Grays Harbor County, WA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 17.60.080 does not raise the base height limit set for each zoning district; it lists narrow exceptions. Under subsection A, towers, gables, scenery lofts, cupolas, water tanks and mechanical appurtenances may exceed the district's height limit, but the exception cannot cover more than 15 percent of the lot area and cannot be used for anything except a use incidental or accessory to the main building. Under subsection B, chimneys, water tanks, civil defense sirens, church spires, flagpoles, monuments, and radio, television or utility structures get a similar exception capped at 10 percent of the site; on a lot sloping more than one foot vertical in seven feet horizontal, the county also allows one extra story on the downhill side of the building beyond the district's normal count, without otherwise raising the district height limit.

Subsection C is the county's institutional-building allowance: in any district capped at 35 feet or less, public and semi-public buildings such as schools, churches and hospitals may be built up to 50 feet, but the front, rear and side yards must each grow by one foot for every foot the building exceeds the district's ordinary limit. None of the county's printed residential 'Building site' sections (17.28.040 for R-1, 17.32.040 for R-2, 17.36.040 for R-3) list a numeric base height figure; height in multi-family construction is instead controlled through the side- and rear-yard formula, which ties the required yard to the height of the building itself. Grays Harbor County's Planning and Building Division administers Title 17 and processes any height-related variance or conditional use request through the board of adjustment.