Renton, WA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

RMC 4-2-110A sets the maximum number of stories at 3 for the RC, R-1 and R-4 zones and 2 for R-6 and R-8, paired with a maximum wall plate height of 32 feet for RC/R-1/R-4 and 24 feet for R-6/R-8. RMC 4-2-110B carries the standard into the high-density zones: R-10 allows 2 stories at a 24-foot wall plate height; R-14 allows 3 stories with a 24-foot wall plate height that can increase to 32 feet subject to administrative conditional use permit approval; townhouses citywide in RMF zones are allowed a 32-foot wall plate height, and other attached dwellings in RMF-2 can reach 32 feet with an administrative conditional use permit allowing up to 42 feet.

Wall plate height, rather than overall roof height, is the operative citywide measurement for the primary structure standards. A separate height allowance applies to wireless communication facilities and amateur radio antennas, referenced to RMC 4-4-140: amateur radio antennas are capped at 6 feet without a Conditional Use Permit, with taller installations requiring Conditional Use Permit review under RMC 4-9-030. Detached accessory buildings are held to a lower, separate height cap under RMC 4-2-110E, generally 12 feet in the RC through R-14 zones and 25 feet in RMF/RMF-2, and in no case may an accessory building be taller than the primary dwelling on the lot in the R-1 through R-14 zones for animal husbandry or agricultural structures.