Kirkland, WA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

115(5)(a)(1) governs driveways and parking areas for detached dwelling units in required yards. Vehicles may only be parked in a required front or rear yard if parked on a driveway or parking area, and that surface cannot exceed 20 feet in width within any required front yard. The driveway must be separated from other hard-surfaced areas in the front yard by a landscape strip at least 18 inches wide, though a walkway or pavers up to five feet wide may interrupt that strip to connect the driveway to other paved areas.

Side setbacks apply too: a driveway or parking area cannot come closer than five feet to any side property line, with narrower exceptions for panhandle lots (a 10-foot-wide driveway centered in an access easement under 20 feet wide) and flag lots sharing a plat with the neighboring lot. An exception in subsection (5)(a)(2) allows a driveway to flare beyond 20 feet, up to 30 feet, if it serves a three-car garage, the lot is at least 60 feet wide, and the garage sits no more than 40 feet from the front property line.

The Planning Official may also approve a modification to the width or setback rules where Public Works requires an on-site turnaround, where topography eliminates the need for the setback, or where pre-existing improvements make the setback unnecessary, provided the change won't harm abutting properties. Separate standards in subsection (5)(b) require a 20-foot setback from all property lines for school and day-care parking areas serving more than 12 students in residential zones.