Snohomish County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Retained or replacement significant trees on Snohomish County development sites cannot be removed unless a certified arborist certifies a hazard in writing. Any retained significant…

Snohomish County has no set grass-height limit for residential yards, but every property owner must eradicate Class A noxious weeds and control designated Class B and C noxious weeds…

For new development, retained trees must be fenced at the drip line and not disturbed. Abutting owners may trim weeds, grass, brush and blackberries in the first 10 feet of an unopened…

New tree canopy planted to meet Snohomish County's development landscaping requirements can't be all one species. SCC 30.25.016(6) sets a minimum 50 percent evergreen mix, capped at 30…

Snohomish County doesn't require rainwater harvesting, but it pays commercial property owners for it: install a qualifying rooftop system under SCC 25.10.040 and the county's surface…

Snohomish County treats artificial turf as non-vegetative landscape material under SCC 30.25.015(3). It can help satisfy required site landscaping, but the county caps decorative…

Amplified music heard inside a neighbor's home, or outdoors 75 feet or more from its source in a commercial, rural or residential district, is a public disturbance noise at any hour…

Industrial-source noise received on residential property in unincorporated Snohomish County is capped at 60 dB(A) daytime (SCC 10.01.030(2)), dropping 10 dB(A) at night. Washington's…

Snohomish County has no daytime leaf-blower ban, but operating a leaf blower, saw, drill, sander, grinder, fan, garden tool or similar device at night in a rural or residential…

Snohomish County treats unmuffled exhaust, frequent engine testing near homes, and loud car stereos or horns as public disturbance noise, banned at any hour. Motor vehicles also face…

Construction equipment noise at a temporary construction site is exempt from Snohomish County's decibel limits during daytime hours, generally 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to…

Every maximum permissible sound level in unincorporated Snohomish County drops by 10 dB(A) at night in rural and residential districts under SCC 10.01.030(3)(b). Night runs 10 p.m. to…

Frequent, repetitive or continuous animal noise that disturbs neighbors in a rural or residential district is a public disturbance noise at any hour under SCC 10.01.040(1)(a). Farm…

Aircraft noise gets a blanket pass under Snohomish County's noise ordinance: SCC 10.01.050(1)(a) exempts all sounds from aircraft in flight and airport flight operations from the…

Backyard campfires, cooking fires, and bonfires burning charcoal or bare untreated wood are allowed on private property in unincorporated Snohomish County as recreational fires…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, consumer fireworks may be discharged only from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on July 4, and only outside designated 'no fireworks' areas. Southwest…

Snohomish County has no single 'clear your brush' ordinance countywide, but the 2021 Washington Wildland-Urban Interface Code applies to new commercial and residential permits on…

Washington law requires smoke detection devices inside all dwelling units. Owners must install them; tenants must maintain them and replace batteries. Any dwelling sold on or after…

Land-clearing burning is permanently banned countywide. Residential yard-waste burning (pile no larger than 4x4x3 feet) is allowed only outside Urban Growth Areas and no-burn zones…

Washington's Wildland-Urban Interface Code applies to parcels mapped high or very-high wildfire hazard. On those parcels, new construction requires class-1 ignition-resistant roofs…

Snohomish County has adopted the 2018 International Fire Code (SCC 30.53A.010), which governs liquefied-petroleum (propane) gas storage, container sizes, and installation. Small…

Lodging rented for less than one month in Snohomish County is subject to two stacked 2% county lodging excise taxes (SCC 4.40.010 and 4.41.010), a combined 4% hotel-motel tax, in…

Snohomish County has no STR-specific noise cap, but SCC 30.28.020(3)(e) requires a bed-and-breakfast to be run so as not to disturb neighbors' peaceful occupancy. General county noise…

Snohomish County's bed-and-breakfast rules require a host to be present: SCC 30.28.020(3)(c) directs that the owner operate the facility and reside on the premises. Meal service is…

Occupancy in unincorporated Snohomish County is limited by guest rooms, not headcount. A bed-and-breakfast guesthouse may offer up to 3 guest rooms; a bed-and-breakfast inn up to 6. At…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires a bed-and-breakfast (STR) to provide 2 off-street parking spaces plus 1 per guest room, per SCC Table 30.26.030(1). No on-street parking is…

Unincorporated Snohomish County effectively requires an owner-occupied STR: SCC 30.28.020(3)(c) states the owner shall operate the facility and reside on the premises. The lodging must…

The county's bed-and-breakfast code sets no specific liability-insurance requirement for STRs. It instead requires compliance with fire, health and building codes, and at three or more…

In unincorporated Snohomish County there is no standalone "Airbnb" license. Guest lodging in a home is regulated as a bed-and-breakfast under the Unified Development Code (SCC…

Unincorporated Snohomish County imposes no cap on rental nights. SCC 30.28.020(3)(f) states there is no limit on the number of days a guest may stay at the establishment. However…

Charcoal barbecues and cooking fires are allowed on private property in unincorporated Snohomish County as recreational fires. Propane and gas grills are ordinary cooking appliances…

A charcoal or wood-fired smoker on private property is a cooking fire under Puget Sound Clean Air Agency rules: keep it under three feet in diameter and two feet high, burn only…

As of 2025, RVs may sit on a public road in unincorporated Snohomish County for no more than 72 hours (SCC 11.06). On residential lots, an RV used as living quarters is limited to 180…

Snohomish County has no blanket overnight parking ban for passenger cars in unincorporated areas. The real limits are the 72-hour RV cap (SCC 11.06), the large-vehicle rules (SCC…

A vehicle left on a Snohomish County highway or public property for 24 hours or longer is 'abandoned' (SCC 10.36.020) and may be removed by the Sheriff. Willfully abandoning one is a…

Only the airport manager may paint or mark curbs at Snohomish County Airport: SCC 15.08.652(3) makes it unlawful for any person, company, or private organization to paint curbs or…

Snohomish County bars parking or storing large commercial vehicles, trailers, and construction equipment on public roads next to or within urban residential zones. In non-residential…

Snohomish County bans parking on ways signed for pedestrian, animal, or nonmotor traffic, and prohibits parking within ten feet of any mailbox on a county roadway. Violations are…

Unincorporated Snohomish County lets EV charging equipment go into any off-street lot, but SCC 30.26.065(13) bars the hardware from eating into the aisle or stall it serves. Chargers…

Placing a loading zone, bus stop, or shelter pad in a Snohomish County road right-of-way takes a Type C1 permit under SCC 13.50.040, and the county engineer won't issue one unless the…

Snohomish County Code does not assign shared-fence cost or ownership between neighbors, but it does limit what can sit near a property line: fences over six feet must meet the building…

Unincorporated Snohomish County exempts fences up to eight feet high from a building permit, as long as they have no masonry or concrete above six feet. Taller fences, or those with…

Snohomish County allows up to three strands of wire on top of fences six feet or less high. Fences taller than eight feet, or those with masonry or concrete elements above six feet…

Snohomish County requires fences six feet or less to sit within any required landscaped-area width, or without a setback where none is required; taller site-obscuring fences must meet…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, a retaining wall up to four feet high (measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall) is exempt from a building permit unless it…

Yes. In unincorporated Snohomish County it is unlawful to let a dog roam or be off your premises unless it is under control on a leash of eight feet or less. Off-leash dogs are a…

Beekeeping is allowed in unincorporated Snohomish County. There is no county-specific hive ban, but all colonies must be registered with the Washington State Department of Agriculture…

You cannot keep dangerous wild animals such as big cats, bears, wolves, primates, or venomous snakes. Washington's RCW 16.30.030 prohibits owning, possessing, breeding, or importing a…

Snohomish County's animal code does not set a general backyard wildlife-feeding ban. Feeding large carnivores such as bears and cougars is prohibited by Washington state law under RCW…

Snohomish County does not require every pet to be spayed or neutered, but SCC 9.10.040(3)(e) makes it a condition of registering a dog that has been officially declared dangerous. The…

Microchipping is not required for an ordinary pet in unincorporated Snohomish County, but the county rewards it: an altered dog or cat with a microchip costs $15 to license instead of…

Snohomish County has no breed-specific dog ban. State law, RCW 16.08.110, blocks any city or county from banning or singling out a breed unless it builds in a canine-good-citizen…

Cats are no longer voluntary to license in unincorporated Snohomish County: SCC 9.04.010 requires owners of all adult cats to license them since the voluntary option was repealed in…

Snohomish County's zoning code allows a veterinary clinic outright in ten commercial and industrial zones, from Neighborhood Business to Heavy Industrial, but only as a conditional use…

Unincorporated Snohomish County caps every household at 25 dogs outright under SCC 6.06.008, with no exception except licensed pet shops, boarding facilities, and animal shelters…

Any grooming parlor in unincorporated Snohomish County needs a license under SCC 6.06.015 and pays $200.00 a year (SCC 6.01.050(2)). Operators cannot board animals overnight, must…

Snohomish County does not ban pet stores from selling dogs or cats, but every pet shop in the unincorporated county needs a license under SCC 6.06.015 and pays $200.00 a year. Stores…

Snohomish County treats backyard chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs, and similar animals as 'small animal husbandry' under SCC 30.91S.440, requiring at least 30 feet…

SCC 30.28.050 caps a basic home occupation at one outside employee, one-quarter of the dwelling's floor area, a 200-amp electrical service, and unlighted signs under two square feet…

Unincorporated Snohomish County caps a home occupation sign at two square feet under SCC 30.28.050(1)(f). The sign must be unlighted and attached flat to the building, so no yard…

SCC 30.91F.100 caps a family day care home at 12 or fewer people total, counting both children and adults in care, unless the operator gets a state DCYF waiver under RCW 43.216.692…

Accumulated junk, wrecked vehicles and repeated nuisance activity on unincorporated property are code violations. A "junkyard" is over 50 cubic feet of junk in an urban growth area…

Owners of vacant unincorporated parcels must still control noxious weeds and cannot let others dump waste on the land. Illegal dumping and accumulated junk on empty lots are…

Collection containers must be kept on private property, never in the public right-of-way. Set them out no sooner than the day before pickup, within 10 feet of the traveled roadway…

SCC 7.42.040(4)(a) requires every licensed hauler serving unincorporated Snohomish County to offer bulky materials collection, appliances, furniture and other oversize items, for…

Dumping solid waste anywhere except a permitted site is unlawful. Under SCC 7.35.120, littering up to one cubic foot is a civil infraction, up to a cubic yard is a misdemeanor, and a…

Within the county's designated yard debris service zone, haulers must pick up bundled or containerized yard debris at least twice a month from March through October and monthly from…

SCC 7.42.040(2) sets the garbage pickup menu haulers must offer in the county's recycling service zone: weekly mini-can through three-can service, monthly mini-can and one-can options…

Snohomish County won't let a hauler sell garbage-only service in the recycling zone: SCC 7.42.040(2)(a) requires recycling to be bundled with every garbage account, and subsection…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, garbage service can't be sold without recycling collection bundled in. SCC 7.42.040(2) requires haulers to collect newspaper, mixed paper…

SCC 7.42.040(2)(b) sets the pickup cadence in the county's recycling service zone: weekly recycling collection for single-family homes and at least biweekly for multi-family buildings…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires every outdoor dumpster, recycling, or storage area to be screened under SCC 30.25.024. Options are a six-foot sight-obscuring fence with gaps…

Converting a garage into habitable space in unincorporated Snohomish County is treated as creating an accessory dwelling unit and must meet SCC 30.28.010 ADU standards, including the…

SCC 30.28.010 caps ADU floor area at 1,200 square feet and lets urban single-family lots host up to two accessory units, in any mix of attached or detached, since the county's 2025…

In unincorporated Snohomish County a carport is an accessory structure used to cover vehicles or boats. Detached garages and storage structures over 2,400 square feet must sit at least…

In unincorporated Snohomish County a recreational vehicle cannot be a primary residence. A tiny house counts as a dwelling only if built on a foundation, permitted, and connected to…

In unincorporated Snohomish County political signs are exempt from zone bans and number/square-footage limits, but they must not obstruct driver sight distance, must meet right-of-way…

In unincorporated Snohomish County a single-family residence may display one unlighted name sign up to two square feet per face. Real-estate signs advertising sale or lease may be up…

SCC 30.27.080(8) caps a digital billboard face at 500 square feet, requires an eight-second minimum message hold with a one-second transition, and forces the display dark or a 'full…

In the Urban Center zone, SCC Table 30.27.047(1) caps any single window sign at 25 percent of the window area, and limits all window signs on that window, permanent and temporary…

Where hours are not otherwise posted, Snohomish County parks are open daily from 6:00 a.m. until dusk. No one may be present in a county park while it is closed except registered…

Snohomish County requires a Type C11 right-of-way use permit before anyone places a license plate reader or other data collection device in the opened county right-of-way. The county…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, new houses built inside a rural cluster subdivision or short subdivision cannot get an individual building permit until the lot is enrolled in a…

Any owner who intends to build, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a structure in unincorporated Snohomish County must first apply to the building…

Scaffolding built over or into a county road right-of-way during construction, demolition, or repair needs a Type C2 permit and must carry a tarp underneath to stop debris from falling…

Unincorporated Snohomish County regulates day care centers as a distinct land use under SCC 30.28.030. Outdoor play areas must be fenced or otherwise controlled, landscaping must meet…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, the building official runs every required construction inspection, from a preliminary site check before a permit issues through follow-up…

Unincorporated Snohomish County enforces the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code as its plumbing code under SCC 30.52E.010. Any plumbing work needs a permit from the building official, fees set…

Unincorporated Snohomish County levies a 2% excise tax on hotel, motel and short-term lodging charges under SCC 4.40.010, plus an additional 2% regional tourism tax under SCC 4.41.010…

Snohomish County bans motorized foot scooters, including shared/rental units, from every county park and county-owned property, from all sidewalks, and from bike paths and hiking…

Unincorporated Snohomish County bars garbage and recycling bins from sitting in bicycle lanes, and bars motorized foot scooters from riding outside a marked bike lane. Containers must…

A parade, run, or similar event that closes part of a county road or right-of-way needs a Type A permit from the public works department before it happens. Small events file at least…

Snohomish County does not run an open towing market for abandoned-vehicle work: SCC 10.36.140 lets the Sheriff appoint towing companies to remove and dispose of abandoned vehicles and…

Snohomish County bars automobile, truck and heavy equipment repair as a home occupation. SCC 30.28.050(3)(g) prohibits fueling, maintenance, repair, auto-body work or painting for home…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires a separate license for any adult entertainment dance studio and for every manager and adult entertainer who works there, issued under SCC…

Every massage parlor in unincorporated Snohomish County needs a license under SCC 6.07.020, subject to health authority inspection and sheriff fingerprinting before it issues. Parlors…

Buying and reselling used goods for a living in unincorporated Snohomish County requires a secondhand dealer license under SCC 6.19.010, priced at $250.00 a year, unless you qualify as…

Every pawnbroker operating in unincorporated Snohomish County needs a license under SCC 6.19.010, costs $300.00 a year, and requires sheriff fingerprinting and a background…

Anyone using unincorporated Snohomish County right-of-way for anything besides transportation, from a fence to a sales stand, needs a right-of-way use permit first. Unpermitted use of…

Intentionally urinating or defecating in public where anyone could observe it is a civil infraction in unincorporated Snohomish County under SCC 10.04.120, part of the county's…

At Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), lighting up is banned within 100 feet of aircraft being fueled, fuel trucks, or fuel-storage buildings, inside hangars except in marked…

Snohomish County's only loitering ordinance covers its own airport, Paine Field: no one may disrupt, slow, or impede normal airport operations, and the county can direct anyone…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, running or idling a stationary truck over 10,000 pounds GVWR for more than ten minutes at a stretch at night is classified as a public disturbance…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires a stormwater site plan and drainage review once a project adds 2,000 square feet of new or replaced hard surface, or disturbs 7,000 square feet…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires every new development and redevelopment project, regardless of size, to control soil erosion and sediment discharge into receiving waters…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires new and substantially improved buildings in mapped special flood hazard areas to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation. Critical…

Snohomish County's Shoreline Management Program caps private dock length, width and boathouse size within shoreline jurisdiction. Single-family docks on marine shorelines top out at 90…

Any development inside a mapped special flood hazard area in unincorporated Snohomish County needs a flood hazard permit before work starts, under SCC 30.43C.020, reviewed against the…

Camping anywhere on Snohomish County-owned property is unlawful unless it's in a designated park camping area, an authorized spot at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds or Paine Field, or…

Snohomish County bars infectious waste, including sharps like needles, scalpel blades and lancets, from every county-owned solid waste disposal facility under SCC 7.41.050(6)…

In unincorporated Snohomish County subdivisions with a homeowners association, SCC 30.41A.675 makes membership and payment of dues or other maintenance assessments a mandatory…

SCC 30.41A.675 requires any homeowners association formed to own and maintain subdivision tracts in unincorporated Snohomish County to incorporate as a profit or nonprofit corporation…

Snohomish County keeps a register of historic places under SCC 30.32D.020 to identify significant buildings, sites, structures and districts, and SCC 30.32D.030 lets any person…

Unincorporated Snohomish County awards rural cluster subdivisions a 15% residential density bonus over the underlying zone's maximum density when the project meets base open-space…

Unincorporated Snohomish County protects working farmland through the Agriculture-10 Acre (A-10) zone, which limits development to agricultural uses and farm-support businesses under…

Snohomish County's right-to-farm law presumes agricultural activity on designated farmland is reasonable and not a nuisance under SCC 30.32B.200, shielding farmers from neighbor…

Snohomish County has frozen all new data center applications countywide. SCC 30.28.032 bars the county from filing, accepting, processing, or approving any application to establish…

SCC 30.28.032 imposes a countywide moratorium blocking the filing, acceptance, processing, or approval of any application to establish, expand, or convert a use to a data center in…

SCC 30.27.080(8) caps digital billboard brightness at 5,000 nits by day and only 500 nits between sunset and sunrise as timed by the National Weather Service. Any digital billboard…

Snohomish County has no blanket dark-sky law, but its zoning use matrix forces shielded lighting on two specific uses in unincorporated areas: publicly owned parks and equestrian…

In unincorporated Snohomish County outdoor lighting must be hooded or shaded so that direct light does not glare onto surrounding property or rights-of-way. Sign lighting has the same…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires a building permit before installing an in-ground or deep residential swimming pool. SCC 30.50.103(1)(g)-(h) exempts only prefabricated pools…

Every swimming or wading pool in unincorporated Snohomish County, aside from hot tubs and spas, must be enclosed by a fence at least four feet high and strong enough to keep children…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires street trees as a frontage improvement on new development under SCC 30.25.015(8). Trees go in along public roads and along private roads and…

Flying a drone or any other model aircraft on Snohomish County Airport grounds without the airport manager's authorization is banned outright under SCC 15.08.305(3). The same section…

Code enforcement in unincorporated Snohomish County starts once a director at Planning and Development Services or Public Works has reason to believe a violation occurred; the director…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires a fire code permit for any mobile food preparation vehicle equipped with an appliance that produces smoke or grease-laden vapors, or that runs…

Snohomish County caps how much of a lot a building can cover through the bulk matrices in SCC 30.23.010, with most rural, resource, and standard urban-residential zones limited to 35…

Snohomish County sets maximum building heights zone-by-zone in the bulk matrices referenced by SCC 30.23.050, ranging from 25 feet in the R-20,000 zone up to 90 feet in the Urban…

In unincorporated Snohomish County, setbacks are set by zone in the SCC 30.23 bulk matrices. In the common urban R-7,200, R-8,400, and R-9,600 residential zones, the minimum side and…

Unincorporated Snohomish County allows marijuana production, processing, and retail sales; it never opted out under I-502. Facilities need a 100,000-square-foot minimum lot under SCC…

Marijuana production and processing facilities in unincorporated Snohomish County must sit back from every property line: 50 feet for outdoor grows and 30 feet for indoor facilities…

Rooftop solar photovoltaic systems on detached single-family homes in unincorporated Snohomish County skip the mechanical permit if they meet the eleven-point checklist in SCC…