Auburn, WA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Ban covers
- all city parks except golf courses
- Noncombustible products banned
- e-cigarettes, vaping devices, chew, snuff, snus
- Combustible products banned
- cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipes, hookahs
- Penalty effective date
- May 5, 2020
- Violation penalty
- Class 3 civil infraction, Ch. 7.80 RCW
Summary
Auburn bans smoking, vaping, and all tobacco use in every city park except its golf courses under ACC 2.22.085. The rule covers e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, cigars, pipes, and hookahs alike, and it doesn't matter whether the product burns or just produces vapor: if it emits smoke or contains tobacco, it's illegal in the park.
A. In or on any park that is not a golf course, it is unlawful for any person to use tobacco products, to smoke, to vape, or to hold a smoking or vaping product that is lit or producing smoke. This prohibition includes both noncombustible products, like e-cigarettes or other vaping devices that produce smoke or vapor, and dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, or snus; and combustible products, like paper cigarettes, cigarillos, and cigars, pipes, and hookahs. If the product emits smoke or vapor, or contains tobacco, it is prohibited. B. Violation of this section constitutes a Class 3 civil infraction pursuant to Chapter 7.80 RCW.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 7023, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
085(A) reaches both noncombustible products, meaning e-cigarettes and other vaping devices that produce smoke or vapor, plus dipping tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, and snus, and combustible products, meaning paper cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipes, and hookahs. The standard is simple: if the product emits smoke or vapor, or contains tobacco at all, using it or even holding it lit or producing smoke violates the section anywhere in a park that isn't a golf course. Golf courses are the only carved-out park type; smoking and vaping there is not reached by this section.
The civil-infraction penalty in subsection B did not take effect immediately: a code reviser's note attached to Ordinance 6747 fixed its effective date at May 5, 2020, so the conduct ban started with the ordinance but the specific Class 3 penalty for it began that later date. 240, which lets an officer with probable cause order a violator out of the park and, for repeat conduct, issue a written admonishment excluding the person from all city park property for up to a year.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the smoking and vaping ban is a Class 3 civil infraction under Chapter 7.80 RCW, the lowest infraction class in the park code's penalty structure. Officers may detain a violator long enough to check identification and outstanding warrants under ACC 2.22.250. Repeated violations can escalate to a written park-exclusion admonishment of up to one year under ACC 2.22.240, and returning to a park during that exclusion period exposes the person to criminal trespass prosecution under Chapter 9A.52 RCW.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I vape in an Auburn city park?
Are Auburn's golf courses exempt from the park smoking ban?
What's the penalty for smoking in an Auburn park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Auburn
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.