Kirkland housing choices
Kirkland cottage and middle-housing permit guide
Cottages and other middle housing require more coordination than repeating a single-house plan. The site, civil work, trees, access, utilities, and each building permit must stay aligned.
Reviewed against official Kirkland sources · August 2026Start with the current zoning rules
Confirm the permitted housing type, density, floor-area rules, setbacks, parking, open space, and any critical-area or tree constraints under the current code.
Cottages have a defined sequence
- A pre-submittal conference is required.
- An enhanced Land Surface Modification permit coordinates the overall site and civil plan.
- Each cottage needs its own building permit.
- Each building permit should carry the coordinated LSM site plan.
- A site-layout change can require a separate LSM revision.
Track the project as a network
One building can be ready while the shared site permit or another structure is not. Maintain a related-permit register with status, owner, and next action for every record.
Action plan
What to do next
- 1
Confirm the current code path with Planning.
- 2
Prepare a useful required pre-submittal package.
- 3
Establish one shared site/civil plan.
- 4
Create a permit register for every structure and shared permit.
- 5
Coordinate revisions across all affected records.
Official resources