Is there a definitive guide for laws, regulations, and general guidance for homesteading in the PNW?

My wife and I recently moved the the greater Seattle area for job opportunities, with the plan that we'd work hard and save up to attain our dream of owning and working land in this beautiful part of the country.
It seems, just as with anywhere, that there are considerable laws, and rules depending on county/city/etc that would really help us get a better understanding of where one should be looking for property.
Something 4 to 10 acres is obviously ideal, mountain views are always a perk. And like minded folk is easily a top priority. Which is how I got here!

Is there a semi-straightforward guide around the internet for figuring out ideal locations for building smaller home (sub 750sq ft) and working the land around it. Be it livestock, and garden...

And help is greatly appreciated, and I'll continue to scour the existing information here in the Cascadia forum

- Ryan

I think it really varies by county. WA is really diverse, although truth be told you'll find a lot of more lax laws out in Eastern WA. The NE corner is perfect - I'm in Stevens County, completely off grid, compost bucket toilet and everything, and no inspector has ever set foot on my property. This corner of WA is nicely forested, mountainous, with grassy areas, not dry, flat and drab like you'd expect. It's kind of like what you'd see in Cle Elum if you have ever made your way over there. You can have one uninspected dwelling per parcel here. But try to do that in King County or Snohomish (which is where I'm from originally) and yeah... good luck. Land prices are also really high there.

There aren't really any guides like what you're looking for... and gosh that would be nice if someone put one together! I think that's kind of hard though because it is so highly dependent on where you live, in terms of county laws, and of course what kind of focus you want.... if you want to make a living with a certain aspect of your land, or just to be self sustaining, etc. It also depends on the land you have. I have mostly forest, definitely in the mountains, but very rich soil and a decent amount of rainfall.

One benefit we also have here is 4 true seasons, so we can grow some hotter weather crops than what the Seattle area folks could, although they can grow stuff we can't, also. I could very easily sustain my family on my 20 acres, once I'm established. Now - if I was in the desert, or drylands, that would be a different story and I'd be doing things differently. Also would be a different story if I was more urban, or if I was in the rain forest like on the Olympic Peninsula.

And also consider the political/people climate of where you live. This area where I'm at (about 90 minutes north of Spokane) seems to be pretty Libertarian which is a good fit for me. I couldn't be close to Seattle because there's too much of a mentality of interference out there, if that makes sense. If I wanted to be on the coast, I'd probably go up north towards Bellingham or south, I have family about halfway to Portland who homestead and it is working out pretty well for them.

Bethany Dutch wrote:...

Hey there!

I really appreciate your insight, and can understand what you're saying.
It may be best to find someone who has already undertaken what we'd like to accomplish in an area that we'd like to be in and pick their brains a bit.
Also great point on the people around you, obviously like minded people can go a long way!

I'm truthfully not 100% set on any particular area, but a manageable commute to a job if savings aren't high enough is a big kicker.
I've seen some properties about 45 minutes east of Everett that look amazing, but need to dig deeper into regulations, etc.

Sounds like, as I had thought, that we have a lot more research ahead of us!

Hi, Ryan -

I'm a Seattle native (yeah, there are still a few of us here), and have been looking for rural property to homestead for the last 8 years, intensively for the last 18 months. I started looking in Skagit and Whatcom counties, because I like Bellingham's cultural vibe a lot, but land in those counties is rapidly escalating in price - we needed something unimproved for under $35K, or improved for no more than $80K for 2.5+ acres. No dice.

Heading south; Snohomish county has some cool properties east of Everett, like you say, Granite Falls and Arlington/Darrington spring to mind - but the traffic getting into the Seattle area from these areas is HELL! Truly. Also, lots of wetlands and protected areas with tighter regulations.

King county is right out - too expensive!

Pierce county is out for me - too much sprawl. Eastern parts (Orting, Roy) are nice, but you have to drive through endless strip malls to get anywhere. Yuk.

Kitsap county can be nice, as well as Mason county - ferries can get you into Seattle without so much of the traffic and sprawl driving you get in other areas. Prices are okay - soils are VERY depleted and gravelly, due to glacial scraping. The cultural vibe is more conservative and the military influence is more pronounced here, too.

Thurston is a bit expensive, but rare good deals can be found, and location close to Olympia is a plus.

Grays Harbor county has AMAZING good deals, but it's really a drive from the I-5 corridor - same with Pacific county.

I ended up focusing on Lewis, Clark and Wahkiakum counties; some good train connections, close (enough) to I-5 corridor, and prices were rational. We are finally buying in Lewis county, and the regs seem pretty relaxed. Very rural vibe. We're getting 10 acres at 660 feet elevation with a year-round creek, mature fruit trees, old garage and barn, fenced paddocks, 1/4 wetland, 1/4 cleared and 1/2 woodlot with mature softwoods PLUS a ratty enclosed double wide for $72K. We're only a few miles from the 2 premier permaculture nurseries in W WA, and there are several permie homesteaders in the general area. I'm delighted.

As many will tell you, you can get away with quite a bit if you don't want to teach or bill yourself as a learning center of any kind - just live privately and get along with everyone. The forums here will be invaluable for you when it comes to the specific quirks of your particular area, and finding like-minded friends.

Good luck!

Ryan Pendrick wrote:

Bethany Dutch wrote:...

a manageable commute to a job if savings aren't high enough is a big kicker.

For you and everyone else! By far the biggest factor in land prices in WA is whether you're commuting distance from a major urban area. You're probably going to have to decide if you need that safety net, which means putting out more money for the land and therefore being more likely to need the job. Catch-22.

Y names Brad! I am out in peirce county, between graham and eatonville, I have 5 acres out here that I own out right I'd like too do a off grid set up but also don't know the county rules that apply to me that I need too find the loops holes in, or what permits, land testing,  I ACTUALLY need even tho I don't believe I they should apply too me because I didn't take out a loan with someone else's money, does anyone possibly have the knowledge I might be looking for? Lots of questions no one too really help especially the county's public works they are absolutely no help they just says too get a land use permit, oh but in order to get that you need too get biology work done, then you need to do the work you need done of whatever the biologist feels need too be done (thousands after paper work and filing fees) then thousands for a septic designer because they say a composting toilet or out house can't be your main waste disposal (close too 30k) then say you need running water to supply said septic (another easy 30k) then I can start talking about build permits after 100k of improvements that I necessarily didn't want, I'm not clueless I'm pretty hands on and able too do pretty much anything, I'm a remodel contractor by trade, but iv read and read  and been told some many different facts and regulations I need to unlearn it all and have someone more knowledgeable about this help me out thank you for taking the time too read me rambling on about this!
Thank you thank you!

Hey Brad - what I would say if you're trying to homestead in Pierce County is BE CAREFUL talking to the county officials. If they catch wind of what you have planned, you will be on their radar and they can and will shut you down if you aren't following all of their steps. And yes, you will be required to no matter if you own the land outright or have a loan on it. Their regulations are for public health and safety and to satisfy department of ecology standards. Each of these has nothing to do with your financial status. As far as loopholes, there are none. You will be required to go through each and every one of the steps you listed if you try to follow the proper channels. This will cost you years of time, and as you've seemed to have figured out, a TON of money.

If you wanted to be able to develop your homestead legally without jumping through all of these hoops, you chose the wrong county to homestead in. That's the long and short of it. Basically all of the counties west of the cascades are like this. Some are worse that others. Unfortunately, I have friends who have built in Pierce County, and from the stories I've heard from them, it's literally one of the worst. I live in Thurston which isn't much better, but they seem particularly militant about these things in Pierce. I wouldn't even consider buying property there after the stories I've heard (unless I was prepared to spend the time and money on doing everything they require). Counties like Pierce are antithetical to low-tech homesteading, as it's been legislated into being literally illegal.

If you want to remain in Pierce and try to homestead the low-tech way, you basically have no choice but to do so VERY discretely, and try to fly under the radar as much as possible. If your neighbors catch wind and report you, you're probably cooked. If you alert the the county to your ongoings, same result. If I were you I would try to make your property look like a recreational one to whatever extent you can, and do not alert anyone to the fact that you are living there full time. The full-time residence component is a big one; that's what seems to really trigger the county more than anything else. If they think you are living there full time without having put in all the proper infrastructure, they will very likely seek to shut you down.

Edit: many counties east of the mountains have followed suit. It's getting  harder and harder to find "pockets of freedom" where you can build a low-tech homestead without the looming threat of legal trouble.

I'm looking for people to help me build a community on my land on Whidbey Island. It would be perfect for people from the surrounding area to join either full or part time. I have a dream of treehouses, rope bridges, ziplines, tiny homes, earth shelters, hobbit homes, and more. There is already a house on the property that functions well as a central "hub".


flamingoridge.org for pictures of what I've got going on right now. Mostly just trying to entice people in by renting out campsites on Airbnb/Hipcamp 🤣

To anyone going down these roads, do a simple Net search for the state codes for the states in which you are going to set up camp. In The State of Washington, you would look up the Revised Code of Washington [RCW's].  

Once you get there, you can do searches using terms relevant to your needs. In this case, just start with "homestead." From there, you can add in }septic," "sanitation" and a host of other searches that might be helpful to determining what laws and codes you must deal with.

If you want to get in deep, the RCW's have annotated versions, searchable and others, that include case law decisions made by the courts regarding any given RCW.  

Not all RCW have been challenged in court or otherwise addressed by the courts.

Next, there are the Washington Administrative Codes [WAC's]. You will not find any case law annotations regarding them. You can, on an agency basis, find "assenting and dissenting decisions from within the agencies. These codes apply only to state agencies, which are required to publish their policies in the WAC's, and not to local agencies (see below).

Be aware those assenting and dissenting decisions MUST be made available to you, per the State of Washington Public Disclosure Act [PDA], also known as the Public Records Act [PRA]. The codification of the PDA/PRA can be found at chapter 42.56 RCW (formerly, it was under chapter 42.17 RCW, where the part of the Act applying to elections could, also, be found.

Failure of an agency to produce requested records it has and that are not exempt can cost the agency up to $100.00/day, payable to you. That includes agencies failing to respond in the time specified by law (5 business days).

Also keep in mind, local agencies are required to "PROMINENTLY DISPLAY" their policies and procedures. A huge percentage of them do not, and ignorant agents are, often, known to claim they can wait to provide what the law says should be within arms reach, on request, making them susceptible to suite and judgement, as noted above.

Finally, there are county and, in some situations, city codes. Generally, these can be found on line too.

I won't even get in to the HOA thing, in which you have few rights to defend off wannabe dictators.

I've done a bit of research into this in Island County. I think Whidbey Island might be the best place in the world, especially if the aging hippies in Ebey's Reserve get their way and shut down the naval base, which seems pretty likely.
It is, as far as I can tell, basically impossible to get around the requirement for a septic system. Even if you never use it, and have composting toilets or whatever else, you must have the correct amount of drainfield for your bedrooms. Ditto wells, you can have as much rainwater collection as you want and it doesn't matter because you must have a well to legally live in a place and get an occupancy permit, and there are neighbors who will be assholes about it.
Another thing that's making me insane - as far as I can tell, it's illegal for me to build any permitted structure out of the dying alder trees on my property. For a structure to be within code, it must be made of graded and stamped lumber. It is possible to hire a grader to come out to your property and stamp your fir, or ceder, or pine, or hemlock, but no "hardwoods".

I suspect that there are a lot more of these little tidbits that I'm not thinking of but might come to mind if you want me to look at any land you're thinking of buying. Particularly if you're cool and want to buy land near mine on Whidbey. 🙂

In practical reality, I have plenty of under 200sqft (ergo not needing permits) buildings to build to use most/all of whatever alder I don't want to use for furniture, cabinets, moulding, floors, hugels, woodchip paths, etc

I was just very annoyed to read that specific bit of the code - I generally have very little libertarianism in me but being told I can't build what I want on my land out of my trees brought all of it out of me at once