Pasco, WA

Pasco bans car stereo sound audible more than 75 feet from the vehicle and exhaust noise from any engine lacking a muffler. Curbside speaker or radio broadcasts on public streets are…

Pasco bars amplified music, sound amplifiers, and similar devices from being audible in a residential district between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Outdoor loudspeakers used for advertising or…

Pasco enforces a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. quiet period in residential districts, during which amplified sound, unamplified voices, construction, and power tools become public disturbance…

A Pasco animal violates the noise ordinance if it can be heard continuously inside a structure off the owner's property for more than five minutes without provocation. Habitual barking…

Pasco bans construction, excavation, demolition, or building alteration noise in residential districts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Temporary residential construction sounds are…

Pasco requires a recorded disclosure statement on plats near the Tri-Cities Airport warning buyers of aircraft noise, vibration and low-altitude overflights. The city does not cap…

Pasco caps outdoor noise by matching the EDNA (Environmental Designation for Noise Abatement) class of the source to the receiving property, with limits from 55 to 70 dBA under PMC…

Pasco dogs off their owner's property must be controlled by an 8-foot or shorter leash or kept at heel. A dog found away from home without a responsible person in control is prima…

Pasco adopts RCW 16.30 by reference to ban possession of potentially dangerous wild animals, naming bobcats specifically, along with any hybrid or cross-mix of such species.

Cat licensing is optional in Pasco, unlike mandatory dog licensing, and only requires proof of rabies vaccination plus a fee. A stray or at-large cat is still declared a nuisance and…

Pasco does not ban dog breeds by name; instead the Poundmaster can declare any individual animal potentially dangerous or dangerous, requiring an annual permit, a $250,000 bond or…

Feeding fowl, farm animals, or wildlife anywhere in a Pasco city park is unlawful unless the Director of Administrative and Community Services has designated that specific area for…

Pasco has no dedicated apiary permit or hive-setback ordinance; PMC 9.90.040(2) instead lists bees among the animals that become a public nuisance only if kept in a way that creates…

Pasco lets single-family lots of at least 5,000 square feet keep up to three chicken hens and three rabbits under PMC 25.45.030(8), with dogs and cats folded into the same six-animal…

Pasco's residential zoning code caps households at three dogs and three cats as an accessory use of a home. Larger lots between 5,000 and 22,000 square feet with a single-family home…

Veterinary clinics are a permitted, by-right use on lots zoned AP-20, AP-40 and RR-5 in unincorporated Franklin County, but only a conditional use requiring a special permit in the…

Pasco licenses only 8 retail fireworks sellers and 2 wholesale distributors per year, all limited to temporary stands in commercial zones. Retail sales run on set dates around June…

PMC 8.05.230 bars all outdoor burning in Pasco unless it is specifically allowed under Regulation 1 of the Benton-Franklin-Walla Walla Counties Air Pollution Control Authority and the…

Pasco requires interconnected smoke alarms between an accessory dwelling unit and the primary residence when an attached ADU uses the alternative to standard fire separation, under PMC…

Pasco regulates propane and other liquefied-petroleum gas installations by adopting NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, alongside the state mechanical and fuel-gas codes under…

Franklin County's amended fire code sets exact clearance distances for storing hay, straw, and similar agricultural products near buildings and combustibles in unincorporated Franklin…

Washington adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code statewide under RCW 19.27.560, effective July 1, 2023. New construction in designated WUI areas must meet…

Pasco can order restricted or scheduled irrigation days and hours at any time, and its piped irrigation water utility only runs April through October each year. Outside that season…

Pasco treats any tree, shrub, or vegetation that overhangs or obstructs a sidewalk, street, or alley as a public nuisance the property owner must abate. PMC 12.12.110 backs that with…

Pasco requires a Director's permit before removing or heavily pruning any tree with a trunk over four inches in diameter growing in a planting strip, drainage swale, or other public…

Inside Pasco's Broadmoor Overlay District, PMC 25.97.095(1)(b) tells developers to draw their plant palette from the Washington Native Plant List for Franklin County and to use…

PMC 9.90.040(16) declares weeds, noxious weeds, and grass a nuisance once they reach 12 inches tall, encroach on sidewalks or neighboring property, damage improvements, or block…

Franklin County allows compost boxes or piles as an accessory use in any residential zoning district, but only in rear yards, kept at least five feet from any adjoining property line…

Washington law expressly permits rooftop rainwater collection for onsite use without a water right permit, preempting any municipal prohibition on basic harvesting.

Pasco bans parking any vehicle of 14,000 pounds or more, on or off the street, in a residential zone, with a narrow exception for deliveries. In commercial or industrial zones, trucks…

Pasco's City Engineer designates curb loading zones for passengers and freight, marking each with a 'LOADING ZONE - NO PARKING' sign and yellow curb paint. PMC 10.75.010 reserves that…

Pasco enforces the state Model Traffic Ordinance's stopping and standing rules on every City street: parking in front of a driveway, on the wrong side of the road, or more than 12…

Pasco bars single-family front yards from parking five or more cars and confines vehicle storage there to the area between the garage or parking slab and the right-of-way, per PMC…

Pasco allows electric vehicle charging stations as an accessory use in any zone under PMC 25.165.205, but only a private battery charging station is permitted in a residential…

Pasco treats a vehicle held by a tow operator for 96 consecutive hours as legally abandoned, and any junk motor vehicle or hulk left on private property is a declared public nuisance…

Pasco caps overnight parking to two hours between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. in three named downtown City lots under PMC 10.65.070, including the lot at the Pasco Farmers' Market…

Pasco bans storing a boat, motor home, trailer, camper, or snowmobile on any public street or right-of-way, but allows an owner to park one in front of their own property for up to 72…

Washington caps what a private-property tow can cost. Under RCW 46.55.118, a class A, D or E tow truck operator's filed hourly towing rate cannot exceed 135 percent of the State…

Pasco allows a home business only as a use clearly subordinate to a residence, licensed through the Business Licensing Service and reviewed by the Director of Community and Economic…

Pasco caps home business client access under PMC 25.150.040(9)-(10): visits run at most four hours a day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., no more than two client vehicles on site at once…

Pasco allows no signs, displays, or other advertisement on the property for a licensed home occupation, and bars off-premises media from listing the business address, under PMC…

Pasco allows family day care homes as a permitted accessory use in every single-family zone, but only if the operator complies with state licensing under WAC 388-73 and the same…

Washington runs a cottage food permit through the state Department of Agriculture, not through the local health district. Under RCW 69.22.030 the permit is issued for two years and…

Washington has no microenterprise home kitchen permit. WAC 246-215-08300 bars operating a food establishment without a permit from the local health jurisdiction, and the one permit…

Pasco requires accessory dwelling units to be occupied on a long-term residential basis only. PMC 25.161.040(3)(b) bars transient or short-term vacation rental use and requires…

Pasco does not require owner-occupancy to build an accessory dwelling unit, but it offers owner-occupancy as one path to a reduced fire-separation standard for an attached ADU built…

Pasco allows one attached or one detached ADU on any residential lot with a legal single-family home, processed as a ministerial or administrative permit with no public hearing. Size…

In Pasco's R-15 low density district, storage buildings are capped at 480 square feet total and 15 feet in height, with container storage barred entirely. Citywide, accessory…

In unincorporated Franklin County, leasing an individual parcel for a tiny house or tiny home with wheels (as defined in RCW 35.21.686) is only allowed through the binding site plan…

Pasco caps fences, walls, and hedges at three and a half feet in front yards under PMC 25.180.050(1)(c), with an extra 1.5 feet of at-least-85-percent transparent material allowed up…

Pasco bans barbed and razor wire fencing in all residential districts, the office district, and the central business district under PMC 25.180.050(1)(g), and bars electrified fences…

Pasco's residential (mobile/factory-assembled home) park rules say a permit may be required to erect, enlarge, alter, or repair a fence or site screen on a home site, with the work…

Stack a fence or hedge on top of a retaining wall in unincorporated Franklin County and the combined height cannot exceed nine and one-half feet. Franklin County Code Section…

Washington's partition fence law requires adjoining landowners using a boundary fence for livestock to share construction and maintenance costs equitably under RCW 16.60.

Pasco requires residential pools, spas, and hot tubs to be built under the adopted International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, PMC 16.60.010, and to meet the same yard setbacks as the…

Every outdoor pool, spa, and hot tub in Pasco must sit behind a nonclimbable barrier at least five feet tall with a self-closing, self-latching gate, under PMC 16.60.020. The fence…

Washington requires short-term rental operators to maintain at least $1 million in primary liability insurance, or to operate through a platform providing equivalent coverage, under…

Washington imposes statewide sales tax and lodging taxes on short-term rental stays under 30 days. Operators must register with the Department of Revenue, collect applicable taxes, and…

Pasco levies a 4 percent special excise tax on every hotel, motel, tourist court, rooming house, or trailer camp charge for lodging under Chapter 3.10 PMC. The Washington Department of…

Pasco enforces the state-adopted Uniform Plumbing Code under PMC 16.20, requiring a permit for plumbing work with a $50.00 minimum permit fee. Violators face fines up to $500.00 per…

Pasco requires a fire sprinkler system in any accessory dwelling unit that exceeds the maximum allowed distance to a fire hydrant, under PMC 25.161.040(6)(c), on top of the ADU…

Pasco requires all construction to conform to the state-adopted International Building Code(s) under PMC 16.05.010. New construction, enlargement, repair, moving, removal, demolition…

Pasco charges a minimum inspection fee under PMC 16.05.090 whenever the Building Official conducts an incidental building or fire code inspection that isn't tied to an active, issued…

Pasco bans smoking and tobacco use at Peanuts Park and the Farmers Market, and within 25 feet of any park shelter, playground, swimming pool, athletic field, or restroom. The city…

Pasco bars loitering or prowling in a place, time, or manner unusual for law-abiding people when the circumstances suggest criminal intent or warrant alarm for safety. Officers must…

Pasco does not single out "aggressive" panhandling; it bans all panhandling on the premises of any retail, commercial, or food service business citywide, and the code itself calls…

Pasco bans skateboards, in-line skates, roller skates, and bicycles on tennis courts and stages in city parks outright, and can extend the ban to any other park area simply by posting…

Pasco makes urinating or defecating anywhere other than a washroom or toilet a criminal "lewd act" under PMC 9.25.030 whenever it happens where any member of the public could see it…

Pasco makes it unlawful to open, possess, display, or consume liquor in any City park or recreation building without a current rental permit under PMC 9.40.020. Getting that permit…

Pasco sorts lodging businesses into two tax classes for its Tourism Promotion Area special assessment under PMC 3.15.020. Class A hotels, motels, and larger lodging operators pay a…

Pasco runs a storm water management utility under Chapter 13.80 PMC that charges monthly fees by parcel type, from $6.85 for a single-family home to $34.25 for large commercial parking…

Pasco requires a development permit before any construction, fill, or manufactured home placement begins in a mapped area of special flood hazard. The Director of Community and…

Pasco regulates every dock, pier, or mooring buoy on the Columbia and Snake rivers under its Shoreline Master Program. A shoreline substantial development permit is required unless the…

Pasco requires every portion of a lot not landscaped or covered by improvements to be maintained so it controls erosion and dust under PMC 25.180.050(5). Front yard areas that lack the…

New and substantially improved homes in Pasco's mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor, including any basement, built at least one foot above base flood elevation…

Where a proposed home in unincorporated Franklin County sits more than 500 feet from a working fire hydrant or approved suppression system, Franklin County Code § 8.40.080 requires…

Washington's Shoreline Management Act (RCW 90.58) requires Shoreline Substantial Development Permits for most construction within 200 feet of marine and freshwater shorelines statewide.

Pasco bars camping and storing personal property on any street, sidewalk, park, or public place unless the Administrative and Community Services Director designates the area for it…

Between 6 a.m. and midnight, PMC 9.80.035 bars sitting or lying on a sidewalk or right-of-way across specific downtown Pasco blocks, with a separate 24-hour ban on sitting or lying on…

Pasco bars air conditioners, fans, and blowers from causing a noise disturbance across a residential property line between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The same nighttime rule covers powered…

Franklin County Code § 8.24.010(B)(2) makes sound from a horn or siren attached to a motor vehicle a public noise disturbance in unincorporated Franklin County, unless it is warning of…

Pasco households may hold only two yard sales per calendar year, and each sale cannot run longer than two consecutive days. A free permit from the Finance office is required at least…

Taxicab and TNC operators cannot pick up or drop off at the Pasco Transportation Depot without a written Depot License Agreement with the City. The City can deny an agreement at its…

Pasco makes it unlawful to operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle on any bicycle trail, walking path, or bicycle lane. PMC 10.100.080(3) is part of the WATV chapter adopted in 2021, and…

Pasco police may run automated cameras for stoplight, railroad crossing, and speed violations in school, hospital, and park zones under PMC 10.31.010, but only at City Council-approved…

Washington splits small street-legal vehicles into three statutory classes by top speed, and the rules for each are different. A golf cart tops out at 20 mph and may use public streets…

Pasco sets minimum building setbacks by housing type across the R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 residential zones under PMC 25.22.050. Detached single-family homes need a 15-foot front setback…

Pasco caps residential lot coverage at 60 percent for detached single-family and multifamily buildings across the R-1 through R-4 zones under PMC 25.22.060 and Table 25.22.060(1)…

Pasco limits single-family homes to 35 feet in the R-1 and R-2 zones and 40 feet in R-3 and R-4 under Table 25.22.060(1) in PMC 25.22.060, with accessory buildings capped at 15 feet in…

Pasco lets residents block unwanted door-to-door contact under Chapter 5.70 PMC. A posted 'No Soliciting' sign bars commercial solicitors, and 'No Soliciting of Any Kind' bars every…

Pasco requires anyone acting as a solicitor within the city to first obtain a license under PMC 5.65.020. Applicants file with the City Clerk, undergo a Chief of Police character…

Pasco requires every mobile vendor, including food trucks, to hold a mobile vending license before operating under PMC 5.75.020. Licenses run one year, are non-transferable, and…

Pasco confines mobile food vending to commercial and industrial areas under PMC 5.75.090(4): vending permits are not issued for residential areas. Vendors also cannot operate within 5…

Pasco caps sidewalk food-cart vending at two hours per location under PMC 5.75.090(3)(b) and requires vendors to keep a 3-foot pedestrian clear zone and avoid blocking wheelchair ramps…

Pasco requires a separate annual adult entertainment facility business license from the City Manager before any adult cabaret, arcade or similar business can operate, on top of the…

Pasco requires anyone doing business as a secondhand dealer, including flea market sellers operating more than three times a year, to obtain a City license under PMC 5.80.020 and keep…

Pasco pawnbrokers must hold a City license under PMC 5.80.020, keep a fixed place of business in the city or state under PMC 5.80.030, and cannot sell pledged property until both the…

No one may operate a massage business or work as a massage practitioner in Pasco without a City business license, and applicants must attach a copy of their Washington State massage…

Pasco prohibits tattoo parlors from operating in its central business, retail business, business park, office, and regional commercial districts, and in every residential zone, under…

Registered tow truck operators towing unauthorized vehicles in Pasco must post signage on private lots, obtain written impound authorization, and follow strict notice and storage rules…

Pasco outright prohibits vehicle repair, maintenance, motor rebuilding, painting vehicles, and welding as licensed home occupations, treating them as hazardous or nuisance-generating…

Washington RCW 70.345 requires licensing for vapor product retailers, distributors, and delivery sellers, with state Department of Revenue oversight and tax collection.

Vendors at a Pasco street fair or festival fall under the City's temporary special sales event rules: the promoter must list every participating vendor by name and address, and the…

Pasco requires a special events permit for any parade on public or private roadways, sidewalks, parks or places, applied for at least 30 days in advance through the City Clerk. The…

A Pasco special events permit that includes closing a street or intersection, the mechanism used for a block party, requires a signed indemnity agreement, $1,000,000 in liability…

Pasco lets an eligible food and beverage business convert one to three on-street parking spaces into a parklet under a public space permit, but the platform must sit flush with the…

Pasco restaurants, cafes and bars need a public space cafe permit to extend seating onto the sidewalk, and the sidewalk cafe must keep at least a 3-foot pedestrian clear zone plus a…

Groups wanting to use a Pasco city park beyond its 10:00 p.m. closing time, or for an organized recreation event, need a permit from the Administrative and Community Services Director…

Pasco Municipal Code 8.05.050 makes trash collection compulsory: no one but the City's contracted hauler may collect, transport, process, compact, or dispose of solid waste within city…

PMC 8.05.160 lets Pasco residents bundle boxes, shrubs, and small tree limbs under six inches in diameter for collection, but caps each bundle at five feet in length, two feet in…

PMC 8.05.190 gives Pasco the option, not a standing mandate, to require households and businesses to separate paper, swill, or other components of their refuse and deposit them in…

PMC 8.05.090 confines residential trash cans to the rear of the front yard setback line the rest of the week. Carts may only sit at the curb during a fixed 24-hour window: from 7:00…

PMC 8.05.130 makes it unlawful for anyone except City or contractor agents to scavenge or salvage solid waste or recyclable materials from carts set out for collection. Once materials…

PMC 8.05.210 sets minimum pickup frequency: residential solid waste must be collected at least once a week, public food establishments need pickup at least daily whenever open (except…

Pasco's solid waste code makes it a violation to transport solid waste over city streets and alleys and dump it anywhere other than an authorized disposal site, except loads headed to…

Pasco requires trash collection areas in commercial and industrial zones to be screened from residential property under PMC 25.180.040. Screening must use a six-foot sight-obscuring…

Pasco's parks open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. every day under the park code. Anyone found in a park after closing without a permit, or in an area posted closed, is guilty of…

Washington does not impose a statewide juvenile curfew; cities may enact local curfews under general police powers, subject to constitutional limits.

Pasco assigns sidewalk repair and replacement cost to the property owner next door, not the City. PMC 12.04.140 lets the City order repairs when an owner's actions cause damage, and…

PMC 9.80.010 makes it a misdemeanor to stand, remain, or congregate on a Pasco street, alley, or sidewalk in a way that blocks free passage and refuse to yield to another person's…

Before working in or on a Pasco public right-of-way, from sidewalks and curb cuts to any other encroachment, PMC 12.04.040 requires a right-of-way permit from the City. The permit fee…

Pasco exempts private and commercial holiday lighting from its outdoor lighting chapter entirely, so the citywide shielding, approved-source, and midnight curfew rules that apply to…

Pasco caps digital billboards at an 8-second minimum message change, a 2-second transition, and 0.3 foot-candle brightness over ambient light measured at 150 feet, with a mandatory…

Pasco lets political signs sit in the road right-of-way and on private property, including fences, with the owner's consent, and needs no sign permit at all. Campaign signs on private…

Pasco caps window signs in office and commercial districts at 25 percent coverage of the transparent window area, no permit required. Window signs may show credit card logos plus…

Pasco limits yard sale signs to four per permitted sale, two square feet each, with a legible two-inch address, and requires a free no-fee permit from the Finance Office. Signs cannot…

Pasco's public nuisance code (PMC Chapter 9.90) lists 21 specific conditions that count as reportable violations, from litter and junk storage to weeds over 12 inches tall and…

Pasco police and code enforcement cannot act on most noise complaints unless an identifiable resident, property owner, or employee in the affected area actually files a report. PMC…

Flying a remote control or motorized model aircraft, drone, rocket, or watercraft in a Pasco city park is unlawful unless the Director has set aside a specific spot for it or issued a…

Commercial drone operations in Washington are governed by FAA Part 107, with state law adding criminal liability for invasive uses and limited authority over state-owned land.

Pasco puts the job of clearing snow, ice, litter, and debris off an abutting sidewalk on the private property owner next door, not the City. PMC 12.04.140 makes ignoring a City cleanup…

PMC 9.90.040 declares a nuisance any "filthy, littered or trash-covered ... vacant lots" and any lot where dead plantings for over three frost-free months let weeds spread onto…

Pasco declares decayed, damaged, or unsafe buildings and premises public nuisances under PMC 16.70.020 and can order owners to repair, vacate, or demolish them through the Code…

Pasco splits the city into two lighting zones and requires every outdoor lighting system to be shielded so the shield's edge sits level with or below the light source's center, keeping…

Pasco's outdoor lighting chapter expressly includes billboard lighting as a regulated fixture. Illuminating an outdoor sign or billboard with light projected above the horizontal…

Franklin County requires outdoor residential lighting in all residential zoning districts to be arranged so it does not become a nuisance to passing traffic or adjoining residential…

In the Broadmoor Overlay District, PMC 25.97.095(2) requires street trees along every public street frontage, spaced no more than 30 feet apart center to center where spacing is…

Pasco bans filth, garbage, decaying matter and excrement that draw rats and vermin on any property, giving owners three days to abate once the City Manager's designee gives notice…

Pasco lets a planned unit development exceed the underlying zone's maximum density by up to 20 percent. The Hearing Examiner grants the bump only after finding the project provides…

Pasco's downtown overlay district (PMC Chapter 25.95) waives off-street parking and density-threshold rules for infill projects within 300 feet of the downtown core, while banning…

Pasco lets property owners reduce turf through xeriscaping under PMC 25.180.030 and .080, but does not mandate turf removal. Residential front yards must still keep at least 50 percent…

In Pasco's aquifer recharge areas, reclaimed water reuse projects must follow the adopted water and sewer comprehensive plans approved by the Departments of Ecology and Health. Surface…

Pasco's Shoreline Master Program requires removal of noxious weeds and invasive species within shoreline jurisdiction to be built into every management and mitigation plan, so the…

Pasco requires cannabis retail stores to sit at least 1,000 feet from schools, playgrounds, parks, libraries, transit centers, recreation centers, child care centers, and under-21…

Pasco caps state-licensed cannabis retail stores at three citywide, or four if one holder is a social equity licensee, and allows them only in zoning districts the code specifically…

Washington uniquely prohibits recreational home cultivation of cannabis statewide, with cultivation only permitted by licensed producers and qualifying medical patients.

Pasco designates local landmarks through the City of Pasco Register of Historic Resources under PMC 20.15, open to any building, site, object or district at least 50 years old with the…

Pasco enforces rental and residential habitability standards by adopting the International Property Maintenance Code as its official housing code under PMC 16.30.010. The City…

For nonpayment of rent, a Washington landlord must serve a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice in the form set by RCW 59.18.057 before filing an unlawful detainer under RCW 59.12.030…

Washington RCW 59.18.650 requires landlords to have one of 16 enumerated lawful causes to terminate most residential tenancies statewide.

RCW 59.18.150 requires a Washington landlord to give at least two days' written notice before entering to inspect, repair, or maintain the unit, and at least one day's notice to show…

Under RCW 59.18.170, a Washington landlord may not charge any late fee on rent paid within five days of its due date; a fee may begin only once rent is more than five days past due…

Under RCW 59.18.200, a Washington tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 20 days' written notice. A landlord, however, cannot end a periodic tenancy at will: RCW…

Washington bars cities from passing local rent control under RCW 35.21.830, and that preemption still stands. But in 2025 the state enacted its first statewide rent-increase cap. Under…

Under RCW 59.18.140, a Washington landlord must give at least 90 days' prior written notice before raising rent (30 days for income-based subsidized housing). The 2025 Rent…

Washington sets no dollar cap on residential security deposits, but it controls how they are collected and returned. A landlord may collect a deposit only with a written rental…

Washington's general adverse possession period is 10 years under RCW 4.16.020, requiring possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous. A shorter…

Installing residential solar panels in unincorporated Franklin County without structural alterations costs a flat $100 permit fee under the county's building permit fee table…

Washington RCW 64.38.055 voids homeowner association rules prohibiting solar panel installation, allowing only reasonable placement rules. RCW 64.90.510 gives the same protection to…

Franklin County Code Chapter 3.08 authorizes card rooms in the unincorporated area only when they operate under a Washington State Gambling Commission license, then taxes their gross…

Washington exempts bona fide charitable and nonprofit organizations from Gambling Commission licensing when raffle, bingo, or amusement-game revenue stays under $5,000 a year…

Washington law defines a "player" under RCW 9.46.0265 as someone who gambles on equal terms with no profit beyond personal winnings. A private card game among friends is legal without…

Sports betting is legal in Washington only at tribal casinos operating under a class III gaming compact amended to include it, as RCW 9.46.0364 authorizes following ESHB 2638 (2020 c…

Franklin County Code Chapter 5.12 shields agricultural activities on farmland and forest practices in the unincorporated county from nuisance lawsuits, presuming them reasonable unless…

Washington's Growth Management Act under RCW 36.70A.170 requires counties and cities to designate and protect agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance through zoning.

Washington RCW 49.46 sets a statewide minimum wage adjusted annually for inflation; as of 2026 it is $17.13 per hour. Washington does not preempt local minimum wages, so several cities…

Washington RCW 49.46.200 mandates paid sick leave for nearly all employees, and RCW 50A.04 provides paid family and medical leave funded by payroll premiums.

Washington issues concealed pistol licenses under RCW 9.41.070 on a shall-issue basis to qualified applicants, with statewide preemption preventing local concealed carry rules.

Washington RCW 9.41.290 broadly preempts local firearm regulation, reserving authority over firearm laws to the state legislature with very limited exceptions.

Washington allows open carry of firearms by qualified adults without a permit, with limited statutory restrictions and broad preemption barring most local open carry rules.

Washington RCW 9.41.050 governs carrying firearms in vehicles statewide, requiring a concealed pistol license to carry a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle.

Washington has two regimes. Communities created on or after July 1, 2018 fall under WUCIOA (RCW 64.90), whose lien carries a 6-month super-priority over first mortgages and can be…

Washington requires HOA board meetings to be open to owners and gives owners broad record-access rights. WUCIOA communities follow RCW 64.90.445 (open meetings) and RCW 64.90.495…

Washington HOAs may adopt and enforce rules and architectural standards and enforce the recorded declaration. Under WUCIOA, RCW 64.90.405 authorizes rule adoption and enforcement…

This right applies only within Washington homeowners' associations governed by the Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW: communities formed before July 1, 2018, excluding…

Washington homeowners associations and condo boards may not prohibit or unreasonably restrict a unit owner's electric vehicle charging station installed for personal, noncommercial use…

Washington's older Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW, applies to HOAs formed before July 1, 2018 that have not opted into the newer Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act…

Both Washington regimes let HOAs impose reasonable fines, but only after notice and an opportunity to be heard and only under a fine schedule already adopted by the board and furnished…

Washington associations do hold a super-lien. Under RCW 64.90.485(3)(a)(i) of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, an association's lien jumps ahead of a first…

Washington condominium and HOA boards cannot cap or ban unit leasing by ordinary board rule. RCW 64.90.510(10)(c) lets a board restrict leasing only to the extent the rule mirrors…

Washington does not operate sobriety checkpoints, and no section of the Revised Code of Washington authorizes one. The only suspicionless power to stop a driver that the Legislature…

Washington is an all-party consent state, and the rule lives in the Washington Privacy Act at RCW 9.73.030. That section reaches only a private communication or a private conversation…

Washington has no general stop-and-identify statute. Someone stopped on a sidewalk in Seattle, Spokane or Tacoma and asked who they are has no statutory duty to answer, and staying…

Washington has no statute telling an adult driver what happens when an officer asks to search the car, and there is no logging or written-consent requirement of the kind Texas and…

Washington RCW 70A.530 bans single-use plastic carryout bags statewide and requires retailers to charge a pass-through fee for compliant paper or reusable bags.

Washington RCW 70A.245 bans expanded polystyrene foam food service containers, packing peanuts, and coolers in phases starting June 2024 to combat plastic pollution.

Washington RCW 70A.550 limits single-use food service ware including plastic straws and utensils to upon-request distribution at restaurants and food service businesses.

Washington RCW 26.28.080 sets the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and vapor products at 21, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 standards statewide.

Washington has not enacted a statewide flavored tobacco ban, leaving flavor restrictions to limited Department of Health authority and federal FDA enforcement on flavored vapor…

Washington splits its extra-lighting rules between the statute and the State Patrol's rules, and the part most drivers care about lives in the rules. RCW 46.37.180 allows up to two…

Washington has no statute that names dash cameras, so mounting one is governed by a single test in RCW 46.37.410(2): no sign, poster or other nontransparent material may sit on the…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in Washington. RCW 46.61.608(3) states flatly that no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Washington bans license plate covers outright. RCW 46.16A.200(7)(c)(i) makes it unlawful to use license plate holders, frames, covers, or other materials that conceal, obstruct…

Nothing in Washington law restricts a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. Chapter 46.37 RCW, the vehicle equipment chapter that fixes fog lamp mounting heights to the inch…

Washington allows metal studded tires only in the winter half of the year. RCW 46.37.420(2) makes it unlawful to use metal studs imbedded within the tire between April 1st and November…

Washington lets you tint every window except the windshield down to 24 percent light transmission, with outward reflectance capped at 35 percent, but RCW 46.37.430(5)(a) measures that…