Yakima County, WA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Chapter 19.22 of the Yakima County Unified Land Development Code governs off-street parking, and Section 19.22.070, Construction and Maintenance, sets the surfacing rule for driveways and parking areas. The threshold is capacity: off-street parking lots, driveways, travel ways, parking aisles, vehicle storage and vehicle sales lots having a capacity of three or more vehicles must be built to the standards in that section, so a typical two-car residential driveway falls outside it, but a third parking space or a shared driveway serving several vehicles does not.

Inside Urban Growth Areas, Rural Settlements, the Highway/Tourist Commercial zone, and the Federal Highway Administration's Urban Area within the Rural Transitional zone, the surface must be paved with two inches thick asphaltic surfacing on an aggregate base, or an equivalent surfacing acceptable to the Reviewing Official, to eliminate dust and/or mud. The Reviewing Official may still allow gravel for portions of a lot used mainly by heavy equipment. Outside those urban areas, in the county's rural zones, a minimum of screened gravel or crushed rock satisfies the standard, though the Reviewing Official can require paving or landscaping anyway if public health or safety calls for it.

The same section requires grading and drainage so surface water stays on-site, curbing or an equivalent barrier at the perimeter so vehicles cannot cross onto a sidewalk or street, and painted stall markings at least four inches wide on paved lots. Under Subsection (7), the owner or lessee of a required parking area must maintain the paved surface, drainage facilities, landscaping and irrigation in conformance with the approved site plan.