Skagit County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Skagit County requires solid waste generated in the unincorporated area to go to a designated disposal site under SCC 12.18.040, but exempts source-separated recyclables collected…

Dumping any solid waste in unincorporated Skagit County outside a permitted facility violates SCC 12.16.080. The Health Officer classifies deposits over three cubic yards, or any…

In unincorporated Skagit County, no tent, tarpaulin or other screening structure may go up on County-owned property except at a designated Skagit County campground. The County can…

Unincorporated Skagit County levies a combined 4% special excise tax, two separate 2% layers under SCC 3.16.010, on lodging sold by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel…

In unincorporated Skagit County, the Unified Development Code requires full cutoff outdoor lighting fixtures within 250 feet of a residential zone in the Bayview Ridge Light Industrial…

SCC 14.20.040 caps light spilling onto a neighbor's land at one foot-candle at the property boundary and requires full cut-off fixtures aimed away from adjoining properties. The…

Unincorporated Skagit County limits idling refrigeration noise from delivery and commercial trucks under SCC 9.50.040(2)(g). A parked commercial vehicle's refrigeration unit, or its…

Unincorporated Skagit County restricts horns and sirens attached to motor vehicles, including car alarms, under SCC 9.50.040(2)(a). Sounding one between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is a…

Unincorporated Skagit County exempts portable generators from its public disturbance noise rules only while the primary electrical supplier has no service available because of a…

In unincorporated Skagit County, adult entertainment is allowed only in the Bayview Ridge Heavy Industrial (BR-HI) zone, and only as a Hearing Examiner special use under SCC…

When the Skagit County Sheriff orders a vehicle towed for likely disposal as abandoned, SCC 10.20.030 requires using a tow truck operator currently appointed by the state Director of…

Skagit County bars a Home-Based Business 1 or 2 from installing heavy equipment, large power tools or power sources not common to a residential dwelling, under SCC 14.18.252(3)(d) and…

Skagit County regulates home sharps disposal under SCC 12.16.350. Residents must contain used needles and syringes in puncture-resistant, leak-proof, labeled 'Biohazard' and 'Sharps'…

Unincorporated Skagit County bans audio systems, radios, amplifiers and speakers from being audible more than 150 feet from the source property under SCC 9.50.040(2)(c). The 150-foot…

Unincorporated Skagit County does not set one blanket quiet-hours window; instead SCC 9.50.040(2) bars specific nighttime sounds. Horns or sirens on a motor vehicle are unlawful…

Skagit County makes it unlawful for an owner to knowingly, recklessly or negligently let an animal make frequent, repetitive or continuous noise that becomes a public disturbance…

Skagit County bans parking on specific unincorporated road segments named in SCC 10.08.010, including stretches of Old 99 North, Bayview Edison Road and Cook Road marked "No Parking…

Skagit County Code Chapter 10.20 lets the Sheriff impound a vehicle or "automobile hulk" left on a highway or another's property without consent for 24 hours or longer. A vehicle is…

SCC 14.18.790 defines a vehicle charging station, including a battery exchange station, as a distinct land use. In the IF-NRL and SF-NRL forestry resource zones in unincorporated…

Skagit County bans owning, possessing or bringing into the county any potentially dangerous wild animal, a category that under SCC 7.04.010 covers all Canidae hybrids besides domestic…

In unincorporated Skagit County the entire county is a livestock restricted area under Skagit County Code Chapter 6.44. Owners of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and similar farm…

Skagit County does not ban specific dog breeds. Instead, SCC Chapter 7.06 lets the county declare an individual dog potentially dangerous or dangerous based on its own conduct, such as…

Skagit County does not require microchips for ordinary pets, but SCC 7.06.025 makes a permanent microchip implant mandatory for any dog the county has declared potentially dangerous or…

Skagit County bans hunting, taking or killing any game birds, migratory birds, upland game birds, predatory birds, songbirds or other birds, and firing any gun within six specifically…

Skagit County Code § 14.18.210 lists animal clinics and hospitals, including overnight boarding, as a permitted commercial use across unincorporated zoning districts. In the SF-NRL and…

Skagit County does not have a general leash law for unincorporated areas outside its parks. Inside County parks, though, SCC 9.41.150 requires every dog or pet be physically controlled…

Anyone who wants to open, improve or privately use a county road right-of-way in unincorporated Skagit County, other than for utility work, must first get a permit from the County…

Skagit County zones home occupations as one of three tiers under SCC 14.18.252: Home-Based Business 1, 2 or 3, each incidental to the residence. HBB1 caps business floor area at 25…

Skagit County Code § 14.18.246 allows a family day care provider as an accessory use to a single-family home in unincorporated Skagit County, capped at 12 adults or children in any…

Skagit County's home-based business tiers turn on client traffic: a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(f) may not have clients come to the site at all, while Home-Based…

Skagit County bars any outside sign at all for a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(c). Stepping up to Home-Based Business 2 or 3 under (4)(c)/(5)(d) allows exactly one sign…

Unincorporated Skagit County sets no fixed buffer distance for marijuana facilities. SCC 14.18.262(8)(b) instead requires every special use permit for a production, processing, or…

In unincorporated Skagit County, marijuana production, processing and retail facilities may locate only where the zoning code explicitly names them as an allowed use. The Ag-NRL farm…

Any person operating a food service establishment in unincorporated Skagit County, including a mobile or event-based operation, must hold a valid permit from the Health Officer under…

Skagit County's Unified Development Code has no standalone mobile-vending ordinance. The only rule addressing food trucks in unincorporated Skagit County ties them to a farm's…

Skagit County enforces the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code on structures in the unincorporated area under SCC 15.04.020(10), but has not adopted the code's general…

Skagit County Public Health investigates tenant complaints about a rental's individual water system under SCC 12.48.220. Once SCPHD confirms a valid complaint, the unit must stay…

Skagit County bans smoking and vaping in outdoor public places controlled by a child care facility or school, and anywhere children congregate, including playgrounds, parks, beaches…

It is unlawful under SCC Chapter 9.36 for anyone to urinate or defecate in a public place in unincorporated Skagit County, or in a place exposed to public view, whether or not anyone…

In special flood hazard areas of unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.34.150(6)(c) requires every above-ground propane (LPG) and home heating oil tank to be adequately supported and…

Anyone burning outside a city or town in unincorporated Skagit County needs a written burning permit from the county Fire Warden once a fire exceeds the size set by Board of County…

In unincorporated Skagit County it is unlawful to sell fireworks at retail except between June 15 and July 9 each year under SCC Chapter 9.20. The Sheriff may permit supervised public…

SCC Chapter 14.28 sets minimum building setbacks for every structure and lot in unincorporated Skagit County. Setbacks are measured at right angles from the property line, front and…

In the Rural Mixed-Use zones of unincorporated Skagit County, including Rural Village Residential (RVR), Table 14.11.030-1 caps building height at 40 feet. SCC 14.10.100(5) explains…

Table 14.11.030-1 caps impervious lot coverage in unincorporated Skagit County's Rural Mixed-Use zones: 35 percent in Rural Intermediate, 50 percent in Rural Village Residential, Rural…

In unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.32.130 requires every development project to control erosion and sedimentation during construction. Crews must keep stabilizing materials on…

A floodplain project permit is required before any construction or development in a special flood hazard area in unincorporated Skagit County, per SCC 14.34.100. Even septic tanks…

New homes and substantial improvements in a Skagit County special flood hazard area must have their lowest floor elevated at least one foot above base flood elevation under SCC…

SCC Chapter 14.32 requires a project permit before new development or redevelopment breaks ground in unincorporated Skagit County, governed by the county's NPDES permit, with design…

SCC Chapter 14.38 shields natural resource land management, including agriculture, forestry and mining on designated zones, from nuisance claims when conducted with current best…

Skagit County Code § 14.18.104 lists a storage shed, workshop, garage or barn as an allowed 'miscellaneous residential support building' accessory to a house anywhere in unincorporated…

Skagit County Code § 14.18.106 caps a newly built accessory dwelling unit at 1,200 square feet, excluding garage area, and requires three off-street parking spaces for the primary home…

In unincorporated Skagit County, accessory dwelling units are exempt from every impact fee the county charges new development, under Skagit County Code section 14.68.040(1)(b). Other…

Any person who believes a Title 14 or 15 violation has occurred in unincorporated Skagit County may file a written Request for Investigation, called an RFI, on forms from Planning and…

SCC 14.22.030 confines razor wire to commercial, industrial and aviation-related zones and caps barbed wire fencing at five feet above grade everywhere else in unincorporated Skagit…

In unincorporated Skagit County, fences up to six feet tall are exempt from Title 14 building setbacks entirely, and the exemption stretches to eight feet in twelve listed zones…

In unincorporated Skagit County, a retaining wall or rockery four feet in height or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, is exempt from Title 14…

Unincorporated Skagit County bans billboards outright under SCC 14.29.070(1) except where a zone specifically permits one, and separately bars any flashing, revolving, animated…

In unincorporated Skagit County's Rural Freeway Services zone, a tourist-oriented business may put up one freeway-oriented advertising sign under SCC 14.29.080(2)(b), up to 60 feet…

A temporary political sign on private land in unincorporated Skagit County is exempt from sign permits under SCC 14.29.060(3), capped at 32 square feet in area, 48 inches in vertical…

In a critical area or its buffer in unincorporated Skagit County, a landowner must get prior written approval from Planning and Development Services before removing a hazardous…

New land divisions inside one of ten named surface water source limited watersheds in unincorporated Skagit County must accept lawn watering restrictions or other water conservation…

Skagit County's critical areas code designates nest and roost trees for great blue herons, ospreys, pileated woodpeckers and other priority species as protected fish and wildlife…

In unincorporated Skagit County, commercial and industrial developments must install street-frontage landscaping under SCC 14.25.070: an eight-foot-wide buffer with trees spaced no…

Anyone hosting an outdoor concert, festival or assembly expected to draw 100 or more people in unincorporated Skagit County needs a county permit under SCC Chapter 9.08 before…

Community groups that want to hold an organized gathering, concession sale or fundraiser at a Skagit County park facility need a Parks and Recreation Department permit. SCC 9.41.010…

Skagit County parks close at dusk and reopen at dawn under SCC 9.41.050, and it is unlawful to be present in a park once it closes unless you are paying to camp overnight, mooring a…

Skagit County's Parks and Recreation Code treats e-bikes as nonmotorized vehicles and lets riders use roads and trails in County parks on the same terms as bicycles, capped at 15 mph…

Skagit County's parks code does not use the word drone, but its model-aircraft provision in SCC 9.41.200 controls recreational flying of small unmanned aircraft on County park…

SCC 14.30.070 requires land-disturbing work in unincorporated Skagit County to stop immediately if a site or artifact with historic or cultural value is discovered, with the county…

Unincorporated Skagit County plumbing work runs on the 2021 IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted by SCC 15.04.020(4) with several chapters carved out, and a stand-alone plumbing permit…

Skagit County adopts the 2021 International Residential and Building Codes for unincorporated areas under SCC 15.04.020, and its own amendment to IRC Section R105.2 sets the only…

Outside a Skagit County Fire District, SCC 14.10.080(1) bars a building permit altogether, but SCC 14.10.080(2)(c) lets the county issue one for a single-family home or accessory…

Unincorporated Skagit County lets a conservation and reserve development (CaRD) cluster smaller lots than the base zone allows, but SCC 14.78.050(2)(c) strips that density bonus…