According to the Bothell municipal code residential property is permitted to be used for boarders and rooming. You are advised to speak with your local city hall if permits are required as nothing is referenced in the code as requiring permits. Below is the code section for your review. I will highlight the applicable area of the law for each reference.

12.06.140 Residential uses.

A. Use Table.

Residential Uses

Zoning Classification

R 40,000

R 9,600

R 8,400

R 7,200

R 5,400d

R 5,400a

R 4,000

R 2,800

R-AC

Adult family homes (1)

Domestic animals, keeping of (2)

Dormitories, fraternities and sororities (3)

Dwelling units, accessory (4)

Dwelling units, primary, one unit per structure, detached (“single-family”) (5)

Dwelling units, primary, two units per structure (“duplex”) (6)

P (R 5,400a)

Dwelling units, primary, three or more units per structure (“multifamily”) (6)

P (R 5,400a)

Family day care (7)

Home occupations (8)

Households of more than eight unrelated persons (9)

Mobile home parks (10)

Mobile and/or manufactured homes, in mobile/manufactured home parks (10)

Nursing homes (11)

Residential care facilities (12)

Rooms for roomers or boarders (13)

Rooms for the use of domestic employees of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the primary dwelling (14)

Specialized senior housing (11)

Uses customarily accessory to permitted principal uses, including but not limited to garages, garden houses, tool sheds, playhouses or other play structures, greenhouses, swimming pools, and boat moorage (15)

P: Permitted Use C: Conditional Use

Numbers in parentheses reference use-specific development and operating conditions under subsection B of this section.

B. Development Conditions.

1. Adult family homes are permitted, subject to obtaining a state license in accordance with Chapter 70.128 RCW and the following:

a. Compliance with all building, fire, safety, health code, and city licensing requirements;

b. Conformance to lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and other design and dimensional standards of the zoning classification in which the home is located.

2. Keeping of animals shall not constitute a public nuisance which endangers the public health, safety or general welfare, in accordance with BMC Title 6, Animals. Suitable structures or fences shall be provided to restrain animals from leaving the premises. Animals other than and in excess of those permitted by this title shall require a conditional use permit. The raising and keeping of animals for agricultural purposes is regulated under BMC 12.06.030.

The following domestic animals are permitted in residential uses:

a. Three or fewer adult dogs per dwelling unit;

b. Three or fewer adult cats per dwelling unit;

c. A total of three adult dogs or three adult cats per dwelling unit; provided, that any combination of adult dogs and adult cats shall not exceed four;

d. Three or fewer adult rabbits per dwelling unit;

e. Three or fewer adult fowl per dwelling unit;

f. Gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, caged birds;

g. Nonvenomous reptiles and amphibians;

h. Other animals normally associated with a dwelling unit, and which are generally housed within the dwelling unit;

i. In addition to the maximum number of adult animals permitted, offspring from females are permitted at any given time until those offspring are able to survive independently.

3. Dormitories, fraternities and sororities shall be permitted as accessory uses to public or private educational institutions or churches.

4. Accessory dwelling units are permitted in primary detached dwellings (“single-family residences”) subject to the following restrictions:

a. The primary dwelling unit shall be owner-occupied.

b. No more than one front entrance shall be visible from the street.

c. Paved off-street parking shall be provided for at least one stall in addition to the three stalls required for the primary dwelling unit; such parking shall consist of a driveway, garage or a combination thereof, located on the lot they are intended to serve.

d. A primary detached dwelling unit may be expanded to accommodate an accessory dwelling unit, consistent with the following provisions:

(1) In no case shall such construction increase the total floor area by more than 10 percent.

(2) The floor area devoted to the accessory dwelling unit shall comprise no more than 40 percent of the floor area of the primary dwelling unit, including any floor area added as a result of construction of an accessory dwelling unit, or 600 square feet, whichever is less. For example, a primary detached dwelling unit comprising 2,400 square feet of floor area could be expanded by up to 240 square feet to accommodate an accessory dwelling unit, and the accessory dwelling unit could comprise up to 600 total square feet.

(3) Any accessory dwelling construction which involves exterior walls shall be designed so as to be similar in style, color and building materials to the primary detached dwelling, and shall conform to all dimensional standards of the zoning classification in which the dwelling is located.

e. A single-family residence shall contain no more than one accessory dwelling unit.

5. Detached primary dwelling units, or single-family dwelling units, include site-built homes, type A manufactured homes and modular homes. Modular homes on individual lots shall incorporate design features of typical site-built homes including but not limited to modulation, articulation, sloped roofs, and wood siding or siding of a material which imitates wood.

6. In the R 5,400d zone, permitted primary dwelling units are detached single-family dwellings only. In the R 5,400a zone, permitted primary dwelling units may include detached single-family dwellings, duplexes and/or multifamily units, in accordance with subarea regulations.

7. Family day care is a permitted use, subject to obtaining a state license in accordance with Chapter 74.15 RCW and the following:

a. Compliance with all building, fire, safety, health code, and city licensing requirements;

b. Conformance to lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and other design and dimensional standards of the zoning classification in which the home is located;

c. Certification by the office of child care policy licensor that a safe passenger loading area, if necessary, is provided.

8. Home occupations are permitted subject to the following:

a. The home occupation shall be necessary and subordinate to the primary use of the subject structure as a dwelling unit.

b. All activities of the home occupation shall be conducted indoors.

c. The business shall be conducted by a member of the family residing within the dwelling unit plus no more than one additional person now residing in the dwelling unit.

d. Home occupations may have on-site client contact subject to the following limitations:

(1) All the activities of the home occupation shall take place inside the primary or accessory residential structure;

(2) The home occupation shall generate no more than two vehicle trips per hour to the licensed residence, except that for one continuous three-hour period per month, the home occupation may generate up to 10 vehicle trips; and

(3) The home occupation shall not create a public nuisance as defined and regulated in Chapter 8.24 BMC.

e. The following activities shall be prohibited:

(1) Automobile, truck, boat and heavy equipment repair;

(2) Auto or truck body work or boat hull and deck work;

(3) Parking and storage of heavy equipment;

(4) Storage of building materials for use on other properties;

(5) Painting or detailing of autos, trucks, boats, or other items;

(6) The outside storage of equipment, materials or more than one vehicle related to the business;

(7) Vehicles larger than 10,000 pounds gross weight operated out of the premises or parked on the property or on adjacent streets; and

(8) Taxicab, van shuttle, limousine or other transportation services, except for office activities; provided all other requirements of this subsection concerning home occupations are met.

9. Households of more than eight persons in which any one person is unrelated to any or all of the others are not permitted, except that the community development director may allow larger numbers of unrelated persons to live together in a household in two situations: through a grant of special accommodation, available only to domestic violence shelters as defined in BMC Title 11, Administration of Development Regulations, and through a grant of reasonable accommodation when necessary to comply with the provisions of the Federal Housing Act amendments, RCW 49.60.222, or RCW 35.63.220.

a. The director may grant special accommodation to individuals who are residents of domestic violence shelters in order to allow them to live together in groups of between nine and 15 persons in single-family dwelling units subject to the following:

(1) An application for special accommodation must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director that the needs of the residents of the domestic violence shelter make it necessary for the residents to live together in a group of size proposed, and that adverse impacts on the neighborhood from the increased density will be mitigated.

(2) The director shall take into account the size, shape and location of the dwelling unit and lot, the building occupancy load, the traffic and parking conditions on adjoining and neighboring streets, the vehicle usage to be expected from residents, staff and visitors, and any other circumstances the director determines to be relevant as to whether the proposed increase in density will adversely impact the neighborhood.

(3) An applicant shall modify the proposal as needed to mitigate any adverse impacts identified by the director, or the director shall deny the request for special accommodation.

(4) A grant of special accommodation permits a dwelling to be inhabited only according to the terms and conditions of the applicant’s proposal and the director’s decision. If circumstances materially change or the number of residents increases, or if adverse impacts occur that were not adequately mitigated, the director shall revoke the grant of special accommodation and require the number of people in the dwelling to be reduced to eight unless a new grant of special accommodation is issued for a modified proposal.

(5) A decision to grant special accommodation is a Type I action. The decision shall be recorded with the King or Snohomish County auditor.

b. When necessary to comply with the provisions of the Federal Fair Housing Act amendments, RCW 49.60.222, or RCW 35.63.220, the director may grant reasonable accommodation to individuals in order for them to live in a household of more than eight persons, subject to the following:

(1) An applicant for reasonable accommodation must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director that the special needs of the proposed residents makes it necessary for them to live in a household of the size proposed in order to have equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

(2) The director shall determine what adverse land impacts, including cumulative impacts, if any, would result from granting the proposed accommodation. The director shall take into account the size, shape and location of the dwelling unit and lot, the building occupancy load, the traffic and parking conditions on adjoining and neighboring streets, the vehicle usage to be expected from residents, staff and visitors, and any other circumstances the director determines to be relevant as to whether the proposed increase in density will adversely impact the neighborhood.

(3) The director shall consider the applicant’s need for accommodation in light of the anticipated land use impacts, and the director may impose conditions in order to make the accommodation reasonable in light of those impacts.

(4) A grant of reasonable accommodation permits a dwelling to be inhabited only according to the terms and conditions of the applicant’s proposal and the director’s decision. If the director determines that the accommodation has become unreasonable because circumstances have changed or adverse land use impacts have occurred that were not anticipated, the director shall rescind or modify the decision to grant reasonable accommodation.

(5) A decision to grant reasonable accommodation is a Type I action. The decision shall be recorded with the King or Snohomish County auditor.

(6) Nothing herein shall prevent the director from granting reasonable accommodation to the full extent required by federal or state law.

10. Mobile and/or (type B) manufactured homes are allowed only in mobile/manufactured home parks developed in accordance with Chapter 12.08 BMC.

11. See BMC 12.04.035, Specialized Senior Housing Overlay (SSHO) zoning classification; Chapter 12.10 BMC, Specialized Senior Housing and Nursing Homes, and BMC 12.64.120, Specialized Senior Housing Overlay in the vicinity of the Northshore Senior Services Center – R 9,600, SSHO zoning.

12. Residential care facilities means facilities which care for at least five but not more than 15 functionally disabled persons, and which are not licensed as an adult family home pursuant to Chapter 70.128 RCW. Residential care facilities are subject to the following:

a. Compliance with all building, fire, safety, health code, and state and city licensing requirements;

b. Conformance to lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and other design and dimensional standards of the zoning classification in which the home is located;

c. A safe passenger loading area shall be provided, if determined necessary by the director.

13. The number of roomers or boarders plus persons in the resident family shall not exceed eight, except as provided in subsection (B)(9) of this section.

14. If such rooms meet the definition of a dwelling unit, the requirements for accessory dwelling units shall be met.

15. Accessory buildings shall be limited to a maximum lot coverage of five percent as established in Chapter 12.14 BMC. Garages and carports located in R 8,400, R 7,200, R 5,400d, R 5,400a, R 4,000 and R 2,800 zoned properties may exceed the five percent coverage limitation provided the garage or carport does not exceed 480 square feet in area. Accessory buildings shall be consistent with BMC 12.14.030 which addresses accessory building height and design. (Ord. 1957 § 1 (Exh. B), 2006; Ord. 1946 § 2, 2005; Ord. 1876 § 2, 2002; Ord. 1871 § 1, 2002; Ord. 1817 § 1, 2000; Ord. 1815 § 1, 2000; Ord. 1685, 1997; Ord. 1661 § 1, 1996; Ord. 1629 § 1, 1996)

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12.06.140 Residential uses.

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