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

Lakewood's Shoreline Master Program (LMC Title 16), adopted under the state Shoreline Management Act, generally requires a permitted shoreline use before any clearing, grading or alteration of the natural landscape can occur within shoreline jurisdiction, the area around American Lake, Gravelly Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Steilacoom, Waughop Lake, Chambers Creek and Clover Creek. 030(B)(8)(c)(i) carves out limited exceptions to that permit rule, and the first is removal of noxious weeds as listed by the state in Chapter 16-750 WAC. To qualify for the exemption, the work must follow the City's engineering and storm water design best-management practices, the weeds must be removed by hand or with small equipment rather than heavy machinery, and any ground exposed by the work must be promptly replanted with native vegetation.

This is narrower than a blanket right to clear shoreline vegetation: the same section separately exempts pruning of ornamental landscapes, view-restoration maintenance, and removal of nonnative vegetation up to six inches in diameter, but each carries its own no-net-loss condition. The exemption applies only inside shoreline jurisdiction; general nuisance overgrowth on other Lakewood properties is instead handled under the City's separate weed-and-vegetation nuisance code in Title 8. None of this reaches Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which sits on federal land outside the Lakewood Municipal Code entirely, or unincorporated Pierce County land, which is governed by the county, not the City.