Title 35, CITIES AND TOWNS

The provisions of RCW 2.28.300 through 2.28.330 apply to municipal courts. [ 2020 c 37 s 8.] Notes: Findings—Short title—2020 c 37: See notes following RCW 2.28.300.

All acts or parts of acts which are inconsistent or conflicting with the provisions of this chapter, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. No provision of this chapter shall be construed as repealing or anywise limiting or affecting the jurisdiction of district judges unde…

Wherever in this title petitions are required to be signed and filed, the following rules shall govern the sufficiency thereof: (1) A petition may include any page or group of pages containing an identical text or prayer intended by the circulators, signers or sponsors to be pres…

(1) Municipal corporations now or hereafter organized are bodies politic and corporate under the name of the city of . . . . . ., or the town of . . . . . ., as the case may be, and as such may sue and be sued, contract or be contracted with, acquire, hold, possess and dispose of…

(1) Salaries for elected officials of towns and cities may be set by salary commissions established in accordance with city charter or by ordinance and in conformity with this section. (2) The members of such commissions shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of a c…

Any city or town in this state acting through its council or other legislative body, and any separately organized park district acting through its board of park commissioners or other governing officers, shall have power to acquire by donation, purchase or condemnation, and to co…

Any city or town shall have power to provide for the protection of such city or town, or any part thereof, from fire, and to establish, construct and maintain an auxiliary water system, or systems, or extensions thereof, or additions thereto, and the structures and works necessar…

Any city or town may establish by ordinance a cumulative reserve fund in general terms for several different municipal purposes as well as for a very specific municipal purpose, including that of buying any specified supplies, material or equipment, or the construction, alteratio…

An item for said cumulative reserve fund may be included in the city or town's annual budget or estimate of amounts required to meet public expense for the ensuing year and a tax levy made within the limits and as authorized by law for said item; and said item and levy may be rep…

The legislative authority of any city or town is authorized to create the following special funds: (1) Payrolls—into which moneys may be placed from time to time as directed by the legislative authority from any funds available and upon which warrants may be drawn and cashed for …

Transfers from an insolvent fund to the payrolls fund or claims fund shall be by warrant. [ 1965 c 7 s 35.21.086. Prior: 1953 c 27 s 2.]

Any city or town is hereby authorized, at its option and after the adoption of the appropriate ordinance, to accept in exchange for cash a payroll check, draft, or warrant; expense check, draft, or warrant; or personal check from a city or town employee in accordance with the fol…

Any city or town may create, by ordinance, an "equipment rental fund," hereinafter referred to as "the fund," in any department of the city or town to be used as a revolving fund to be expended for salaries, wages, and operations required for the repair, replacement, purchase, an…

Any city or town shall have power to provide for the protection of such city or town, or any part thereof, from overflow, and to establish, construct and maintain dikes, levees, embankments, or other structures and works, or to open, deepen, straighten or otherwise enlarge natura…

(1)(a) The executive officer, or a designated employee, with control of operations and maintenance of a bridge of any city or town may authorize the erection of informational signs near or attached to bridges providing location-specific information about the hazards of jumping wi…

Every city and town by ordinance may accept any money or property donated, devised, or bequeathed to it and carry out the terms of the donation, devise, or bequest, if within the powers granted by law. If no terms or conditions are attached to the donation, devise, or bequest, th…

Any incorporated city or town within the state is authorized to construct, or condemn and purchase, or purchase, and to maintain a ferry across any unfordable stream adjoining and within one mile of its limits, together with all necessary grounds, roads, approaches and landings n…

A city or town may by ordinance provide for the establishment of a system or systems of solid waste handling for the entire city or town or for portions thereof. A city or town may provide for solid waste handling by or under the direction of officials and employees of the city o…

A solid waste or recyclable materials collection ordinance may: (1) Require property owners and occupants of premises to use the solid waste collection and disposal system or recyclable materials collection and disposal system, and to dispose of their solid waste and recyclable m…

(1) Each city or town providing by ordinance or resolution a reduced solid waste collection rate to residents participating in a residential curbside recycling program implemented under RCW 70A.205.045, may provide a similar reduced rate to residents participating in any other re…

A notice of the city's or town's lien for garbage collection and disposal service specifying the charges, the period covered by the charges and giving the legal description of the premises sought to be charged, shall be filed with the county auditor within the time required and s…

The garbage collection and disposal service lien shall be prior to all liens and encumbrances filed subsequent to the filing of the notice of it with the county auditor, except the lien of general taxes and local improvement assessments whether levied prior or subsequent thereto.…

A city or town may construct, lease, condemn, purchase, acquire, add to, alter, and extend systems, plants, sites, or other facilities for solid waste handling, and shall have full jurisdiction and authority to manage, regulate, maintain, utilize, operate, control, and establish …

Nothing in RCW 35.21.152 will relieve a city or town of its obligations to comply with the requirements of chapter 70A.205 RCW. [ 2020 c 20 s 1007; 1989 c 399 s 3; 1975 1st ex.s. c 208 s 3.]

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any city charter, or any law to the contrary, and in addition to any other authority provided by law, the legislative authority of a city or town may contract with one or more vendors for one or more of the design, construction, or operation …

(1) A city that contracts for the collection of solid waste, or provides for the collection of solid waste directly, shall notify the public of each proposed rate increase for a solid waste handling service. The notice may be mailed to each affected ratepayer or published once a …

Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a recycling company or nonprofit entity from collecting and transporting recyclable materials from a buy-back center, drop-box, or from a commercial or industrial generator of recyclable materials, or upon agreement with a solid waste collect…

The powers and jurisdiction of all incorporated cities and towns of the state having their boundaries or any part thereof adjacent to or fronting on any bay or bays, lake or lakes, sound or sounds, river or rivers, or other navigable waters are hereby extended into and over such …

Except as limited by the maximum penalty authorized by law, no city, code city, or town, may establish a penalty for an act that constitutes a crime under state law that is different from the penalty prescribed for that crime by state statute. [ 1993 c 83 s 1.] Notes: Effective d…

Except as limited by the maximum penalties authorized by law, no city or town may establish a penalty for an act that constitutes the crime of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, as provided in RCW 46.61.502, or the crime of being in actual physi…

All city and town offices shall be kept open for the transaction of business during such days and hours as the municipal legislative authority shall by ordinance prescribe. [ 1965 c 7 s 35.21.175. Prior: 1955 ex.s. c 9 s 4; prior: 1951 c 100 s 2.]

Ordinances passed by cities or towns must be posted or published in a newspaper as required by their respective charters or the general laws: PROVIDED, That ordinances may by reference adopt Washington state statutes and codes, including fire codes and ordinances relating to the …

(1) It is the purpose of this section to provide a means whereby all cities and towns may obtain, through a single source, information regarding ordinances of other cities and towns that may be of assistance to them in enacting appropriate local legislation. (2) For the purposes …

Any city or town council upon request of the board of park commissioners, shall have authority to designate such streets as they may see fit as parkways, park drives, and boulevards, and to transfer all care, maintenance and improvement of the surface thereof to the board of park…

(1) A city or town may, by ordinance, establish an urban agriculture zone within the boundaries of the city or town. (2) To establish an urban agriculture zone, the city or town must conduct at least one public hearing on the question of whether to establish the urban agriculture…

A city or town may authorize, by ordinance, the use of vacant or blighted city land for the purpose of community gardening under the terms and conditions established for the use of the city land set forth by the ordinance. The ordinance may establish fees for the use of the city …

Local law enforcement agencies shall participate in the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system established in RCW 43.43.545 for the purpose of tracking the status of all sexual assault kits in the custody of local law enforcement agencies and other entities contracting with…

Any city or town may by ordinance of its legislative authority determine whether there shall be any residential qualifications for any or all of its appointive officials or for preference in employment of its employees, but residence of an employee outside the limits of such city…

The necessary expenses of defending an elective city or town official in a judicial hearing to determine the sufficiency of a recall charge as provided in RCW 29A.56.140 shall be paid by the city or town if the official requests such defense and approval is granted by the city or…

Each city or town may purchase liability insurance with such limits as it may deem reasonable for the purpose of protecting its officials and employees against liability for personal or bodily injuries and property damage arising from their acts or omissions while performing or i…

See RCW 36.16.138.

The legislative authority of a city or town may purchase liability insurance in an amount it deems reasonable to protect the city or town, its officers, and employees against liability for the wrongful acts of offenders or injury or damage incurred by offenders in the course of c…

Any city or town shall have power to provide for the sewerage, drainage, and water supply thereof, and to establish, construct, and maintain a system or systems of sewers and drains and a system or systems of water supply, within or without the corporate limits of such city or to…

The legislative authority of any city or town may exercise all the powers relating to systems of sewerage authorized by RCW 35.67.010 and 35.67.020. [ 1997 c 447 s 14.] Notes: Finding—Purpose—1997 c 447: See note following RCW 70.05.074.

(1) Prior to furnishing utility services, a city or town may require a deposit to guarantee payment for services. However, failure to require a deposit does not affect the validity of any lien authorized by RCW 35.21.290 or 35.67.200. A city or town may determine how to apply par…

Cities of several classes in this state shall be empowered to regulate the use of sidewalks within their limits, and may in their discretion and under such terms and conditions as they may determine permit a use of the same by abutting owners, provided such use does not in their …