Unincorporated Snohomish County effectively requires an owner-occupied STR: SCC 30.28.020(3)(c) states the owner shall operate the facility and reside on the premises. The lodging must be within the owner's single-family residence, so absentee whole-house short-term rentals are not permitted as bed-and-breakfasts.
SCC 30.28.020(3)(c) requires that "the owner shall operate the facility and reside on the premises." The definitions reinforce this: SCC 30.91B.040 and 30.91B.050 describe guest rooms available "within a single family residence" plus outbuildings. Because guest rooms are part of the owner's home (kitchens are not allowed in individual guest rooms), the county's bed-and-breakfast framework is built around a resident host rather than an investor-owned, unhosted rental. Investors seeking unhosted rentals would generally not qualify under this use in the unincorporated county.
Operating as an absentee, non-owner-occupied rental falls outside the approved bed-and-breakfast use and is a land-use violation subject to county code enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County prohibits cruelty, neglect, and abandonment of animals under SCC 9.12.080. Failing to provide adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, med...
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County's animal code does not set a general backyard wildlife-feeding ban. Feeding large carnivores such as bears and cougars is prohibited by Wash...
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County has no ordinance banning backyard composting, and it is encouraged for yard waste. In the unincorporated county, residential solid-waste and...
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County has no ordinance prohibiting or specifically permitting artificial turf in residential yards. In required development landscaping, the code ...
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County does not require native landscaping for homeowners, but Title 30 rewards it: development landscape plans that use Puget Sound indigenous spe...
Snohomish County, WA
Rooftop rainwater collection for outdoor use is allowed in Snohomish County with no water-right permit, following Washington's 2009 state policy. Storage tan...
See how Snohomish County's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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