Whatcom County, WA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

85, is the only path to added residential density beyond a project's base zoning; a standalone lot outside a PUD cannot claim a density bonus. 108(1), the zoning administrator may approve a residential density increase, or added floor area for commercial and industrial PUDs, of up to 35 percent above what the underlying zone allows, rounded to the nearest whole number. Properties inside a Water Resource Protection Overlay District, which shields the Lake Whatcom drinking-water watershed, are categorically ineligible for any bonus. The remaining credits are additive, not compounded, and include: 15 percent for meeting the chapter's baseline PUD standards; 10 percent for built recreational open space such as trails, courts or pools; 10 percent for preserving a historically or architecturally significant structure, subject to the planning director's sign-off no later than technical committee review; 10 percent for buildings that cut energy use to 75 percent or less of the Washington State Energy Code baseline; 10 percent for on-site renewable energy covering at least 20 percent of combined space and water heating; 15 percent for preserving public shoreline access; and a separate 15 percent rear-lane/alley-garage design bonus for single-family and multifamily projects in urban residential zones. 91 WCC's transfer-of-development-rights program. 365.