Bothell, WA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

The Bothell City Council wrote the setback table into BMC 12.14.030(A), and the notes beneath it supply the definitions. A setback is the distance from the lot line to the point where a structure can be built, and the strip between the lot line and the setback is the yard. The table's front yard row has two lines: 20 feet where a garage door faces the street, and 15 feet for everything else in R-C, R-L1 and R-L2, dropping to 10 feet in R-M1, R-M2, R-M3 and R-M4. Side yards are 5 feet in all seven of those zones. Rear yards with no alley are 35 feet in R-C, 15 feet in R-L1 and R-L2, and 10 feet in R-M1 through R-M4. Where a lot backs onto an alley, the table lists 0 feet for R-L1 through R-M4, and 3 feet when the garage doors open onto the alley. The R-AC column points to the setbacks established for designated centers or for the associated commercial zone under BMC 12.14.040(A).

Measurement matters as much as the number. BMC 12.14.050 measures front setbacks from the street right-of-way boundary, and a corner lot gets a front yard on each side that abuts a public right-of-way. Where the street is a collector, arterial or freeway in the Imagine Bothell Comprehensive Plan, the measurement starts at the projected right-of-way as if the street were fully developed. BMC 12.14.070 adds special setbacks, including five feet for accessory building rear yards and 25 feet for structures with two or more attached primary dwelling units in or abutting the R-40,000 zone. BMC 12.14.090 lets eaves, bay windows and porches project into a setback by printed amounts, and BMC 12.14.100 ignores the handle of a panhandle lot when setbacks are figured. For a duplex, triplex or fourplex in R-C, R-L1 and R-L2, note 4(e) allows front and rear setbacks down to five feet when one of three listed conditions is met. Under BMC 12.14.020(A), subarea regulations take precedence over the citywide table, so downtown, Canyon Park and North Creek parcels need the subarea chapter as well.