Whatcom County, WA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

In rainy western Whatcom, 'xeriscape' matters less than rain gardens, native shrubs, and pollinator beds that soak up runoff, and neither the county nor Bellingham requires a turf lawn on a finished residential lot. The distinctive local layer is Lake Whatcom, the drinking-water reservoir for roughly half the county: under WCC Chapter 16.32, applying commercial fertilizer containing phosphorus to residential lawns in the watershed is prohibited, pushing owners toward native, low-input landscaping. Washington has no statute barring HOAs from requiring conventional lawns, so subdivision covenants remain the real constraint. Listed noxious weeds must still be controlled in any yard.