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

The bonus applies only to land outside a critical area or its required buffer. The city calculates the additional buffer or wildlife corridor area proposed as a percentage of total site area, excluding the underlying wetland, buffer, and any required wildlife corridor, then doubles that percentage and applies it to the unit count on the noncritical portion. RMC § 22.10.405(A) gives Richland's own worked example: a 15-acre site with a wetland and buffer that adds three-quarter acre of extra buffer, five percent of the site, earns a 10 percent lot-count increase, turning 40 permitted lots into 44.

To qualify, any added wetland buffer must be adjacent to the required wetland buffer, and any added habitat buffer must be adjacent to the required habitat area. A wildlife corridor not otherwise required can also qualify, but only if a qualified professional's fish and wildlife habitat conservation area report identifies it as beneficial to priority, threatened, or endangered species. The resulting density increase on the noncritical portion is capped at what the next residential zoning classification would allow, and in the highest-density multifamily zones density cannot increase beyond the current allowance.

On-site density transfers under this chapter must follow the planned unit development procedure of RMC § 23.50.010 or the plat and subdivision rules of RMC Title 24, and any sale or receipt of development rights must be recorded against the deeds of the sending and receiving properties.