Spokane Valley, WA Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

SVMC § 22.70.080 governs dumpster screening for multifamily and nonresidential development: dumpsters must be enclosed on all four sides by a six-foot-high fence that is 100 percent sight obscuring, matching the same enclosure standard the code uses for full visual screening between incompatible land uses under § 22.70.070. Industrial-zoned projects are the only category excluded from the dumpster-screening requirement. The enclosure sits within Chapter 22.70's broader site-development landscaping standards, which also require parking lot planting, headlight screening, and buffer screening for adjoining land uses, so a dumpster enclosure reviewed at permitting is typically checked alongside those other landscaping requirements rather than as a stand-alone approval.

Installation and upkeep fall under § 22.70.090: all required screening and plant material must be installed to match approved plans before a certificate of occupancy issues, and the property owner is responsible for maintaining it afterward. Placement also cannot conflict with utilities or the safe flow of street traffic, and it must preserve a three-foot clear area around fire protection equipment and keep that equipment visible from the approach, per § 22.70.090(I) referencing the International Fire Code. Dumpsters or refuse containers left instead within the public right-of-way are treated separately as a right-of-way obstruction nuisance under SVMC § 7.05.040(R), regardless of whether the on-site screening rule was met.