Medina, WA building permits, zoning and tree code: what you can build in 2026

Short answer: in Medina, your lot size decides almost everything. It sets the setbacks, the share of the lot a house may cover and how many trees must stay. Height is measured from original grade, which a geotechnical engineer must establish before the city checks height. There is no floor area ratio; the footprint is the limit.

For how I work in the city, see the Medina architect page. Every number below comes from the Medina Municipal Code (MMC), Municode version of May 6, 2026, the city’s Development Services pages or city ordinances and Council packets not yet codified, as of October 8, 2026. Confirm with the city before you rely on any figure.

Which zone your lot is in

Medina’s residential zones are R-16, R-20, R-30 and SR-30 (suburban gardening residential), plus a Medina Heights overlay with its own lower height limit (MMC 16.20.020). A detached single-family house is permitted outright in every zone.

Zone	Minimum net lot area	Minimum lot width	Minimum street frontage
R-16	16,000 sq ft	90 ft (70 ft codified)	90 ft (70 ft codified)
R-20	20,000 sq ft	90 ft (70 ft codified)	90 ft (70 ft codified)
R-30	30,000 sq ft	90 ft	90 ft
SR-30	30,000 sq ft	90 ft	90 ft

Source: MMC Table 16.22.020 as codified; interim Ordinance 1059 raised R-16 and R-20 to 90 feet (Council packet, July 27, 2026). Lot width is the average distance between the side lot lines where the building envelope sits.

Setbacks grow with lot size

Medina sets yards by the square footage of the lot, whatever the zone. Setbacks are measured to the closest point of the building, eaves, gutters and mechanical equipment included.

Lot area	Front	Rear	Side
10,000 sq ft or less	25 ft	25 ft	10 ft
10,001 to 13,000 sq ft	26 ft	26 ft	10 ft
13,001 to 15,000 sq ft	28 ft	28 ft	10 ft
15,001 to 20,000 sq ft	30 ft	30 ft	10 ft
Over 20,000 sq ft	30 ft	30 ft	10 ft or 15% of lot width, whichever is greater, up to 20 ft

Source: MMC Table 16.22.030 as codified. The side setbacks are raised by the interim ordinances described below. The Lake Washington setback is separate (MMC 16.63.030).

Interim side setbacks, 2026. Ordinance 1052, an emergency interim control passed February 23, 2026, raised side setbacks, and Ordinance 1059 extended and modified it on July 27, 2026. The city’s September 14 packet lists 15 feet on lots under 20,000 square feet and, on larger lots, the greater of 15 feet or 20 percent of lot width, up to 20 feet. Ordinance 1059 dropped the separate upper floor setback that Ordinance 1052 had added. The interim controls run six months from July 27 unless Council ends or renews them.

Ordinance 1062 is pending. It would make these rules permanent and end the interim controls, and let an owner ask for the old 10 foot side setback through a minor deviation, a Type 2 decision the director can deny. The packet shows a hearing on September 28 and a return on October 12 if Council took no action. As of October 8 I found no adopted ordinance or minutes, and the city’s Phase 1 page still calls it a proposal.

A 120 foot wide, 30,000 square foot lot needs 18 feet per side under the codified table (120 x 0.15) and 20 under the interim rules (120 x 0.20 = 24, capped at 20).

Structural coverage is the size limit

The city’s general questions page says Medina uses structural coverage rather than floor area ratio. What is capped is how much of the lot buildings and structures cover, plus a separate cap on all hard surfaces.

Zone	Structural coverage	Impervious surface
R-16	30% on lots of 10,000 sq ft or less, stepping down to 25% at 16,000 and 21% from 19,501 up	55%
R-20	25% on lots of 16,000 sq ft or less, stepping down to 21% from 19,501 up	52.5%
R-30 and SR-30	Same as R-20	52.5%, or 50% on lots of 30,000 sq ft or more

Source: MMC Tables 16.23.020(A) and (B). Between the listed sizes, coverage steps down by 0.4 to 0.5 percentage points per 500 square feet.

Worked example: a 30,000 square foot R-30 lot may have 6,300 square feet of structural coverage (30,000 x 0.21) and 15,000 square feet of impervious surface (30,000 x 0.50). In R-20, R-30 and SR-30 you get an extra 2 percent of coverage for uncovered decks, porches and verandas, provided the roof eaves project no more than 2 feet and the space under any raised deck stays open (MMC 16.23.040).

Coverage counts buildings, eaves, patios, decks, sports courts and pools, but not uncovered decks and patios under 30 inches or structures entirely below existing grade (MMC 16.23.030). So a fully buried lower level adds floor area without adding coverage, though the impervious cap still applies.

Height, original grade and the height bonus

Height in Medina is measured from both original grade and finished grade, and the one that gives the lower ceiling governs.

• R-20, R-30 and SR-30. A flat height plane set 25 feet above the lowest point of original grade, or 28 feet above the lowest point of finished grade, whichever is lower (MMC Table 16.23.050(A) and 16.23.060(C)).
• R-16. 25 feet above original grade or 28 feet above finished grade, but measured as a sloping plane between the high and low points, with a second cap 36 feet above the lowest point of original grade.
• Medina Heights overlay. 20 feet above original grade or 23 feet above finished grade.
• The height bonus, now suspended. The codified text gives R-20, R-30 and SR-30 lots with coverage at or under 13 percent (not counting the deck bonus) 30 feet from the high point and 36 feet from the low point (Table 16.23.050(C)). It also contradicts itself: MMC 16.23.050(A)(3)(b) allows 17.5 percent on lots of 16,000 square feet or less, while 16.23.050(F) bars the bonus above 13 percent. Interim Ordinance 1052 struck the bonus and both clauses for applications filed after February 23, 2026; the pending Ordinance 1062 would allow a bonus only through a minor deviation.

Original grade comes from a geotechnical engineer’s test pits along the proposed walls, and the city must approve that report before it checks height (MMC 16.23.080). Chimneys may rise 3 feet above the limit and solar panels 6 inches.

The tree code (MMC 16.52)

A significant tree in Medina is one of at least 6 inches in diameter at breast height and of a species on the city’s suitable tree list. The city’s trees page says a permit is almost always needed to remove one.

• When the full tree code applies. Land is under development when you build a house of 2,500 square feet or more, add more than 500 square feet or 15 percent of footprint over four years, whichever is larger, add 2,000 square feet of impervious surface, or remove qualifying trees, including in the two years before you apply (MMC 16.52.070).
• How many trees you keep. Divide the lot area by 1,000 and multiply by 0.40, rounding up. A 20,000 square foot lot needs 8 tree units (20 x 0.40). Existing trees count 0.5 units at 6 to 10 inches, 0.75 above that, and 1.0 for conifers of 36 inches or more (MMC 16.52.090).
• Replacement. Shortfalls are planted with trees of at least 2 inch caliper, meaning trunk diameter (6 feet tall for conifers), two for each removed tree of 24 inches or more, kept healthy for five years.
• Very large trees. Legacy (36 to 50 inches) and landmark (50 inches or more) trees carry extra replacement. Removing a significant tree of 50 inches or more outside the house footprint needs a hearing examiner decision (MMC 16.52.160).

Trees under 24 inches inside the house footprint are excluded from the count (MMC 16.52.020). Do the arborist and survey work, including topography at 2 foot contours, before design; retained trees become fixed points.

Waterfront lots, briefly

On Lake Washington, the shoreline setback is set by a city map: 30 feet, 30 feet with shoreline enhancements (50 feet without them), 50 feet, or a stringline drawn between the neighboring houses, all measured from the ordinary high water line (MMC 16.63.030). A house on the water may qualify for a written exemption from the shoreline substantial development permit, which Medina decides administratively, or it may need the full permit, which goes to the hearing examiner. More in the Medina shoreline guide and Lake Washington lakefront design.

Remodel or rebuild: the nonconformity rules

An older house may sit inside today’s setbacks or over today’s coverage, more so under the 2026 interim side setbacks. Chapter 16.36 still lets you keep some of it.

• Remodels and additions. A nonconforming house may be enlarged, remodeled or structurally altered as long as the work adds nothing to the part of the house that causes the nonconformity (MMC 16.36.060).
• When the rights end. A house loses its nonconforming status on substantial destruction, defined as damage of any origin, voluntary or not, where restoring it would cost 60 percent or more of the structure’s fair market value.
• The footprint allowance. A house that does not meet a zoning setback may be substantially destroyed or reconstructed and keep that setback, provided the new house goes back within the existing footprint, any expansion meets current setbacks, and a complete building permit application is filed within six months.
• Going up over excess coverage. Where coverage is already over the limit, an upper level is allowed if its footprint stays within the allowed coverage, and in R-20, R-30 and SR-30 the height is held to 25 feet above original grade or 28 feet above finished grade.

That allowance covers zoning setbacks only; shoreline setbacks follow the shoreline rules. Demolition typically runs $20,000 to $50,000 as a planning range. The wider decision is set out in remodel or tear down and rebuild.

Site plan review, and who needs it

Medina has no general design review for houses. Site plan review is a Type 3 decision with a hearing before the hearing examiner, and the code says it is not meant to regulate architectural style or massing (MMC 16.72.040). It applies only to:

• a new building or expansion on a building site of 80,000 square feet;
• a site of at least 40,000 square feet that is at least 50 percent larger than the average of the developed lots touching it, or at least twice the smallest of them;
• a lot under 16,000 square feet where the owner asks to depart from setbacks to save trees of 24 inches or more.

Interior remodels that leave the site layout alone, additions of no more than 200 square feet of footprint in five years and reconstruction within the existing footprint never need it. Where it applies, the hearing examiner weighs visibility, privacy, topography and trees of 24 inches or more, using a 3D zoning envelope and renderings from each abutting house, and can grant departures from setbacks, coverage and height. On large luxury home sites, put it in the schedule from the first meeting.

Applying, the portal and permit search

The Medina building department is the city’s Development Services department, 501 Evergreen Point Road. Medina has adopted the Washington State Building Code with its own amendments, in MMC Subtitle 16.4. The steps for a new house or a major remodel:

1. Predevelopment meeting. Not required, but the city calls it highly encouraged for new single-family residences, additions and remodels. Meetings are online on Wednesday mornings, with a $2,000 advance deposit; the unused balance is refunded about three months later.
2. Original grade report from a geotechnical engineer, approved by the city, and a tree preservation plan if the land is under development.
3. Application through the city’s SmartGov permit portal. A house is normally a Type 1 building permit decided by the building official, or Type 2 with public notice if review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) is required (MMC 16.70.010). The city issues a determination of completeness within 28 days.
4. Construction activity permit, submitted at intake, covered below.

For a Medina building permit search, the same portal lets you review application status, issued permits and inspection results, and research parcel information. Fees are based on valuation, a fixed rate or both.

Construction activity permit and work hours

Every building permit in Medina carries a construction activity permit (MMC Chapter 16.75). Work cannot start until it is issued and you have held a preconstruction meeting with the city.

Projects with a combined permit value of $500,000 or more also mail notice to owners within 500 feet, post notice boards and hold an open house, which makes the construction activity permit a Type 2 decision. The city’s FAQ lists work hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or city observed holidays. The codified MMC 8.06.160 still reads 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, so confirm which hours go on your permit.

How long it takes

Medina’s FAQ says permits are reviewed first come, first served and that the city does not give out timelines for permits. What the code does set is a processing deadline: 65 days for a Type 1 decision, 100 days for Type 2 and 170 days for Type 3, in calendar days from a complete application, excluding time the city is waiting on you (MMC 16.80.210). If the city misses it, it must tell you in writing why and give an estimated decision date.

For planning I use 2 to 4 months of design to reach permit submission, Seattle’s permit times as a benchmark, 6 to 10 months for a new house (about 2 to 3 months for a remodel), 12 to 18 months of construction, and 18 to 30 months from design start to move-in. Site plan review, a shoreline permit or a large tree removal each adds a hearing. The full sequence is in the custom home timeline.

Every rule above can be checked before design starts, and I put them on one site plan first. Piper Cole designs houses and administers construction on your behalf. We do not build.

Questions

How do I get a building permit in Medina, WA?

Medina’s Development Services department takes applications through the city’s SmartGov online permit portal. For a new house the city highly encourages a predevelopment meeting first, held online on Wednesday mornings with a $2,000 advance deposit. You will also need a geotechnical original grade report approved by the city, a tree preservation plan if the tree code applies, and a construction activity permit. A house is normally a Type 1 building permit, or Type 2 if SEPA review is required.

What are the zoning districts in Medina, WA?

The residential zones are R-16, R-20, R-30 and SR-30, with minimum lot sizes of 16,000, 20,000, 30,000 and 30,000 square feet. There is also a neighborhood auto servicing zone, a public zone and a Medina Heights overlay with a lower height limit. Detached single-family houses are permitted in every zone, as of September 2026.

What are the setbacks in Medina, WA?

Setbacks depend on lot area. Front and rear setbacks are 25 feet on lots of 10,000 square feet or less, rising to 26, 28 and then 30 feet on lots over 15,000 square feet. The codified side setback is 10 feet up to 20,000 square feet, and on larger lots 10 feet or 15 percent of lot width, whichever is greater, up to 20 feet. Interim ordinances adopted in February 2026 and extended in July raised side setbacks to 15 feet on lots under 20,000 square feet and, on larger lots, the greater of 15 feet or 20 percent of lot width, up to 20 feet. A permanent Ordinance 1062 is pending, so confirm the current figures with the city. Eaves, gutters and mechanical equipment count.

Does Medina have a floor area ratio limit?

No. The city uses structural coverage instead of floor area ratio. Coverage is capped at 21 to 30 percent of the lot depending on zone and lot size, and impervious surface at 50 to 55 percent. Structures entirely below existing grade do not count toward structural coverage, though they still count toward impervious surface.

How tall can a house be in Medina?

In R-20, R-30 and SR-30, a house must stay under a flat plane 25 feet above the lowest point of original grade or 28 feet above the lowest point of finished grade, whichever is lower. A height bonus of 30 and 36 feet for low coverage lots was suspended by an interim ordinance in February 2026. R-16 uses 25 and 28 feet measured as a sloping plane. Original grade must be set by a geotechnical engineer and approved by the city.

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Medina?

Almost always, according to the city. Significant trees are 6 inches or more in diameter and on the city’s suitable species list. A new house of 2,500 square feet or more must keep 0.40 tree units per 1,000 square feet of lot, with replacements if you fall short. Removing a significant tree of 50 inches or more on private property outside the house footprint needs a hearing examiner decision.

How long does a Medina building permit take?

The city does not publish timelines; its FAQ says permits are reviewed first come, first served. The municipal code sets maximum processing times of 65 days for Type 1, 100 days for Type 2 and 170 days for Type 3 decisions, counted from a complete application and excluding time spent waiting on the applicant. As a benchmark, Seattle permits take 6 to 10 months for a new house and about 2 to 3 months for a remodel.

Does a new house in Medina need design review?

Not in general. Medina has site plan review, decided by the hearing examiner, but it applies only to building sites of 80,000 square feet, to sites of 40,000 square feet or more that are much larger than their neighbors, and to small lots seeking setback relief to save large trees. The code says it is not intended to regulate architectural style or massing.

Can I rebuild on my old setbacks in Medina?

Sometimes. A house that does not meet a zoning setback may be substantially destroyed or reconstructed and keep that setback if the new house stays within the existing footprint, any expansion meets current setbacks, and a complete building permit application is filed within six months. Shoreline setbacks follow separate shoreline rules.

Authoritative sources

Regulatory requirements referenced in this guide are set by the official agencies below. Rules change, always confirm current requirements with the source:

• Seattle Dept. of Construction & Inspections (SDCI)