Lakewood, WA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

LMC 18A.40.030 is the City of Lakewood's agricultural use-and-zoning table, and it is far more restrictive than a right-to-farm shield: it lists what farming activity survives inside city limits rather than protecting existing farms from nuisance complaints. Growing and harvesting crops, and operating plant nurseries and greenhouses, are permitted uses (Table 18A.40.030(A)) in nearly every residential, mixed-residential, commercial, and industrial district, and 18A.40.030(B)(2) allows selling produce on the property where it was grown, provided the operation is controlled against noise, dust, fertilizer or pesticide overspray, odor, and glare.

Livestock is the sharp edge. Subsection (B)(3)(b) prohibits peacocks, roosters, turkeys, ostriches, emus, similar birds, wild or exotic mammals, and cows, sheep, llamas, goats, swine, and other livestock in every zoning district citywide, with horses the sole exception. Under (B)(3)(c), horses and equestrian facilities in the R1 and R2 districts are grandfathered: only private or commercial equestrian uses already legally operating as of September 1, 2001, under Lakewood Ordinance No. 264, may continue, and only maintenance, repair, and replacement of the existing structures is allowed, not expansion.

Poultry, pigeons, ducks, rabbits, and similar small animals get a narrower allowance under (B)(3)(d): they may be kept as an accessory use to a dwelling on any lot if hutches sit back at least 10 feet from property lines, pens and aviaries sit back 20 feet, no more than 16 birds or similar mammals are kept per acre, and any aviary or loft caps out at 1,000 square feet.

Beekeeping runs on its own track under (B)(1): commercial apiaries need a Director-issued zoning certification, a signed compliance affidavit, hives 100 feet from public streets and 300 feet from any off-site residence, one-mile spacing from other commercial apiaries, and registration with the State Department of Agriculture under RCW 15.60.021. Noncommercial beekeepers on a lot of at least 6,000 square feet may keep up to three colonies, with hives capped at 6 feet tall, set back 5 feet from the property line and 10 feet from a neighboring dwelling, plus a 6-foot flight-dispersion barrier and a dedicated water source.