Wash. Rev. Code » Title 35 · Chapter 35.21
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 35.21.160 (2026)

Jurisdiction over adjacent waters

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
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 waters and over any tidelands intervening between any such boundary and any such waters to the middle of such bays, sounds, lakes, rivers, or other waters in every manner and for every purpose that such powers and jurisdiction could be exercised if the waters were within the city or town limits. In calculating the area of any town for the purpose of determining compliance with the limitation on the area of a town prescribed by RCW 35.21.010, the area over which jurisdiction is conferred by this section shall not be included.
[ 1969 c 124 s 1; 1965 c 7 s 35.21.160. Prior: 1961 c 277 s 4; 1909 c 111 s 1; RRS s 8892.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1981–2006 · leading case: Town of Ruston v. City of Tacoma, 951 P.2d 805 (Wash. Ct. App. 1998).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Town of Ruston v. City of Tacoma, 951 P.2d 805 (Wash. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 7× “Finally, although the trial court rejected Ruston’s argu *86 ment that RCW 35.21.160 changed the city and town boundaries, Ruston reasserts the statute as a basis to uphold the judgment in its favor.”
Washington Utils. & Transp. Comm'n v. United Cartage, Inc., 621 P.2d 217 (Wash. Ct. App. 1981). · cites it 7× “The extent of the expanded scope of local cartage permits to "nearby" cities would be unclear, and the resulting expanded service would undermine the Commission's prior measurement of public convenience and necessity. We accept the Commission's consistent view that it is in the…”
Northlake Marine Works, Inc. v. Dep't of Nat. Resources, 138 P.3d 626 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006). “Cities have jurisdiction over navigable waters within their corporate limits and exercise police power to regulate public and private use of those waters.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.