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

020(5) of the Chelan County Code lists the minimum setback distances that apply throughout the Rural Residential/Resource - 1 Dwelling Unit per 20 Acres (RR20) district, the county's largest-lot rural residential zone. The front yard setback is twenty-five feet from the front property line or fifty-five feet from the street centerline, whichever produces the greater distance from the roadway. The rear yard setback is a flat twenty feet from the rear property line. The side yard setback is five feet from the side property line, except that a corner lot's street-facing side yard must meet the same standard as a front yard, twenty-five feet from the property line or fifty-five feet from the street centerline, whichever is greater.

These minimums apply except when abutting commercial agricultural lands (AC), and riparian and shoreline areas, or as increased by other provisions of Title 11, so a parcel next to an AC-zoned property or within a shoreline or riparian buffer can face a larger required setback under other chapters of the title or the county's shoreline master program. The Chelan County Department of Community Development measures proposed setbacks against this table during building permit review, and a footprint that encroaches into a required yard cannot be approved as submitted.

95; the Hearing Examiner decides within 120 days of a completeness determination, cannot use a variance to grant added density or a de facto rezone, and the approval lapses three years after approval without substantial construction. 090.