Snohomish County, WA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SCC 15.08.652(3)
- Who may paint curbs
- Airport manager only
- No Parking color
- Yellow curb or signage
- Fire Zone color
- Red curb or signage
- Related penalty
- $10-$50 per SCC 15.08.653
Summary
Only the airport manager may paint or mark curbs at Snohomish County Airport: SCC 15.08.652(3) makes it unlawful for any person, company, or private organization to paint curbs or letter parking signs there without permission, and the code assigns specific colors to each zone.
(3) Identification of No Parking and Restricted Parking Areas. Except where this section provides otherwise, the airport manager shall identify designated No Parking and Restricted Parking areas by using appropriate signing and/or curb painting or lettering. It shall be unlawful for any person, company, or private organization to paint curbs or paint on parking signs without the permission of the airport manager. No regulations imposing parking time limits or prohibiting parking shall be effective unless the signs and/or curb markings authorized herein are in place at the time of any alleged violation or infraction. "NO PARKING AREAS" shall be so identified either by a yellow painted curb or appropriate signing. "FIRE ZONES" shall be so identified either by a red painted curb or appropriate signing.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
652(3), part of the airport parking regulations in Snohomish County Code Title 15, gives the airport manager exclusive authority to identify No Parking and Restricted Parking areas at Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field) using appropriate signing and/or curb painting or lettering. The same subsection then flips that authority into a prohibition on everyone else: it shall be unlawful for any person, company, or private organization to paint curbs or paint on parking signs without the permission of the airport manager. The code assigns specific colors and meanings to curb markings so drivers can read them without a sign: yellow-painted curbs or matching signage denote 'NO PARKING AREAS,' red-painted curbs or signage mark 'FIRE ZONES,' and white curb paint with signage marks loading zones under subsection (4)(b).
Handicapped stalls instead rely on 'appropriate markings' rather than a curb-paint color. The section also makes clear that no time-limit or no-parking rule is enforceable unless the corresponding sign or curb marking is physically in place at the time of the alleged violation, so unauthorized or missing paint cuts both ways for enforcement. 653: fifty dollars for parking in a taxiway, runway, handicapped zone, or fire zone, and ten dollars for most other parking violations, cut in half if paid within three business days. 63 RCW after 15 days. This curb-painting authority is airport-specific; the county has not adopted a separate curb-marking ordinance for streets outside Snohomish County Airport property.
Violations & Fines
Painting a curb or lettering a parking sign at Snohomish County Airport without the airport manager's permission violates SCC 15.08.652(3). Related parking-color violations, like parking in a marked fire zone or handicapped stall, carry a $50 civil penalty under SCC 15.08.653(1)(a); most other marked-zone violations run $10, halved if paid within three business days, escalating to a traffic infraction after 15 days unpaid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business at the airport paint its own curb markings?
What color curb means no parking at the airport?
What happens if I get fined for parking in a marked zone at the airport?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
Compare Snohomish County to another location·View the Washington parking rules overview
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