Olympia, WA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

The parking rule for short-term rentals in the City of Olympia sits in Table 38.01, the vehicular and bicycle parking table in OMC 18.38.100. The Short-Term Rental row adds parking in two situations. The first is a unit with more than 2 bedrooms rented in 1 dwelling unit, which needs 1 additional space. The second is a parcel with 2 vacation rentals where 1 of them is a single-family home, which needs 1 additional space. The same row lists None for both long-term and short-term bicycle spaces, so Table 38.01 sets no bicycle parking for a short-term rental.

The exception protects older operators. A short-term rental in existence prior to September 26, 2021 need not provide the additional spaces, but only when all other applicable requirements are met and the unit is continuously operated as a short-term rental.

Section 18.38.100(A) adds two rules for the spaces themselves. The project proponent can increase or decrease the specific number of motor vehicle spaces in the table by 10 percent automatically, and residential uses with on-site parking outside a parking lot must provide spaces at least eight feet wide by 18 feet in length.

The parking rule sits beside the operating rules in OMC 18.04.060(JJ). Overnight guests are limited to two adults per bedroom, with a maximum of 10 adults in any single short-term rental. A vacation rental needs a land use permit from the Department, valid for two years from issuance and renewable on application, and no operator can own, operate or hold an interest in more than two vacation rental units in the City of Olympia. A homestay needs no land use permit, but the property owner or a long-term tenant must live there as a primary residence.