Bothell, WA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

BMC 8.24.020 E defines a health hazard in the public nuisance chapter, and two of its items cover plants. Item 2 reaches vegetation which is poisonous, including but not limited to poison ivy, poison oak, poison hemlock, poison sumac and nightshade. Item 3 reaches vegetation which is noxious, including gorse, Japanese knotweed, purple loosestrife, giant hogweed, tansy ragwort, knapweed and Dalmatian toadflax, and any other plant which can be determined to be noxious in accordance with RCW Title 17. The named list is Bothell's own; the catch-all ties the rest to the state noxious weed framework.

The rule works as a nuisance standard on land where the plant grows. BMC 8.24.050 H makes vegetation constituting a health hazard a public nuisance when a responsible person maintains or allows it on real property they have charge of, control or occupy, whether visible or not from any public street, alley or residence. BMC 8.24.045 A puts the duty to abate on the owner and on any occupant, by destroying, removing or trimming vegetation and removing or destroying any health hazard. BMC 8.24.045 B 6 extends that duty to health hazard vegetation on adjacent planting strips or alleys, so the strip between your lot and the curb is yours to clear.

The community development director enforces under Chapter 11.20 BMC. The notice of violation names the provision violated, the corrective action and a reasonable time for compliance, and the recipient has 15 calendar days after service to request an appeal to the hearing examiner. If the nuisance stays, BMC 8.24.060 B lets the city go onto the premises and remove or destroy it at the owner's expense, with the bill due within 30 days of billing. Unpaid costs become a special assessment on the land, with notice of the lien filed with the county auditor.