Lakewood, WA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

030(A), sets two separate coverage ceilings for every residential zone: building coverage and impervious surface. Building coverage, the footprint of buildings and structures divided by lot area, is capped at 45 percent in R1, R2, and R3, rises to 50 percent in R4, and reaches 55 percent in MR1 and 60 percent in MR2 and all three MF zones. Impervious surface, which adds driveways, patios, and other hard surfacing to the building footprint, carries its own higher ceiling: 45 percent in R1 and R2, 60 percent in R3, and 70 to 75 percent in R4, the MR zones, and the MF zones.

030(B)(2)(d) defines lot coverage as the total area covered by buildings or structures divided by the site area, minus dedicated rights-of-way, and expressly excludes roof eaves, bay windows, balconies, and paved surfaces from the calculation. 030(B)(2)(a) through (c) applies where a lot uses the middle-housing density allowances added under the state's 2023 middle-housing law: 55 percent for a lot built out to six units, 50 percent for four or five units, and 45 percent for three units or fewer. 030(C)(2) to compensate for preserving a significant or heritage tree on the site, on top of any setback reduction granted for the same tree.