Building Setbacks & Zoning in Federal Way, WA (2026)
3 verified building setbacks & zoning rules for Federal Way, Washington, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Setback Rules
Federal Way's suburban estate (SE) zone requires a 30-foot front yard, 10-foot side yards and a 10-foot rear yard on any detached home under FWRC 19.195.010. In the single-family residential (RS) zones, FWRC 19.200.010 sets a five-foot side yard, rising to 10 feet on the street side of a corner lot.
Federal Way Yard Setback Minimums
Some RestrictionsFWRC 19.195.010; FWRC 19.200.010
Required Yards ... Front Side (each) Rear ... Detached dwelling unit ... 5 acres 30 ft. 10 ft. 10 ft. 10% ... 30 ft. above average building elevation ... [FWRC 19.200.010] 3. Side yard setback is five ft. Corner lot side yard for that portion of the lot adjacent to the street is 10 ft.
Structure Height Limits
Federal Way caps detached houses in its single-family residential zones at 30 feet above average building elevation, per the RS-zone use chart at FWRC 19.200.010. FWRC 19.110.050 makes that ceiling absolute: no element of a structure may exceed the applicable limit except the narrow rooftop and antenna exceptions the code lists separately, so builders cannot argue extra height by default.
Federal Way Residential Structure Height Limit
Some RestrictionsFWRC 19.110.050
No element or feature of a structure, other than as listed in FWRC 19.110.060, may exceed the applicable height limitation established for each use in this title. ... Detached dwelling unit ... 30 ft. above average building elevation ... Rooftop appurtenances may exceed the applicable height limitation by a maximum of four feet, if the area of all appurtenances and screening does not exceed 10 ...
Lot Coverage Limits
Federal Way caps impervious lot coverage, meaning every structure, driveway and other surface that blocks water percolation, at 50 percent of lot area in the RS 35.0 and RS 15.0 single-family zones and 60 percent in the RS 9.6, RS 7.2 and RS 5.0 zones under FWRC 19.200.010, calculated under the citywide method in FWRC 19.110.020.
Federal Way Lot Coverage Limits
Some RestrictionsFWRC 19.110.020; FWRC 19.200.010
(1) General. Except as specified in subsection (2) of this section, the area of all structures, pavement and any other impervious surface on the subject property will be calculated as a percentage of total lot area, exclusive of the area of any recorded access easements, in determining compliance with maximum lot coverage required in this title... 6. Maximum lot coverage is as follows: a. In RS...
Looking for King County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Federal Way city rules.
Building Setbacks & Zoning in King County →