8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Whatcom County, Washington.
Verified from official government sources
Whatcom County handles overgrown grass, weeds, and rank vegetation as a nuisance through county code compliance, while the City of Bellingham enforces its own property maintenance rules. The wet marine climate pushes fast spring and summer growth.
No Washington statute stops you pruning a tree on your own Whatcom lot, and there is no general county trimming permit. The City of Bellingham manages street trees and protects trees near creeks and in the Lake Whatcom watershed.
Removing a tree in Whatcom depends on where you are. On an existing rural home lot, county rules are light, but the City of Bellingham requires tree retention on development, and critical areas and the Lake Whatcom watershed add protection.
Whatcom County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the county Noxious Weed Control Board, owners must eradicate Class A weeds and control listed Class B and C species. This is a real, enforceable duty backed by abatement and liens.
RCW 17.10.140(1)
Every owner must perform or cause to be performed those acts as may be necessary to: (a) Eradicate all class A noxious weeds; (b) Control and prevent the spread of all class B noxious weeds designated for control in that region within and from the owner's property; and (c) Control and prevent the spread of all class B and class C noxious weeds listed on the county weed list as locally mandated ...
Whatcom is wet, but water is still governed. Washington follows prior appropriation, and the entire Nooksack basin (WRIA 1) is now in a court adjudication of every water right. Bellingham draws from Lake Whatcom and sets summer conservation rules.
RCW 90.03.010
Subject to existing rights all waters within the state belong to the public, and any right thereto, or to the use thereof, shall be hereafter acquired only by appropriation for a beneficial use and in the manner provided and not otherwise; and, as between appropriations, the first in time shall be the first in right.
Rainwater harvesting is legal across Whatcom County. Washington's Department of Ecology allows rooftop collection without a water right, so rain barrels and cisterns for the garden are permitted, and in this rainy county there is plenty to capture.
Whatcom's wet marine climate favors native plantings and rain gardens over thirsty lawns, and no local rule forces grass on an existing lot. In the Lake Whatcom watershed, low-phosphorus, lake-friendly landscaping is actively encouraged.
RCW 90.71.410(1)
The partnership shall assist the city of Bellingham and Whatcom county to implement a demonstration program regarding phosphorus loading into Lake Whatcom.
Whatcom County and Bellingham do not specifically regulate artificial turf on an existing residential lot, so installation is largely the owner's choice. In the Lake Whatcom watershed, impervious-surface and stormwater rules are the real constraint.
1 cities in Whatcom County have their own landscaping rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
See every category we cover for Whatcom County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Whatcom County Ordinance Hub →