Snohomish County, WA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

120. Two of the 142 numbered notes address outdoor lighting directly. Reference note (14), covering publicly owned and operated parks, provides that no bleachers are allowed on sites under five acres, that all lighting shall be shielded to protect adjacent properties, and that coin-operated amusement devices are barred outright at these facilities. Reference note (72) covers equestrian centers and mini-equestrian centers, a use permitted on A-10 agricultural land countywide and allowed with a conditional use permit outside the density-fringe flood hazard area of the lower Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers.

Mini-equestrian centers need a five-acre minimum site, and covered riding arenas are capped at 15,000 square feet of roof area, with stabling excluded from that cap. Note (72)(c) requires that any lighting of an outdoor or covered arena be shielded so it does not glare onto surrounding properties or rights-of-way. , requires Type A landscape screening around outdoor and animal-waste storage and parking in RC and R-5 zones, and sets a 30-foot setback for that storage and parking from any adjacent property line. Because both notes sit inside the Title 30 zoning code, they bind only unincorporated county land; Everett, Marysville, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Monroe, Arlington and Lake Stevens each administer their own lighting standards.

An applicant seeking a park facility permit or an equestrian center conditional use permit through the Department of Planning and Development Services (PDS) must show compliance with the applicable shielding condition before the permit is issued; PDS reviews lighting as part of that site plan review rather than through a separate lighting permit.