Landscaping Rules in Washington (2026)

No one may plant, remove, trim, prune, or cut any tree between a Kent street's property line and the curb without a…

Mason County's landscaping code for the Shelton urban growth area, Mason County Code § 17.07.894, requires that any…

Auburn declares any tree, shrub or vine that overhangs a sidewalk, street or alley a public nuisance under ACC 8.20.010…

Bellevue makes it the abutting owner's duty to trim trees, shrubs or vegetation that overhang and obstruct a sidewalk…

Bellingham requires a city street tree permit before major pruning or removal of any tree in a planting strip or…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, owners and occupants must trim vegetation that overhangs any sidewalk within seven…

Clark County lets you prune and maintain trees, but landscaping required by the Unified Development Code must be kept…

Edmonds property owners along any street must prune private trees and other vegetation on their land so it does not…

Everett property owners must remove or trim any trees, shrubs, or vegetation that overhang or obstruct a public…

Kennewick requires seven feet of clear height over any sidewalk or bicycle path in the public right-of-way under KMC…

King County Code § 14.52.080 forbids removing or cutting back street trees and plantings in county road right-of-way if…

Kirkland puts street trees in the public right-of-way under city control: adjacent property owners must water and mulch…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, branches that overhang a sidewalk must be pruned to ten feet of clearance and…

Lynnwood's landscaping maintenance code requires branches to be trimmed to at least six feet of clearance above the…

Marysville requires the adjacent property owner to maintain and irrigate required street trees, and to keep landscaping…

In the City of Olympia, Washington, trees in streets and parking strips are public property under Olympia Municipal…

Pasco treats any tree, shrub, or vegetation that overhangs or obstructs a sidewalk, street, or alley as a public…

Routine pruning of ordinary yard trees is unregulated, but trees retained under an approved county landscape or…

Port Townsend requires eight feet of tree and vegetation clearance above sidewalks and 15 feet above streets, or it's a…

Renton treats low-hanging limbs as a public nuisance under RMC 1-3-3. Branches must clear at least 8 feet above a…

Richland requires the owner of property next to a public right-of-way tree to keep its branches pruned for sufficient…

Sammamish exempts routine tree pruning, limbing and general maintenance outside critical areas from its clearing and…

Property owners abutting a public sidewalk in Seattle must prune the street trees and vegetation fronting their lot so…

Shoreline's Development Code defines trees, shrubs, or vegetation that overhang and obstruct a sidewalk or street, or…

For new development, retained trees must be fenced at the drip line and not disturbed. Abutting owners may trim weeds…

Spokane Valley requires branches and vegetation to clear at least eight feet above a public walkway or sidewalk and 14…

Tacoma requires tree branches to clear at least 8 feet above sidewalks and 14 feet above streets. Vegetation that…

In unincorporated Walla Walla County, WWCC 12.26.050.B.5 bans trees, plants, shrubs or any part of them from…

Yakima requires owners to prune any tree overhanging a street or right-of-way to keep an 8-foot clear space above the…

When a utility or other right-of-way user must trim or remove trees interfering with its facilities in a Puyallup…

Spokane County's cable franchise code lets a franchisee trim trees that overhang county streets, alleys, sidewalks and…

Washington's Forest Practices Act (RCW 76.09) governs commercial timber harvest on forestlands statewide through…

Grays Harbor County requires trees within two hundred feet of Lake Quinault's ordinary high water mark to be retained…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, nobody can clear land or conduct a forest practice without first obtaining a forest…

Federal Way requires a director-approved tree retention plan before anyone removes trees on a site, with narrow…

Kent requires retention of significant trees on undeveloped property before development: KCC 15.08.240(B) mandates that…

A significant tree in Lakewood, defined as 9 inches or more in diameter, cannot be removed without a tree removal…

In unincorporated Lewis County, a "significant tree" is any healthy tree 24 inches or more in diameter at breast height…

Removing a tree anywhere in Lynnwood requires a tree removal permit under LMC 17.15.100 unless a narrow exemption…

In critical area buffers across unincorporated Mason County, MCC 8.52.170(4)(B) lets landowners fell danger trees…

In the City of Olympia, Washington, no tree of at least one inch d.b.h. comes down without an approved tree protection…

Sammamish requires a clearing and grading permit to remove trees above a set size: cutting a conifer under 8 inches DBH…

Seattle requires Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections approval in advance before any regulated tree can…

In the City of Shoreline, cutting or removing any tree counts as clearing under SMC § 20.50.300 and needs a permit from…

In a critical area or its buffer in unincorporated Skagit County, a landowner must get prior written approval from…

Removing a significant tree anywhere within the Lake Whatcom watershed requires a Whatcom County permit under WCC §…

Auburn requires developers to retain every "significant tree" (six-inch evergreens or four-inch deciduous trees)…

Bellevue caps how many significant or landmark trees you can remove without replanting, tied to lot size, under BCC…

Removing trees or clearing vegetation on private property anywhere in Bellingham requires a building, street or utility…

Clark County regulates tree removal mainly through the state Forest Practices Act (RCW 76.09) and CCC 40.260.080, plus…

In unincorporated Cowlitz County, removing a hazard or diseased tree from a mapped critical area or its buffer needs…

No one may remove, excessively prune, or top a significant tree, one at least six inches in diameter, anywhere in…

Development near a wetland, stream or slope buffer in Everett must fence off and protect any significant evergreen tree…

In the Freeland Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area of unincorporated Island County, site design must avoid or minimize…

Unincorporated King County requires a clearing and grading permit before cutting or removing trees, except for narrow…

Kirkland lets owners of developed property remove two to four regulated trees a year without a permit, scaled to lot…

Removing vegetation or a danger tree from a Native Growth Protection Easement in unincorporated Kitsap County requires…

In the City of Lacey, no one can harvest timber or clear land without a land clearing permit, a development approval…

When Marysville, Washington approves removing a significant tree from a new subdivision, the applicant must replace its…

Pasco requires a Director's permit before removing or heavily pruning any tree with a trunk over four inches in…

Pierce County has no standalone permit for cutting a tree on an ordinary developed private lot, but development sites…

Dead or dying trees under an approved tree conservation plan must be replaced within 180 days with an equivalent tree.

Removing or significantly pruning a street tree in Puyallup's public right-of-way requires a public works construction…

Under RMC 4-4-130, Renton residents may remove up to two significant trees a year, capped at five over five years…

Removing, pruning, cutting or otherwise disturbing any tree on Richland's public rights-of-way requires a permit from…

Retained or replacement significant trees on Snohomish County development sites cannot be removed unless a certified…

In unincorporated Spokane County, cutting trees for sale is a timber harvest under SCC Chapter 3.19, and a county…

Clearing five or more trees or removing more than six trees per acre per parcel in Spokane Valley requires a grubbing…

Removing a tree of 6 inches DBH or larger in Tacoma triggers a Canopy Loss Fee under TMC § 13.06.090B.3.e(3)(e)…

Developers must retain or replant trees to average 100 tree units per acre, with 30% of landmark trees and 70% of…

In areas of unincorporated Walla Walla County mapped as high-density wintering birds-of-prey habitat, a development…

Yakima can order removal of a dead or diseased private tree that threatens life, property, or spreads disease to other…

In unincorporated Yakima County, cutting down a tree inside a critical area buffer (stream, wetland or geologically…

RCW 17.10.140 makes every Washington landowner eradicate all Class A noxious weeds and control the spread of Class B…

Benton County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the Benton County Noxious Weed Control Board…

Every Pierce County landowner has an enforceable duty under RCW 17.10.140 to eradicate class A noxious weeds and…

Whatcom County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the county Noxious Weed Control Board, owners…

Yakima County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the county Noxious Weed Control Board, owners…

Auburn caps lawn grass on occupied residential lots at six inches under ACC 8.20.010(C); taller grass, weeds, brush or…

Bellingham caps weeds and plant growth on any premises at six inches under its amended Property Maintenance Code, with…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, Chapter 8.24 measures weeds and grass by hazard, not by a stated height. Owners and…

In the City of Burien, Washington, Burien Municipal Code § 8.45.020(5)(c)(vii) makes noxious or toxic weeds, tall grass…

Washington law RCW 17.10.140 requires every Clark County property owner to eradicate Class A noxious weeds and control…

Edmonds makes it a public nuisance to let uncultivated berry vines or state-classified Class B or C noxious weeds…

Everett requires every property owner to clear dead grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, or trees that become a fire hazard or…

Federal Way caps weeds and plant growth at six inches on developed property under its amended International Property…

Kennewick bans any Weed Hazard on premises you control. A Weed Hazard is dead or unirrigated grass, weeds or other…

Kent caps grass and weeds at six inches on every property except land zoned agricultural: KCC 8.07.050(B)(4) requires…

Unincorporated King County has no fixed inch limit on grass or weeds. Instead, the Fire Marshal or code official can…

Kirkland's Property Maintenance Code bans weeds and grass over eighteen inches tall on any premises or exterior…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, Lacey Municipal Code § 9.52.010 declares hazardous vegetation such as poison oak…

Lakewood, Washington caps weeds, brush and grass at an average height of 15 inches under LMC 8.52.010, and bans any…

Lynnwood, Washington declares residential lawn grass a public nuisance once it grows past eight inches, under Lynnwood…

Landscaping installed to meet Marysville's development code must be kept weed- and debris-free, with dead or diseased…

In the City of Olympia, Washington, premises and exterior property must be kept free from weeds or plant growth in…

PMC 9.90.040(16) declares weeds, noxious weeds, and grass a nuisance once they reach 12 inches tall, encroach on…

Port Townsend declares noxious weeds and overgrown right-of-way grass a nuisance, capping grass at 12 inches and tying…

Puyallup treats weeds, grass and other vegetation taller than 12 inches as a public nuisance once the fire chief or a…

Renton caps weeds and grass at 12 inches on developed lots and 24 inches on vacant land under the city's amended…

In the City of Richland, Washington, grass and weeds on a property that grow past six inches, or die and are left…

Seattle Municipal Code 10.52.020 declares vegetation constituting a fire, health, or safety hazard a public nuisance on…

Snohomish County has no set grass-height limit for residential yards, but every property owner must eradicate Class A…

State law (RCW 17.10) requires every Spokane County property owner to eradicate Class A noxious weeds and control…

Tacoma treats grass, weeds, or brush over one foot tall on any lot as a public nuisance the property owner must…

Thurston County has no general lawn or grass height limit for improved parcels; its weed ordinance instead targets…

On developed, urban-zoned lots in unincorporated Walla Walla County, grasses and weeds cannot average more than twelve…

Yakima caps hazardous vegetation on any premises at 12 inches; owners who don't cut it after a notice of violation face…

Washington Department of Ecology administers water rights and may issue drought emergency orders that override local…

Auburn has no standing odd/even watering-day schedule. Instead, the mayor can order water use restrictions and…

During a declared water shortage, Kirkland's public works director can forbid, restrict, or ration irrigation and other…

On county-run water systems, sprinkler and irrigation use is banned during active firefighting and outdoor watering can…

Yakima has no standing odd/even watering schedule; instead, once the city council declares a water-supply emergency…

Bellevue bans wasting utility water at all times under BCC 24.02.200, and any new or modified landscaping project of…

Water is Benton County's defining constraint. Washington follows prior appropriation, and the Yakima River Basin is…

Edmonds restricts lawn and garden irrigation only when the public works director declares a water shortage emergency…

Everett's utilities division can set specific hours for lawn and garden sprinkling, or ban it outright, during a water…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, the water department sets the sprinkling hours and controls any use of water for…

Customers of Lewis County's own water utility in unincorporated Lewis County face tiered outdoor watering cutbacks when…

During a water shortage, Lynnwood's water utility can forbid, restrict or ration irrigation, cooling and other water…

Marysville bans sprinkling or irrigating lawns, ground cover or shrubbery between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and on any…

Pasco can order restricted or scheduled irrigation days and hours at any time, and its piped irrigation water utility…

Puyallup Municipal Code § 14.02.110 makes it unlawful to waste water through excessive irrigation or sprinkling that…

In the City of Richland, Washington, RMC § 18.16.020 makes it unlawful to use more water for irrigation than reasonably…

New land divisions inside one of ten named surface water source limited watersheds in unincorporated Skagit County must…

New automatic in-ground irrigation systems in Tacoma must include an automatic clock, leak-detecting flow sensors…

Whatcom is wet, but water is still governed. Washington follows prior appropriation, and the entire Nooksack basin…

Water is Yakima's defining issue. Washington follows prior appropriation, and the Yakima River Basin is fully…

Kent has no standing lawn-watering schedule. Instead, KCC 7.13.030 lets the city council pass an emergency ordinance…

Seattle has no year-round lawn-watering-day schedule. SMC 21.04.500 lets the Director of Seattle Public Utilities ban…

Washington law expressly permits rooftop rainwater collection for onsite use without a water right permit, preempting…

Kitsap County lets owners of developed, unincorporated-area parcels retrofitted for rainwater harvesting apply for a…

Unincorporated Lewis County treats rainwater harvesting as a regulated plumbing installation, folding Uniform Plumbing…

Seattle does not require a rain barrel or cistern on any lot. Rainwater harvesting is one of the on-site stormwater…

In the City of Shoreline, rain barrels, cisterns and other rainwater catchment systems may encroach into a required…

Tacoma's zoning code lets rain barrels, tanks and cisterns encroach into a required yard setback, with size and…

Bellingham gives new or remodeled commercial buildings a 10 percent stormwater utility fee reduction for roof area…

Kent gives commercial building owners a stormwater utility bill credit for installing a rainwater harvesting system…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, the Lacey Municipal Code does not require or ban rainwater harvesting citywide. The…

Lynnwood's Unified Development Code lets rain barrels of 50 gallons or less project up to two feet into a required…

Pierce County credits roof rainwater collection systems against the county's stormwater utility service charge under…

Snohomish County doesn't require rainwater harvesting, but it pays commercial property owners for it: install a…

Thurston County doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting, but it rewards it. TCC § 15.06.020 defines rainwater harvesting…

Inside the Lake Whatcom Stormwater Utility Service Area, a new or remodeled commercial building gets a 10% credit off…

Yakima doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting, but new commercial or industrial buildings that install one can earn a 10%…

Rainwater harvesting is legal in Bellevue under Washington state policy; rooftop collection for irrigation and…

Unincorporated King County's landscaping code treats stored rainwater as an approved 'alternative water source' for…

Rainwater harvesting is legal in Kirkland for outdoor irrigation under WA Ecology Policy 1017; residential potable use…

Marysville doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting, but commercial buildings that install a qualifying system get at least…

Unincorporated Walla Walla County does not regulate rainwater harvesting directly, but WWCC 11.04.070(B) rewards it: a…

Yakima County doesn't regulate rain barrels on houses, but it does reward rainwater harvesting on commercial and…

Within Basin One of the Lake Whatcom watershed, Bellingham requires new residential development to permanently retain…

Clark County actively encourages native landscaping. Its development code favors compatibility with existing native…

Development within Edmonds's Firdale Village mixed-use zone must use native and drought-tolerant plants in at least 20…

Everett's landscaping code requires plant species native to the Pacific Northwest on any lot adjacent to a critical…

Landscape plans submitted for development in Kent must include a diversity of native, native-adapted and…

Kirkland's zoning code requires supplemental landscaping on developed lots to reach 80 percent living-plant coverage…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, required landscaping must use native regional plant materials or materials that…

Marysville requires xeriscape landscaping in commercial, multifamily, and shared common areas to use at least 50…

Seattle's Green Factor landscaping standard, set out in SMC 23.86.019, awards a 0.1 bonus multiplier to any landscaping…

New tree canopy planted to meet Snohomish County's development landscaping requirements can't be all one species. SCC…

Bellevue's right-of-way landscaping code favors native plant species when street-side vegetation must be replaced…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, required landscaping on new development is built from a plant list adopted by the…

Chelan County's planned unit development standards, at Chelan County Code § 11.76.090(7), push native, drought-tolerant…

Unincorporated King County requires new landscaping to use native or climate-adapted plants and encourages keeping…

Inside Pasco's Broadmoor Overlay District, PMC 25.97.095(1)(b) tells developers to draw their plant palette from the…

Spokane County's landscaping code directs developers to use native vegetation and retain existing plantings wherever…

Spokane Valley doesn't mandate native plants, but it rewards them. SVMC § 22.70.040(E)(1) lets a developer boost…

Benton County's high desert makes native and drought-tolerant landscaping a natural fit, and no local rule forces a…

Lakewood's landscaping code encourages, but does not itself mandate, native and drought-tolerant plants. LMC 18A.70.180…

Pierce County encourages native and drought-tolerant plantings and requires native-vegetation retention on many…

Port Townsend's nuisance code doesn't mandate a mowed lawn. Private yards can be planted in native or naturalized…

Tacoma requires all plants used to meet landscaping code requirements to be climate-adapted and explicitly permits…

Whatcom's wet marine climate favors native plantings and rain gardens over thirsty lawns, and no local rule forces…

Yakima's arid climate makes native and drought-tolerant landscaping a natural fit, and no local rule forces a grass…

Clark County has no ordinance banning residential artificial turf, and homeowners may install it in their yards. In…

In Sammamish's shoreline jurisdiction, SMC 25.07.080(2)(c)-(d) lets artificial turf count as required "yard" area…

Snohomish County treats artificial turf as non-vegetative landscape material under SCC 30.25.015(3). It can help…

Kirkland allows artificial turf in yards and counts it toward the lot coverage exemptions list under KZC 115.90(2)(g)…

Shoreline's development code treats artificial turf as landscaping subject to its hardscape rules: turf with a…

Port Townsend's zoning code counts artificial turf as an approved landscape material alongside lawn, gravel, and…

Yakima's zoning code defines "landscaping" to expressly include the placement of artificial turf, so synthetic turf…

Washington requires jurisdictions over 25,000 to provide organics collection and bans certain organic waste disposal…

Auburn bans mixing yard debris into the garbage or recycling stream and requires food scraps and yard waste to go into…

In unincorporated Island County, small-scale composting is exempt from the county's solid waste handling permit under…

Compost piles are allowed on private property, but PTMC 9.28.030 requires them to be contained within a physical…

Tacoma exempts a backyard compost pile from its vegetation-waste nuisance rule as long as it stays under two cubic…

Bellingham allows homeowners to compost yard waste on private property as long as the pile doesn't create odors, expose…

Federal Way allows residents to compost vegetable waste, ashes, leaves, grass and other organic debris on their own…

Franklin County allows compost boxes or piles as an accessory use in any residential zoning district, but only in rear…

Grays Harbor County allows a home compost pile or bin under Section 8.12.050 as an exception to its litter-accumulation…

Unincorporated King County's litter and dumping law carves out backyard composting: King County Code § 10.04.080(B)(1)…

Lakewood, Washington exempts small compost piles from its public nuisance rules under LMC 8.18.010(A): a pile stays…

Renton exempts small compost piles from its nuisance code under RMC 1-3-3. A pile stays lawful only if it is under 4…

Backyard composting is allowed in the City of Shoreline: Shoreline Municipal Code § 13.14.050 protects a compost pile…

Spokane Valley does not license or restrict backyard compost bins, but a pile must stay properly maintained or code…

Edmonds does not ban home composting. Under ECC 6.20.042(C)(1), a pile of perishable matter that could otherwise be a…

Unincorporated Lewis County exempts home composting from its solid waste rules. Lewis County Code § 8.45.030(7)…

Backyard residential composting is allowed and encouraged in Pierce County with no permit, but a compost pile that…

Unincorporated Walla Walla County carves household compost piles out of its debris-nuisance rule: a pile kept outside…