Everett, WA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing code
- EMC § 8.08.030
- Trigger
- Fire hazard or health/safety menace
- Notice before action
- 5 days written notice
- Cost recovery
- Unpaid cost becomes a property lien
- Applies to
- Every owner within Everett city limits
Summary
Everett requires every property owner to clear dead grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, or trees that become a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety, and welfare, under Everett Municipal Code Section 8.08.030 in the city's removal-of-vegetation chapter.
Each and every owner of property situated in the city shall remove or destroy all grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees or vegetation growing or which has grown and died upon property owned or occupied by such owner, and which are a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety and welfare.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4194-26, passed July 29, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Everett Municipal Code Section 8.08.030, in the city's Removal of Vegetation chapter, makes every property owner responsible for removing or destroying grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation that has grown and died on their land once it becomes a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety, and welfare. The city enforces the duty under EMC Section 8.08.040: the city council can pass an abatement resolution after five days' notice, then remove the hazard itself and place the cost as a lien on the property, or use the general enforcement track in EMC Chapter 1.20.
Violations & Fines
Owners who ignore the notice face a city council abatement resolution; Everett crews then remove the dead vegetation and charge the cost to the owner as a lien against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Everett have a weed ordinance?
Who decides what counts as a fire or health hazard under Everett's weed rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Everett
How Everett compares: Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules·Compare Everett to another location·View the Washington landscaping rules overview
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Weed Ordinances in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle weed ordinances.