Federal Way, WA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

210 sets Federal Way's surface-material standard for driveways and parking. Subsection (1) requires an applicant to surface parking areas, driveways, and other vehicular circulation areas with a material comparable or superior to the surface material of the right-of-way that provides direct vehicle access. Subsection (2) targets single-family homes specifically: those uses must surface the first 40 feet of an unpaved driveway, measured from the back of the sidewalk or the public right-of-way, whichever is greater, closing off long stretches of bare gravel or dirt right at the street.

Subsection (3) allows grass grid pavers only for emergency access areas that are not part of the required permanent circulation and parking area. 246, sets what a residential parking pad may be made of: asphalt, cement, gravel, pavers, or low-impact-development methods such as pervious asphalt or pervious concrete, with grass allowed everywhere on the pad except the strip between the primary dwelling and the front property line. 240(1)(a): a driveway or parking pad in a required front yard cannot exceed 20 feet in width, except for specific garage and accessory dwelling unit exceptions, and cannot sit closer than five feet to a side property line. Vehicles cannot be parked in a required side yard at all under that same section.