Federal Way, WA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

030 lists commercial agricultural crop raising, community gardens, urban farms, farm stands and cottage food operations as permitted uses in the suburban estate (SE) zone, Federal Way's only zone reserved for large-lot rural residential and agricultural use. The base review is Process I, an administrative review, with a minimum lot size of five acres, a 30-foot front yard, 10-foot side yards, a 30-foot rear yard, maximum lot coverage of 75 percent, and a maximum structure height of 35 feet above average building elevation; cottage food operations carry no minimum lot size of their own.

Three operating conditions apply directly to the use. Fertilizer, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals cannot be stored, used or applied in a way that pollutes surface or ground water or drifts onto adjacent property or streets. 262 FWRC, Urban Agriculture, which sets the separate rules for stands and direct sales. The use must be operated by someone who actually lives in a dwelling unit on the property, so an absentee-owned commercial farm operation does not qualify under this section. 060 except where the director finds added landscaping is needed for something beyond the planting areas themselves. Structures within 100 feet of a low-density use face an added height or facade-length limit.