Kitsap County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Secondhand dealers and junk dealers operating in unincorporated Kitsap County must register with the Kitsap County sheriff's office under Chapter 6.12 before buying or selling used…

Operating a massage business in unincorporated Kitsap County requires a license from the board of county commissioners under Chapter 6.40. Applicants pay a $100 fee, undergo sheriff…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, pawnbrokers are regulated as "dealers" under Chapter 6.12 of the county code and must register with the Kitsap County sheriff's office before opening…

Adult entertainment businesses in unincorporated Kitsap County may locate only in regional commercial, urban commercial, or highway/tourist commercial zones, at least 1,000 feet from…

Kitsap County Code § 10.32.030 makes it unlawful to smoke on the floats at Kingston Marina, the county-owned moorage facility in unincorporated Kitsap County. The ban sits inside…

Drinking alcohol in a Kitsap County park is off-limits everywhere except contractually reserved community-center areas set by the parks and recreation director. KCC § 10.12.160 makes…

Kitsap County outlaws bringing, possessing or consuming marijuana and every other drug in a county park, with no reserved-area exception. KCC § 10.12.160 bars any narcotic…

It is a criminal misdemeanor in unincorporated Kitsap County to intentionally urinate or defecate in a public place, or anywhere the act could be observed by the public, other than a…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.145 makes it unlawful to cause, or to let originate from property in your possession, a public disturbance noise, including loud and raucous sound from a…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, any rockery or retaining structure taller than four feet, measured from the base of the wall rather than the surrounding grade, needs a separate…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, the property abutting a sidewalk, not the county, must keep that sidewalk clear. Kitsap County Code § 9.28.020 makes the abutting occupant or owner…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, blocking a public sidewalk or right-of-way, letting drainage or plant growth spill onto one, or leaving evicted tenants' belongings at the curb past 24…

Anyone building or altering a vehicular access point onto a county road, or doing construction work inside a county right-of-way, in unincorporated Kitsap County must first get a road…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, sound amplifiers, band sessions, tavern music and portable audio equipment count as unlawful "public disturbance noise" under KCC 10.28.145 once they…

Kitsap County treats chronic barking as a civil infraction, not a free-for-all: § 7.14.030(2)(A) bans letting an animal's noise "unreasonably disturb or interfere with the peace" for…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.040 sets numeric decibel ceilings by Environmental Designation for Noise Abatement (EDNA) zone class: a Class A noise source may not exceed 55 dBA at a Class…

Unincorporated Kitsap County bans unmuffled engine compression ("Jake") brakes outright and treats a car stereo audible fifty feet away in a residential or commercial zone as a public…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.070 exempts construction-site sounds from the county's decibel limits and public disturbance rules, but only during the day: the exemption stops covering…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.040(b) cuts every environmental noise limit by 10 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for any Class A receiving property, the county's residential…

Unincorporated Kitsap County caps artificial slopes at a 2:1 gradient unless a professional engineer proves a steeper cut stays as erosion-stable as a properly maintained 2:1 slope…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, a builder on a lot where water supply cannot deliver adequate fire flow can offset the shortfall under Table B103.3 of the amended International Fire…

Kitsap County requires a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit for new docks, piers, floats, and mooring buoys anywhere in the unincorporated county's shoreline jurisdiction under…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, no one may build, fill, or alter land in a mapped special flood hazard area without a development permit from the Department of Community Development…

Unincorporated Kitsap County requires a site development activity permit before any construction that involves drainage, under Title 12, the Stormwater Management Ordinance. Work must…

In unincorporated Kitsap County's mapped special flood hazard areas, new or substantially improved residential structures must have their lowest floor, including any basement, elevated…

Kitsap County standardizes recycling carts by lid color: unincorporated households sort by container, not by bagging. Kitsap County Code 9.48.040(4)(A) requires every cart to have a…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, the WUTC-regulated solid waste company can refuse to pick up a recycling or compostable organics cart if the contents are contaminated and…

Curbside recycling is not opt-in for most Kitsap County households: if a single-family customer already gets garbage pickup in unincorporated Kitsap County, the hauler automatically…

Yard waste in unincorporated Kitsap County goes out with compostable organics collection, not loose at the curb without limits. Kitsap County Code 9.48.020(17) defines yard waste as…

Recycling in unincorporated Kitsap County runs on a fixed biweekly clock tied to garbage day. Kitsap County Code 9.48.040(1)(D) requires the solid waste company to collect recyclable…

Dumping any waste on public or private property that isn't a designated legal dump site is a public nuisance in unincorporated Kitsap County under Code § 9.56.020(10)(b)(vii). The…

Kitsap County does not set a single countywide park curfew by ordinance. Instead, KCC § 10.12.040 leaves each park's open hours to the posted signage set by the county's park director…

Unincorporated Kitsap County regulates the company town of Port Gamble, added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Historic Landmark in 1967, as a Rural…

Commercial drone operators, such as delivery or merchandise-transport ventures, may fly within Kitsap's military installation protection overlay areas only after obtaining a two-year…

No one may launch or land a civil drone, including FAA-classified model aircraft, within the 3,000-foot military installation protection overlay area surrounding Naval Base Kitsap's…

A vehicle meeting at least three junk-vehicle criteria (three-plus years old, extensively damaged, inoperable, or worth only scrap) is a nuisance if stored outside on private property…

Kitsap County bars parking and loading spaces from required front, side and rear yard setbacks countywide, with an exception for single-family and duplex driveways, and requires every…

Unincorporated Kitsap County enforces on-street parking through the state Model Traffic Ordinance, adopted by reference in Kitsap County Code § 46.02.010. Drivers may not stop in front…

Kitsap County caps outdoor heavy equipment storage in rural and village-residential zones to one piece per property, and it must be either enclosed in a permitted structure or screened…

New construction and major redevelopment in unincorporated Kitsap County must provide one Level 2 electric vehicle charging space for every ten standard parking spaces under KCC §…

Kitsap County requires off-street loading spaces for commercial, industrial, and multifamily buildings over 4,000 square feet that receive truck deliveries more than once a month…

Unincorporated Kitsap County requires a permit for plumbing work under the county's adopted Uniform Plumbing Code (2021 Edition). Permits expire if work is not commenced within 365…

Kitsap County requires automatic fire sprinklers in existing Group R, Division 1 buildings of ten or more dwelling units once damage or remodeling within a three-year span exceeds half…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, every building covered by the Dangerous Buildings Code and all permitted construction work is subject to inspection by the building official, the fire…

Kitsap County requires a building permit for construction, alteration, enlargement, repair, or change of occupancy of any building in the unincorporated county, under the Kitsap County…

Kitsap County requires owners of existing multi-family Group R, Division 1 buildings, hotels, motels, apartments, condos and congregate residences of three or more units, to install…

Consumer fireworks may be discharged in unincorporated Kitsap County only on July 4th, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Retail sales run June 28 through July 4, and anyone importing…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.145(1) makes a frequent, repetitive or continuous horn or siren sound from a motor vehicle, like an unattended car alarm, a public disturbance noise unless…

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.145(5) bans portable or vehicle audio equipment, tape players, radios, CD players and their bass, that can be clearly heard fifty feet or more away in park…

Kitsap County requires street trees along all public and private streets classified as principal or minor arterial, collector, sub-collector or local access roads for new land…

Kitsap County exempts garage sale, estate sale, and similar temporary event signs under four square feet from sign-permit review under Section 17.510.050(G), but placement is still…

Kitsap County allows political campaign signs in the county right-of-way up to four square feet and forty inches tall, and on private property up to thirty-two square feet, both…

Window signs in unincorporated Kitsap County are capped by Section 17.510.100(I): permanent window signage can cover up to 50 percent of a window's area, while temporary window signs…

Unincorporated Kitsap County bans billboards outright under Section 17.510.040(K), stationary or mobile. Because a billboard is defined as an off-premises advertising structure, no…

Unincorporated Kitsap County declares a building a public nuisance once inspection shows it meets any of 19 dangerous-building conditions under the county's Dangerous Buildings Code…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, a vacant or unimproved lot piled with trash, junk, litter, discarded lumber, old appliances, scrap metal or yard waste is a public nuisance under…

Kitsap County ties downtown development in the unincorporated community of Kingston to a standalone design manual. Kitsap County Code § 17.420.060(A)(5) requires every project within…

In the unincorporated Gorst urban growth area, Kitsap County lets developers earn up to 100% more density, height, or impervious surface coverage above a zone's base standard by…

Outside an urban growth area, unincorporated Kitsap County lets a homeowner convert an existing detached garage into an accessory dwelling unit even if it sits more than 150 feet from…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, a detached accessory dwelling unit built outside an urban growth area cannot exceed 900 square feet or half the primary home's habitable area…

Outside an urban growth area, a detached accessory dwelling unit on unincorporated Kitsap County land is only legal if the property owner lives in either the main house or the ADU…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, road, park and school impact fees on an accessory dwelling unit cannot exceed fifty percent of the fee charged on the principal dwelling. The county…

Kitsap County Code 17.455.100 declares that agricultural operations following best management practices are not a public or private nuisance, protecting farms established before…

Kitsap County Code § 17.455.100 shields farms established before neighboring nonagricultural development from nuisance lawsuits and county nuisance findings, so long as operations…

Kitsap County bans commercial pet shops from selling dogs or cats unless they came from an animal welfare organization, effectively an adoption-only rule for retail sales, while…

Kitsap County has no breed-specific ban. Instead, the animal control authority can declare any animal 'potentially dangerous' based on bite reports, aggressive behavior, or witness…

Kitsap County requires veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, and wildlife shelters to sit back at least fifty feet from side and rear lot lines in the rural protection and rural…

Kitsap County does not mandate microchipping every cat or dog, but if a pet is chipped, the county's license procedure requires the license to record the microchip implant and its…

Kitsap County makes it a misdemeanor to own or keep lions, tigers, bears, primates, cougars, wolves, coyotes, foxes, lynx, alligators, crocodiles, or any venomous or poisonous creature…

Kitsap County's agriculture code caps backyard beekeeping in urban residential zones at two bee colonies per household, allowed only for personal use, under Table 1 of the county's…

Operating a wildlife shelter in unincorporated Kitsap County means clearing a zoning siting standard, not a special rescue license: Kitsap County Code § 17.415.575 forces every…

Kitsap County's zoning code caps how many outdoor pets a household may keep based on lot size: three on lots under twenty thousand square feet, five on lots up to thirty-five thousand…

Kitsap County requires every adult cat in the unincorporated area to be licensed within thirty days of acquisition or residency, with one-year, three-year, or lifetime terms available…

Kitsap County bans letting a dog or other pet leave its owner's property unless it is under physical restraint fit for its size or close enough to obey direct commands. Kitsap County…

Grooming parlors in unincorporated Kitsap County must hold an annual license from the animal control authority and follow strict operating standards: no boarding, sterilized equipment…

Removing vegetation or a danger tree from a Native Growth Protection Easement in unincorporated Kitsap County requires a site assessment permit and written county approval first…

Kitsap County lets owners of developed, unincorporated-area parcels retrofitted for rainwater harvesting apply for a 50% stormwater utility rate reduction on the surfaces where rain is…

Kitsap County requires every state-licensed marijuana producer, processor and retailer to sit at least one thousand feet, measured property-line to property-line, from any school…

Kitsap County has no cannabis opt-out or ban; a marijuana retailer may locate in unincorporated Kitsap County only at a site licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board…

Kitsap County lets a home business operate in three escalating tiers under KCC § 17.415.275: a no-permit 'incidental' tier capped at 25% of floor area, a 'minor' tier permitted to 30%…

Kitsap County allows family day care providers in unincorporated zones where the use is permitted, but conditions the operation on six standards…

Kitsap County's no-permit 'incidental' home business tier bars all advertising signs except a one-square-foot mailbox tag; step up to the minor or moderate tier and a nonilluminated…

Kitsap County's no-permit 'incidental' home business tier bars any client or customer from visiting or meeting at the residence at all; step up to the minor or moderate tier, and the…

In unincorporated Kitsap County, building height is measured from a reference datum to the roofline under KCC 17.420.020(C). Zone-specific caps for residential structures appear in the…

Kitsap County exempts casual sellers from its junk-dealer and secondhand-dealer licensing law only if they hold no more than three garage or yard sales per year and each sale runs no…

Kitsap County's zoning code sets no general permit process for vacation rentals in the unincorporated area. Section 17.415.570 instead bans the use within the Gorst urban growth area…

In nearly every zoning district of unincorporated Kitsap County, Section 17.420.030(C) requires outdoor lighting to be aimed downward and shielded from above so it does not pollute the…

Kitsap County caps how much artificial light a development may throw onto neighboring land: Section 17.420.030(C)(1) requires outdoor lighting be arranged so that no more than one…

Unincorporated Kitsap County exempts seasonal and holiday decorations from sign-permit review entirely, so long as the display doesn't function as advertising. Under Section…