Bellevue, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- BCC 14.06, Trees, Weeds and Vegetation
- Duty
- Abutting owner must trim obstructing vegetation
- Penalty
- Fine up to $300 or 90 days jail
- Enforcement
- Transportation and parks departments
- Unabated nuisance
- City abates, cost becomes a lien
Summary
Bellevue property owners must trim or remove trees, shrubs and vegetation that overhang or obstruct a sidewalk, street or public right-of-way. BCC 14.06.010 declares overgrowth that blocks pedestrian passage, blocks sight lines at intersections, or fouls utility lines a public nuisance, and the abutting owner bears the legal duty to abate it under BCC 14.06.020 and 14.06.030.
Trees, plants, shrubs, vegetation or parts thereof which so overhang any sidewalk or street, or public right-of-way, or which are growing thereon in such manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk or street by the public or to obstruct vision of the improved portion of a public right-of-way or intersection of streets or which damage, obstruct or endanger power lines, cables, conduits, sewers or drains rightfully located within a public right-of-way, or which have grown or died upon any property and are a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety or welfare are a public nuisance. It is the duty of the owner of the property wherein or whereon any such nuisance exists or of the property abutting the street wherein or whereon such nuisance exists to abate the same by trimming, destroying or removing such growing or dead growth.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 6929, passed July 14, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 makes it a public nuisance for trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation to overhang or grow onto a sidewalk, street or public right-of-way so that it obstructs or impairs pedestrians' free use of the walk, blocks sight lines at a street intersection, or interferes with power lines, cables, conduits, sewers or drains inside the right-of-way. The duty to correct that condition falls on the owner of the property where the growth exists, or on the owner of property abutting the street where the nuisance sits; either one must abate it by trimming, destroying or removing the offending growth.
030. 020. 040 requires the city to mail notice to the owner of record at the county treasurer's address, or post the property if no address is on file, describing the hazardous condition and warning that the city will do the work and bill the owner if the deadline passes. 050 lets the enforcing officer perform the trimming, removal or destruction, bill the property owner for the full cost of abatement, and record a lien against the property when the bill goes unpaid, foreclosed the same way as a labor-and-materials lien under state law.
060, sets a 25-foot wire clearance and lets the city direct a utility to trim trees fouling power or telephone lines after five days' written notice.
Violations & Fines
Refusing to trim or remove vegetation that obstructs a sidewalk, street or utility line after notice is a misdemeanor under BCC 14.06.020, punishable by a fine up to $300, up to 90 days in jail, or both. Separately, the city can bypass prosecution and simply abate the nuisance itself under BCC 14.06.030 and 14.06.050, billing the owner for the full cost and filing a lien against the property if the bill is not paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to trim a tree blocking a Bellevue sidewalk?
What happens if I ignore a City of Bellevue abatement notice?
Can I be fined for a hedge that blocks the sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bellevue
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Obstruction Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle obstruction rules.