Spokane County, WA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)
Tree removal permit rules in Spokane County, WA, sometimes called heritage tree, protected tree, or street tree ordinances, list which trees require a permit before you can cut them down.
Key Facts
- Exempt personal-use cutting
- Under 5,000 board feet in any 12-month period
- Urban growth area
- Permit required wherever any timber harvest is planned
- Permit life
- 3 years, nonrenewable, one extension up to 180 days
- Emergency harvest
- Application due within 48 hours after work begins
- Appeal deadline
- 14 calendar days to the Hearing Examiner
- Misdemeanor penalty
- Fine up to $1,000, jail up to 90 days, or both
- Administering agency
- Spokane County Department of Building and Planning
Summary
In unincorporated Spokane County, cutting trees for sale is a timber harvest under SCC Chapter 3.19, and a county Timber Harvest Permit is required on land platted after January 1, 1960, on land being converted to another use, and on any urban growth area land where a harvest is planned. Cutting under 5,000 board feet in 12 months for personal use is exempt, as is hazard tree removal.
The following forest practices are exempt from the previsions of this chapter and a timber harvest permit shall not be required: ... (c) Cutting and removal of less than five thousand board feet (i.e., one truck load approximately thirty-three feet in length) of timber (including live, dead or down material) for personal use (i.e., firewood, fence posts, on-site construction in any twelve-month period) ... (e) Hazard tree removal as defined by the Washington State department of natural resources which is the removal of trees necessary to protect public safety or public/private property from clear and imminent danger. ... A timber harvest permit is required: (a) On lands platted after January 1, 1960, as provided in 58.17 RCW; (b) On lands that have been or are being converted to another use; ... (d) On lands within the urban growth area boundary where any timber harvesting is planned;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3.19 carries out the Washington Forest Practices Act (chapter 76.09 RCW) and applies to Class IV General Forest Practices in the unincorporated areas of Spokane County. Where it overlaps or conflicts with another county code, the more restrictive provision applies. The chapter defines a timber harvest as the harvest and removal of trees for sale, and the Spokane County Department of Building and Planning administers it.
Section 3.19.050 lists five situations that need a county Timber Harvest Permit: lands platted after January 1, 1960 under chapter 58.17 RCW; lands that have been or are being converted to another use; lands the Department of Natural Resources has designated under RCW 76.09.070 as not to be reforested because of likely conversion to urban development; any land inside the urban growth area boundary where timber harvesting is planned; and urban growth area land where a harvest is necessary for road construction.
Section 3.19.040 lists the work that needs no permit. Subsection (c) exempts cutting and removal of less than five thousand board feet, described as one truck load about thirty-three feet in length, for personal use such as firewood, fence posts or on-site construction in any twelve-month period. The count includes live, dead and down material. Subsection (e) exempts hazard tree removal as defined by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources: removal of trees necessary to protect public safety or public or private property from clear and imminent danger. Subsection (a) exempts DNR-permitted forest practices outside the urban growth area where the owner intends to stay in forest management. Subsection (b) covers urban growth area parcels whose owner signed a ten-year statement of intent backed by a forest management plan or enrollment under chapters 84.33 and 84.34 RCW. Subsection (d) covers land converting to a non-forestry use where Spokane County has already approved a land use action and environmental checklist.
Two development moratoriums attach to forest land. A six-year moratorium goes on land outside the urban growth area covered by an approved DNR forest practice permit, and a ten-year moratorium goes on urban growth area land where the owner signed a statement of intent. The moratorium runs with the land and blocks building permits and other land use actions until it expires or is lifted under § 3.19.150.
Violations & Fines
Harvesting without an approved permit, or in breach of a permit condition, the Critical Areas Ordinance, the shorelines program, erosion and sediment control rules or stormwater guidelines, lets the county serve a written notice of violation on the owner of record and impose a development moratorium on building permits and future land use actions. The owner pays for any special studies the department requires to set mitigation. Continuing violations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to cut firewood on my own Spokane County property?
Can I remove a dangerous tree without a permit?
What must I submit with a Timber Harvest Permit application?
What if a storm or fire forces me to cut trees right away?
How do I appeal a notice of violation or a permit decision?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
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