Whatcom County, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

WCC § 20.80.470(7) exempts noncommercial temporary signs placed in the public right-of-way from the county's standard sign-permit process, but only if they meet a specific set of placement rules. Subsection (b) is the obstruction rule: no such sign may obstruct or impair access to a public sidewalk, public or private street, driveway, traffic control sign, bus stop, fire hydrant, bench, or any other type of street furniture, and none may otherwise create a hazard, including a trip hazard. The rest of subsection (7) fills out the placement standard: the sign can only go in non-hard-surface areas of the right-of-way, must meet the vision-clearance rule in § 20.80.200(3), can only be mounted on a stake pushed or hammered into the ground (no other installation method is allowed absent a separate right-of-way use permit), cannot be placed in a right-of-way adjacent to a county or other government-owned facility, and must come down if it becomes worn, damaged, or a public nuisance. Size is capped at four square feet per side and three feet in height from the ground to the top of the sign.

This exemption differs from the county's other right-of-way sign category, public agency directional signs, which may be installed under a revocable encroachment permit instead of the stake-only rule. Both categories share the same obstruction standard, since paragraph (7)(b)'s no-obstruction language is cross-referenced into the public-agency sign exemption in § 20.80.470(6).