Seattle, WA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Seattle's Neighborhood Residential development standards set a hard default against front-yard parking. D opens by stating that, except as provided below, parking is not allowed within 20 feet of a front lot line or within 5 feet of a side street lot line, the rule most homeowners hit when they want to pave part of the front yard for a car pad. The subsection then lists the only ways around that line. 1, if access to required parking runs through a required setback, cars, motorcycles and similar vehicles may sit on that open access strip within the setback.

2, alley-accessed surface parking can sit within 20 feet of a street lot line if it stays within 28 feet of the alley lot line and no closer than 7 feet to any street lot line. 3 lets lots at least 40 feet wide add up to two surface spaces within 20 feet of the street lot line if access comes through the front setback under subsection C, the spaces sit perpendicular to the street, corner-lot spaces stay clear of the cross street's 20-foot zone, no other parking or driveways exist on the lot, the spaces stay at least 10 feet from the street lot line, and their combined width is capped at 20 feet.

5 cover uphill and downhill lots, allowing setback parking tied to specific grade thresholds, an average 6-foot rise or drop within 10 feet of the street lot line, with garage width capped at 24 feet and total parking-plus-garage width capped at 60 percent of lot width. Section E separately caps outdoor vehicle storage at three vehicles per dwelling unit, and Section F bars parking trailers, boats and RVs in required setbacks unless fully enclosed in a structure otherwise allowed there.