Bellevue residential zoning
Bellevue Residential Setbacks by Zone
Bellevue's zone establishes the first setback and site-capacity screen, but it does not prove that a house, addition, or ADU will fit. Corner yards, access routes, easements, critical areas, shoreline rules, overlays, utilities, and retained trees can shrink the usable area after the base zone is applied.
On this page6 sections
Official starting point: Bellevue residential dimensional standards. Verify the parcel zone, current code, and every applicable footnote before fixing the design.
Bellevue residential base-zone table
The city renamed many residential zones in 2025. Current and former names are shown together.
| Zone | Lot or density | Front | Rear | Side yards | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LL1 / LL-1 (formerly R-1) | 35,000 sq ft | 35 ft | 25 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 20 ft combined | 35% building; 45% impervious |
| LL2 / LL-2 (formerly R-1.8) | 20,000 sq ft | 30 ft | 25 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 15 ft combined | 35% building; 45% impervious |
| SR1 / SR-1 (formerly R-2.5) | 13,500 sq ft | 20 ft | 25 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 15 ft combined | 35% building; 45% impervious |
| SR2 / SR-2 (formerly R-3.5) | 10,000 sq ft | 20 ft | 25 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 15 ft combined | 35% building; 45% impervious |
| SR3 / SR-3 (formerly R-4) | 8,500 sq ft | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 15 ft combined | 35% building; 45% impervious |
| SR4 / SR-4 (formerly R-5) | 7,200 sq ft | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 15 ft combined | 40% building; 55% impervious |
| LDR1 / LDR-1 (formerly R-7.5) | 4,700 sq ft | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 10 ft combined | 40% building; 55% impervious |
| LDR2 / LDR-2 (formerly R-10) | 10 homes per acre | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 10 ft combined | 40% building; 65% impervious |
| LDR3 / LDR-3 (formerly R-15) | 15 homes per acre | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 10 ft combined | 40% building; 65% impervious |
| MDR1 / MDR-1 (formerly R-20) | 20 homes per acre | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 10 ft combined | 40% building; 65% impervious |
| MDR2 / MDR-2 (formerly R-30) | 30 homes per acre | 20 ft | 20 ft | 5 ft minimum each, 10 ft combined | 40% building; 65% impervious |
Corner lots: two public streets mean two front yards
At the intersection of two public streets, Bellevue requires a front setback along both streets. The other two boundaries are one rear and one side. Unlike Clyde Hill, the second front yard does not eliminate the house's rear setback. Apply the district's dimensions only after identifying each boundary.
A public street meeting a private road or access easement is different. The front follows the route providing primary access or the address; the opposite boundary is rear and the other two are sides. Even a side yard must stay at least 10 feet from these access routes, or farther where required.
Measure from the relevant right-of-way, tract, or easement boundary, not the curb. Ask Bellevue to label the yards on your survey if the geometry is unclear. Before buying, also check plat restrictions and corner visibility requirements; a zoning setback is not permission to block drivers' sightlines.
Other rules to check
Other rules that can change the answer
These items link to the city rules behind the guide. They are useful starting points, but they do not replace a property-specific review or a search for private covenants and easements.
| Topic | What it means | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| FAR | The feasibility test defaults to one FAR-counted dwelling: 0.50 through 10,000 sq ft, then 0.30 on the lot area above 10,000 sq ft. It counts the enclosed garage. An attached ADU is FAR-exempt without increasing the dwelling count; a DADU counts toward FAR and dwelling count. The 300 sq ft parking or storage exemption is limited to qualifying middle housing. | Bellevue LUC 20.20.390 ↗ |
| Setbacks | Two public streets require two front yards, one rear, and one side. A public street meeting a private road or access easement follows different frontage rules; access-route setbacks are at least 10 ft. See the corner-lot section before applying the district table. | Bellevue LUC 20.20.010 ↗ |
| Lot coverage | 35% or 40% by district. It is a building/structure footprint limit and is independent of hard- and impervious-surface limits. | Bellevue LUC 20.20.010 ↗ |
| Impervious / hard surface | Impervious limits are 45%, 55%, or 65%; hard-surface limits are 75%, 80%, or 90% by district. The feasibility report keeps the two calculations separate. | Bellevue LUC 20.20.010 ↗ |
| Height | A typical house is limited to 30 ft with a flat roof or 35 ft to a pitched-roof ridge, measured from average existing grade, plus a 40-ft individual-façade cap. | Bellevue height guidance ↗ |
| Trees | Qualifying development requires a tree inventory and current tree-credit/retention calculation. Critical-area, shoreline, and right-of-way trees follow separate provisions. | Bellevue LUC 20.20.900 ↗ |
| Existing private views | Bellevue does not protect a particular private sightline through ordinary land-use review. Public shoreline view corridors and recorded private restrictions are separate. | Bellevue official land-use staff report ↗ |
| Wetlands, slopes, and critical areas | For an ordinary detached-home screen, Bellevue's current FAR and structure-coverage calculations do not automatically subtract wetlands, steep slopes, or their buffers from the lot-area denominator. Those protected areas, buffers, and structure setbacks still shrink or reshape the area where a house can actually be placed. Bellevue wetlands can require category- and habitat-based buffers, and steep-slope or landslide hazards commonly start with a 50-foot buffer subject to site-specific review. Treat the zoning percentage as a theoretical size limit, not a buildable envelope; a wetland professional, surveyor, or geotechnical engineer may be needed to establish the usable area. | Bellevue LUC 20.25H critical areas ↗ |
Practical worksheet
Put this guide to work
Worksheet updated . This is a planning example. Regulatory sources and data have their own dates.
Use three separate drawings and calculations
Illustration only: a 10,000-square-foot qualifying lot with a 0.50 FAR would permit 5,000 square feet of counted floor area. A hypothetical 35% building-coverage cap would allow a 3,500-square-foot footprint. Those are different ceilings, not two allowances to add together. This example does not assign either ratio to your city or parcel.
- Floor-area schedule
- List each level, garage, ADU, basement and other space. Cite the local inclusion or exclusion rule beside any area you do not count.
- Coverage and surface schedule
- Calculate the footprint separately from all regulated hard or impervious surfaces. Include existing retained improvements and use the correct eligible lot area for each ratio.
- Usable site plan
- Place the building inside the actual yards, easements, critical areas, tree protections and access requirements. Show room for construction as well as the finished building.
A house can pass FAR and fail coverage. It can pass both and still have no workable driveway or excavation area. Review the three documents together. Pervious paving, basements and garages do not receive the same treatment in every jurisdiction.
Property-specific checks
What can change the table
- The common base height screen for a house is 30 feet for a flat roof or 35 feet to a pitched-roof ridge, plus a 40-foot individual-facade cap. Confirm the measurement method and exceptions.
- Two public-street frontages require two front setbacks, but Bellevue still retains a rear yard. Public-street/private-access corners use a different rule, explained above.
- Building coverage, impervious surface, and hard surface are different calculations. Do not treat the largest percentage as the buildable footprint.
- The feasibility study defaults to the one-dwelling FAR tier and counts an enclosed garage. Bellevue treats an attached ADU, a DADU, and qualifying middle housing differently, so the final unit count and code-area schedule must match the actual design.
- Middle-housing, multifamily, shoreline, critical-area, and overlay provisions may add standards not captured here.
How to use this guide
How to use the zoning table for a real property
- 1
Find the parcel on the city's current zoning map and copy the complete zone name.
- 2
Read the full row, table footnotes, and definitions. Do not use only the front setback.
- 3
Check corner-lot yards, access easements, critical areas, shorelines, trees, overlays, and recorded restrictions.
- 4
Use a boundary and topographic survey to place the setbacks against the actual lot.
- 5
Have the city or project team confirm any uncertainty before the design is fixed.
Official resources