed, within a 10-foot zone from the…

Under Island County's fire-inspection code, a landlord who rents out a building stays legally responsible for any portion still under the landlord's control and for shared spaces like…

Island County has no landlord registry, but its fire-inspection code requires an annual inspection and notice of occupancy before renting out buildings in occupancy groups R-1 (hotels…

In unincorporated Island County, most new construction needs a building permit reviewed against the adopted International Building and Residential Codes. Section 14.01A.040 carves out…

Plumbing work in unincorporated Island County is permitted and inspected under the Uniform Plumbing Code, not a locally written plumbing code. Section 14.01A.010(A)(1)(e) adopts the…

Island County exempts barbeque grills that use propane or briquettes, along with self-contained camp stoves, from both levels of its outdoor burn ban. Under Island County Code Section…

Island County Code Chapter 16.25 protects lawful agriculture, forestry, and surface mining operations in unincorporated Island County from nuisance lawsuits and complaints. Under…

Unincorporated Island County zones farmland into Rural Agriculture (RA) and Commercial Agriculture (CA) districts specifically to protect working farms from interference by non-farm…

Unincorporated Island County allows one attached or one detached ADU per single-family lot in the Rural, Rural Residential, Rural Agriculture, Rural Forest and Commercial Agriculture…

Island County's zoning code expressly excludes 'tiny homes on wheels' from qualifying as an accessory dwelling unit. Section 17.03.040's definition of a detached ADU carves out…

In the Freeland zoning code, an attached accessory dwelling unit capped at 1,000 square feet must sit inside a primary home the owner actually occupies, and the ADU's residents cannot…

In unincorporated Island County's Rural (R) Zone, a shed or other accessory building follows the same setback table as the house it serves. Island County Code section 17.03.060.C makes…

Unincorporated Island County permits state-licensed marijuana producers, processors and retailers under section 17.03.180.BB, but bars them from the Rural Residential and Oak…

Unincorporated Island County bans electronic messaging center signs and any sign that animates, moves, flashes or strobes. Section 17.03.180.R.4 lists both among the sign types…

Island County exempts holiday and seasonal decoration signs from its sign permit requirements entirely. Section 17.03.180.R.3.f lists 'holiday and seasonal decoration signs' among the…

Island County exempts political signs from its local sign permit process and defers to state law instead. Section 17.03.180.R.3.j lists 'political signs in accordance with state law'…

Island County treats garage sale signs as 'special event or temporary' signs under section 17.03.040, capped at 30 calendar days per display and one 30-day period per calendar year…

In Freeland's Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area, a wall or fence inside the required front yard setback cannot exceed four feet, and none may sit inside a corner visibility triangle at…

Within the Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve in unincorporated Island County, no fence goes up without a certificate of appropriateness: fences under six feet get ministerial…

Unincorporated Island County does not require fences to sit inside a property's building setback: Island County Code section 17.03.180.S.7.e states plainly that "fences, retaining…

In the Freeland non-municipal urban growth area of unincorporated Island County, a terraced yard's retaining wall may rise up to 36 inches under the block frontage design standards…

New or replaced outdoor lighting in Freeland's Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area must use warm-colored, shielded fixtures under Island County Code Section 17.06.570, adopted to preserve…

Freeland outdoor lighting cannot exceed 1.0 footcandle at the property line, dropping to 0.5 footcandle where the neighboring lot is zoned Low or Medium Density, under Island County…

In unincorporated Island County, land within the Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve is protected under Island County Code chapter 17.04A. Contributing structures, National…

Solar panels get two breaks under Island County code: a biological site assessment near critical habitat is waived if no native vegetation is cleared, and in the Freeland Non-Municipal…

In the Rural (R) Zone across unincorporated Island County, impervious surface is capped at 25 percent of a parcel five acres or smaller, dropping to 10 percent above that, and total…

In the Rural (R) Zone of unincorporated Island County, Island County Code section 17.03.060.D caps building height at 35 feet, while specifically exempting chimneys, flagpoles, utility…

In the Rural (R), Rural Agriculture (RA), Rural Forest (RF), and Rural Residential (RR) Zones of unincorporated Island County, front-yard setbacks run 20 to 100 feet depending on the…

In the Freeland zoning code, an accessory car wash bay is capped at 900 square feet, must meet the principal building's setbacks, cannot face the public right-of-way, and is required…

Freeland's Village Core and other commercial areas follow a two-part design code: block design standards that cap block length at 400 feet and require mid-block pedestrian pathways…

Island County's density bonus system (Island County Code section 17.03.180.E) rewards cluster development that preserves open space, critical areas and farm or forest land. Parcels of…

A home occupation in unincorporated Island County cannot bring more customer or client traffic than the surrounding zone would normally see. Island County Code section 17.03.180.K.2.j…

Island County Code section 17.03.040 sorts home-based child care by headcount: a "day care nursery" serves up to six people and "is considered to be a home occupation and must meet the…

Island County Code section 17.03.180.K lets any dwelling or accessory structure in a Rural, Rural Residential, Rural Agriculture, Rural Forest or Commercial Agriculture zone host a…

Home businesses in unincorporated Island County cannot put up sign clutter: Island County Code section 17.03.180.K.2.m requires every home occupation to "comply with the…