In February, residents came to a Medina City Council meeting with concerns about the height and scale of a single new home under construction. That same night the council passed emergency rules by a 5–1 vote. The rules widened side setbacks, added landscape buffer requirements and eliminated the height bonus program, according to The Urbanist.
This month those rules became permanent, with one change that matters to anyone pricing a Medina teardown. The narrower setbacks and taller height that owners used to get by right are available again, but only through a discretionary approval called a Minor Deviation. The city's Phase 1 project page says the council unanimously adopted Ordinance 1062, completing Phase 1 of its Development Impacts Project. The old envelope is still on the books. It is no longer automatic, and it costs some lots far more width than others.
What the Code Says Now, Compared With Last January
The clearest summary is the comparison slide in the city's September 14, 2026 council packet. It sets three versions of the code side by side.
| Standard | Before Feb. 2026 | Emergency rules, Ords. 1052 and 1059 | Phase 1 code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side setback, lots under 20,000 sq ft | 10 ft | 15 ft | 15 ft, or 10 ft with an approved Minor Deviation |
| Side setback, larger lots | Greater of 10 ft or 15% of lot width, max 20 ft | Greater of 15 ft or 20% of lot width, max 20 ft | Same as emergency rules, or prior standard with an approved Minor Deviation |
| Height bonus, R-20, R-30, SR-30 | Up to 30 ft above original grade or 36 ft above finished grade | Removed | Restored only with an approved Minor Deviation |
| Uncovered decks in side setbacks | Must keep 50% of setback | Must keep 75% of setback, solid landscape screen | No change from emergency rules |
| Mechanical equipment in side setbacks | 5 ft setback | 10 ft setback | No change from emergency rules |
| Minimum lot width, R-16 and R-20 | 70 ft | 90 ft | No change from emergency rules |
The draft ordinance in the October 12 council packet puts a coverage condition on the height bonus. Total structural coverage must not exceed 13 percent, or 17.5 percent on lots of 16,000 square feet or less, in both cases not counting the separate structural coverage bonus the code allows. So the extra height belongs to a house with a smaller footprint, and a buyer planning the largest allowable footprint and the tallest allowable roof is looking at two goals the code treats as a trade.
The 20-Foot Cap Decides Who Loses the Most
Setbacks apply on both sides, so every added foot comes off the buildable width twice. The 20-foot cap stayed the same through every version of the code, and that cap determines who absorbs the change. The figures below are illustrative arithmetic based only on the side-setback rules above. A real lot's buildable area also depends on front and rear setbacks, coverage limits, slopes and any shoreline rules.
| Example lot | Buildable width before | Buildable width under Phase 1 | Width lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 ft wide, under 20,000 sq ft | 80 ft | 70 ft | 10 ft, about 12.5% |
| 100 ft wide, over 20,000 sq ft | 70 ft | 60 ft | 10 ft, about 14% |
| 120 ft wide, over 20,000 sq ft | 84 ft | 80 ft | 4 ft, about 5% |
| 150 ft wide, over 20,000 sq ft | 110 ft | 110 ft | None |
Once a large lot is roughly 134 feet wide or more, 15 percent of its width already reached the 20-foot cap under the old rules, so the new percentage changes nothing. The full force of the rule lands on the narrower and more modest parcels. Those are often the ones carrying an older house that a buyer is pricing as land.
This is why the same ordinance can draw opposite reactions. The September packet lists both themes it heard from the public. One is that large, boxy homes built close to neighbors reduced privacy and caused excess noise and light. The other is that the rules under Ordinance 1052 caused a loss in property value and work against the state's density priorities. Both themes describe the same lots from different sides of the property line.
Getting the Old Envelope Back Is a Public Process
A project that meets the standards does not need a Minor Deviation. A project that wants the 10-foot side yard or the bonus height does. The procedure is set out in Medina's permit table, as amended by Ordinance 1039:
- Decision-maker. A Minor Deviation is a Type 2 decision made by the Director.
- Notice. The city issues a notice of application and a notice of decision. No public hearing is required.
- Comment period. Under RCW 36.70B.110, the public comment period after a notice of application runs 14 to 30 days.
- Conditions. The draft code in the October 12 packet requires that impacts be mitigated and lets the decision-maker impose conditions of approval. Council materials list as one criterion that the deviation not be materially detrimental to the public.
- Appeal. A city notice from 2025 states that Type 2 decisions can be appealed to the Hearing Examiner.
- Fee. The city fee schedule, effective June 22, 2026, lists Minor Deviations at $750 plus consultant fees.
The fee is small. What changes the math is that the neighbors who pushed for these rules will receive notice and can comment, and an approval can come with conditions. Before February, a buyer could treat the 80-foot width on a 100-foot lot as a known quantity. Now it is a likely outcome of an application, and the decision will be shaped by people who live next door.
Timing Matters More Than Usual
Deputy Mayor Randy Reeves made the timing point plainly when the emergency rules passed. "If we don't deal with it now, other projects are going to be vested, and we're not going to like the result," he said, as The Urbanist reported.
Vesting is the mechanism behind that warning. Under RCW 19.27.095, a valid and fully complete building permit application for a permitted structure is considered under the zoning and land-use rules in effect on the date it is submitted. Medina's code, as reproduced in Ordinance 1039, says other project permit applications do not vest the project. It also says vesting covers land-use controls, not fees, procedural rules or stormwater rules.
Under the draft, Phase 1 ends the interim controls on its effective date, five days after publication. The city also describes Phase 1 as the first step. The draft ordinance describes Phase 2 as a broader evaluation whose topics may include lot dimensions and aggregation, floor area and structural coverage, height and massing, setbacks and open space, trees, privacy and landscaping, and state housing requirements. The October 12 budget packet lists Phase 2 among the Planning Commission's 2027 priorities, with no start or end date. A buyer closing this winter on a plan for a 2028 build is betting on rules that are already scheduled for another look.
What This Changes on Each Side of a Sale
For a buyer, a teardown offer in Medina is now an offer on two numbers. The first is the envelope the lot gets by right. The second is the larger envelope it might get through a Minor Deviation. The gap between them is widest on narrower lots and close to zero on very wide ones. Feasibility work that once confirmed a footprint now needs to show the by-right version, the deviation version and the time a Type 2 review adds.
For a seller of an older home on a lot under about 134 feet wide, buyers' architects will run the same arithmetic. Marketing that talks about "build potential" based on pre-2026 numbers will not survive a buyer's first meeting with a designer. Sellers in R-16 and R-20 thinking about a subdivision should know that the 90-foot minimum width stays in place. City staff noted that it matters for subdivision applications and that Phase 2 might revisit lot widths.
Questions That Come Up
Does Phase 1 apply in R-16? Yes. Staff explained that Ordinances 1052 and 1059 applied to all residential zones and that the council had not directed them to exclude R-16 from Phase 1.
What about an existing house that already sits closer than the new setbacks? The draft lets certain additions to legally nonconforming structures match the existing legal height or setback. Limits apply, including no substantial destruction and a cap tied to 60 percent of the envelope.
Are there rules for homes that sit vacant? Yes. The emergency rules prohibited light trespass from vacant residences and interior lights visible from neighboring homes, and Phase 1 keeps them.
This post is general information about Medina's code, not legal advice, so confirm how these rules apply to a specific parcel with a land-use attorney, an architect and the City of Medina before relying on them.
If you're weighing a Medina lot, or an older Medina home you plan to sell on land value, I'm happy to go through the by-right envelope, the Minor Deviation path and the contract timing that should go with them. My years as a construction litigator taught me to read a feasibility study as closely as the purchase agreement. Let's Connect with Kelly Kang.
