Bothell residential zoning
Bothell residential zoning and setbacks by zone
Bothell adopted a new residential zoning system in 2025. Use the current R-C, R-L, or R-M map designation instead of an older zone shown in a prior permit, listing, or saved report.
On this page6 sections
Official starting point: Bothell residential dimensional standards. Verify the parcel zone, current code, and every applicable footnote before fixing the design.
Bothell residential base-zone table
| Zone | Height | Front | Rear | Side | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC / Residential Conservation (R-C) | 35 ft | 15 ft | 35 ft | 5 ft | 35% hard surface |
| RL1 / Residential Low 1 (R-L1) | 35 ft | 15 ft | 15 ft | 5 ft | 55% hard surface |
| RL2 / Residential Low 2 (R-L2) | 35 ft | 15 ft | 15 ft | 5 ft | 60% hard surface |
| RM1 / Residential Medium 1 (R-M1) | 35 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 70% hard surface |
| RM2 / Residential Medium 2 (R-M2) | 35 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 75% hard surface |
| RM3 / Residential Medium 3 (R-M3) | 45 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 80% hard surface |
| RM4 / Residential Medium 4 (R-M4) | 55 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 90% hard surface |
Corner lots: two front yards, with side setbacks behind them
Bothell requires a front setback along each corner-lot edge adjoining an existing or proposed public right-of-way. The yards opposite those fronts only need the side-yard setback. This is broadly like Clyde Hill's corner-lot approach, but Bothell's distances are different.
For an ordinary R-L1 or R-L2 house, the starting layout is 15 feet along each street and 5 feet along each of the two interior boundaries. Do not also impose the normal 15-foot rear setback on one of those interior boundaries. R-M zones generally start with 10-foot street setbacks instead. Housing-type exceptions and approved plat conditions require separate review.
The measuring line matters. Certain larger roads use their projected fully developed right-of-way; street improvements extending beyond the right-of-way can also move the reference line. Ask Bothell to confirm unusual or private-access layouts and corner visibility requirements before fixing the house position.
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 current base residential table does not use FAR and does not publish a separate building-coverage percentage. The feasibility engine therefore does not invent either limit. | BMC 12.14.030 ↗ |
| Setbacks | R-C/R-L1/R-L2 use a 15-ft front yard; R-M1 through R-M4 use 10 ft. Rear is 35 ft in R-C, 15 ft in R-L1/R-L2, and 10 ft in R-M zones; sides are 5 ft. Corner yards opposite the two fronts need only side setbacks. Garages, carports, and other parking structures require at least 20 ft from streets and access tracts; alley conditions differ. | BMC 12.14.030 ↗ |
| Lot coverage | No separate residential building-footprint percentage appears in the current table. Building area is constrained by setbacks and the broader hard-surface cap. | BMC 12.14.030 ↗ |
| Impervious / hard surface | Maximum hard surface is 35% in R-C, 55% in R-L1, 60% in R-L2, and 70%/75%/80%/90% in R-M1 through R-M4. Critical areas trigger additional Title 14 impervious rules. | BMC 12.14.030 ↗ |
| Height | Base height is 35 ft in R-C through R-M2, 45 ft in R-M3, and 55 ft in R-M4, with activity-center and transition rules where applicable. | BMC 12.14.030 ↗ |
| Trees | A private-tree permit is generally not required only when every listed exemption is met. Development approvals, retained trees, critical areas, shorelines, and replanting obligations can still control removal. | Bothell Permit Center ↗ |
| Existing private views | No general citywide private-building-view right was identified. Bothell describes otherwise unregulated neighbor vegetation disputes as civil matters; recorded covenants, easements, shoreline, and subarea rules remain separate. | Bothell Permit Center ↗ |
| Wetlands, slopes, and critical areas | Bothell's residential hard-surface percentage is not a guaranteed building footprint. Title 14 wetland, stream, and geologic-hazard rules can impose protected areas, buffers, building setbacks, and stricter impervious-surface conditions that require a site calculation. If a wetland, stream, erosion hazard, landslide hazard, or steep slope may be present, confirm the field boundary and required buffer before using the base-zone setbacks or hard-surface allowance. Bothell may require a critical-area report and separate alteration approval. | Bothell BMC 14.04 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
- Bothell's current base residential table does not use FAR and does not publish a separate building-coverage percentage. Buildings and garages consume the broader hard-surface allowance, but the feasibility study does not present that allowance as a building-footprint cap.
- Garages, carports, and other parking structures must be at least 20 feet from streets and access tracts under the dimensional-table notes. Do not use the smaller house setback for the garage. Alley and special development provisions require separate review.
- The R-M zones allow progressively greater scale. A specific housing type may trigger additional design, parking, landscaping, or frontage standards.
- Critical areas, shorelines, subdivisions, recorded conditions, access easements, and overlays can reduce the base envelope.
- An older Bothell zoning code or former district name should be translated to the current map before use.
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