Bothell, WA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

BMC 8.24.050 applies to any responsible person who maintains or allows a listed condition on real property they have charge of, control or occupy, whether visible or not from any public street, alley or residence. Three items name the vacant lot directly. Item E covers any and all junk, trash, litter, garbage, boxes, bottles, cans, discarded lumber, salvaged materials or other similar materials in any front, side or rear yard or vacant lot, except for materials being used for an immediate construction project on the premises. Item G covers broken or discarded furniture, furnishings, appliances, household equipment and other similar items in the same places. Item F adds attractive nuisances dangerous to children, such as abandoned or neglected equipment, refrigerators and freezers, excavations, shafts, or insufficiently supported walls or fences, and item I covers graffiti on a building, fence or other structure.

Vegetation is covered by item H. Premises means any building, lot, parcel, real estate, land or portion thereof whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips, so an unimproved lot has the same duty as a developed one. A fire hazard is dry and combustible vegetation including weeds, grass or clippings and dead bushes or trees; a health hazard includes noxious vegetation and vegetation or refuse harboring wild rats. BMC 8.24.045 puts the duty to destroy, remove or trim vegetation on the owner and any occupant, and extends it to adjacent planting strips and alleys.

The community development director enforces under Chapter 11.20 BMC. A notice of violation states the corrective action and a reasonable time for compliance, and you have 15 calendar days after service to request an appeal to the hearing examiner. If the owner does not act, BMC 8.24.060 B lets the city clean and level the premises, with the bill due within 30 days of billing and then a special assessment on the land.