Redmond residential zoning
Redmond residential zoning and setbacks by zone
Redmond consolidated many former residential zones into NR, NMF, and NMU. Confirm the parcel's current designation before applying an older R-zone name from a title report, permit, listing, or prior plan.
On this page6 sections
Official starting point: Redmond residential zones. Verify the parcel zone, current code, and every applicable footnote before fixing the design.
Redmond neighborhood-zone base table
Current RZC 21.08.200 and 21.08.300 include changes codified in August 2026. Street-side setbacks are separate from interior-side setbacks.
| Zone | Height | Front | Street side | Rear | Interior side | Coverage | FAR / floor area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NR / Neighborhood Residential | 38 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 3 ft | 50% building (60% if eligible); 70% impervious | No base FAR; total GFA cap applies |
| NMF / Neighborhood Multifamily | 60 ft | 30 ft | 15 ft | 10 ft | 15 ft | 60% building; 75% impervious | 1.1 base; up to 1.5 with incentives |
| NMU / Neighborhood Mixed-Use | 38 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 5 ft | 3 ft | 60% building; 70% impervious | 0.6 base; up to 1.0 with incentives |
Corner lots: a front yard and a street-side yard
Redmond's current table distinguishes the front, street-side, interior-side, and rear setbacks. Do not label both street edges as front yards and then remove the rear yard using another city's rule.
For an ordinary NR corner lot, start with 10 feet at the front, 10 feet at the street side, 3 feet at the interior side, and 5 feet at the rear. NMU uses the same base distances. NMF uses 30, 15, 15, and 10 feet respectively. Confirm the front designation and any site-specific exceptions with Redmond.
A street-facing residential garage or carport also needs an 18-foot driveway depth outside the building, measured from the sidewalk or right-of-way reference specified by the code. The 10-foot house setback alone does not establish where the garage can go. Alley, shoreline, zero-lot-line, and building-separation rules remain separate.
RZC 21.08.300, building placement and garage driveway rules ↗
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 / GFA | NR has no base FAR but has a total gross-floor-area cap for all structures: 4,500 sq ft for one dwelling, 6,000 for two, rising by 1,500 per dwelling to 15,000 for eight. Below-grade floor area counts. NMF FAR is 1.1 base/up to 1.5; NMU is 0.6 base/up to 1.0 with qualifying incentives. | RZC 21.08.200 ↗ |
| Setbacks | NR/NMU: front 10 ft, street side 10 ft, interior side 3 ft, rear 5 ft. NMF: front 30 ft, street side 15 ft, interior side 15 ft, rear 10 ft. Garage driveway depth, alley, shoreline, and building-separation rules are additional checks. | RZC 21.08.300 ↗ |
| Lot coverage | NR is generally 50%, increasing to 60% on lots of 18,000 sq ft or less containing at least three dwellings. NMF and NMU are 60%. | RZC 21.08.200 ↗ |
| Impervious surface | NR and NMU allow up to 70%; NMF allows up to 75%. Other site requirements can reduce these limits. | RZC 21.08.200 ↗ |
| Height | Base height is 38 ft in NR/NMU and 60 ft in NMF, subject to transition, shoreline, critical-area, and project-type standards. | RZC 21.08 ↗ |
| Trees | A permit is required for a significant tree of at least 6 in DBH. New development must retain at least 35% of significant trees and submit a tree-preservation plan and arborist report. | Redmond tree-removal guidance ↗ |
| Existing private views | No general citywide private-building-view right was identified in the reviewed neighborhood code. Check recorded covenants/easements and shoreline or design-overlay rules. | RZC 21.08 ↗ |
| Wetlands, slopes, and critical areas | Redmond's neighborhood-zone FAR and coverage percentages are base-zone numbers. Critical-area regulations separately require protected wetlands, streams, geologic hazards, and buffers to be established before a reliable buildable-area calculation can be made. Redmond's maps are a starting point, not a wetland delineation or geotechnical conclusion. A mapped wetland or geologic hazard should move the project to a site-specific critical-area report before the footprint, grading, access, or stormwater concept is fixed. | Redmond 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
- Former R-1 through R-8 designations generally map to Neighborhood Residential. Former R-12 through R-30 designations generally map to Neighborhood Multifamily. Confirm the current city map.
- Neighborhood Residential has no base FAR, but that does not mean unlimited floor area. The total GFA cap for all structures is 4,500 sq ft for one dwelling and 6,000 sq ft for two; below-grade area counts. Use RZC 21.16.200 to measure this cap, rather than importing exclusions from a different FAR calculation.
- NMF and NMU incentive FAR is not automatic. A project must qualify under the current incentive provisions.
- Critical areas, shorelines, neighborhood overlays, access conditions, easements, and project type can add standards.
- Multifamily and mixed-use projects require a broader code and design review than a detached-house screen.
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