How Wide Should a Driveway Be in Spokane? City and County Approach Widths, Permits and Rural Driveway Rules (2026)

Short answer: in the City of Spokane, a residential driveway approach has to be between 12 and 30 feet wide and can't take up more than 40 percent of your street frontage. In unincorporated Spokane County, an urban residential approach can be 16 to 30 feet wide, rural fire districts ask for at least 20 feet at the approach, and a long private driveway needs a 12-foot clear travel lane. The width of the concrete on your own lot is mostly up to you, but the part that crosses the curb, sidewalk or road shoulder is set by whoever owns the road.

This guide lays out the actual City and County numbers, the permits involved, and what they mean when you're planning a new or wider concrete driveway.

First, know whose road you're connecting to

The rules for the approach (the section between the street and your property line) depend on who owns the street:

• City of Spokane: streets inside city limits follow the City's design standards and Spokane Municipal Code 17H.010.220
• Spokane County: parcels outside any city, such as Mead, Chattaroy, Otis Orchards, Colbert and Nine Mile Falls, connect to County roads under the Spokane County Road Standards
• Other cities: Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Cheney, Airway Heights and other towns have their own approach permits and standards, so check with that city before you pour

We look up your parcel before we quote so the approach is designed to the right agency's plan.

City of Spokane driveway width rules

The City's design standards say driveways should generally be no less than 12 feet and no greater than 30 feet wide, with deviations possible for truck movements in commercial areas. The City's driveway approach application adds:

• Frontage limit: approaches are limited to 40 percent of your street frontage, up to 30 feet
• It has to lead somewhere: a driveway approach must provide access to an off-street parking space
• Permits: an approach permit from Engineering Services is required to build or change any driveway onto a public right-of-way, and a Street Obstruction Permit is needed before construction starts
• Who can build it: the approach has to be built by a contractor who meets the City's requirements to work in the right-of-way, and it's inspected
• Replacements: replacing an existing approach means rebuilding it to the current City Standard Plans (F-103 and F-104 series)
• Street trees: if you dig within 10 feet of a street tree, you must contact the City's Urban Forestry Program first (509-363-5495)
• Circular drives: only on residential lots with at least 50 feet of frontage on a principal or minor arterial, approved by the City Engineer, and not where a paved alley provides access

Spokane County urban approach rules

For homes in the County's urban area, the County's urban residential approach packet says:

• Width: a residential approach may be 16 to 30 feet wide. Wider than 30 feet takes a design deviation request, which has a fee
• Total width: all driveways on a street for one ownership can't exceed 50 percent of that frontage, and there can be no more than two unless the County Engineer approves
• Distance from property lines: no closer than 7.5 feet to any property line
• Distance from intersections: no closer than 20 feet from the tangent curb line of a side or intersecting street
• Widening: widening an existing approach needs a permit and a County inspection
• Paving: only the part of the driveway in the County right-of-way has to be paved with concrete or asphalt

Spokane County rural approach and private driveway rules

On acreage, two County documents apply: the rural residential approach packet for where your driveway meets the road, and handout BP-14 for the private driveway itself.

• Approach width: the fire district requests at least a 20-foot wide approach to fit an emergency vehicle
• Approach grade: within the right-of-way, no more than 8 percent in the urban area or 2 percent in rural areas, and driveway grades can't exceed 10 percent within 10 feet of the County road right-of-way
• Sight distance: 10 feet in each direction for every mile per hour of posted speed, so a 35 mph road needs 350 feet and a 45 mph road needs 450 feet
• Travel lane: a private driveway needs a 12-foot clear travel way with an all-weather surface
• Turnouts: about one every 400 feet, with an all-weather surface 20 feet wide for 50 feet of length
• Turnaround: required for driveways over 150 feet long, either a hammerhead or a cul-de-sac with a 50-foot minimum radius, within 150 feet of the house
• Grade and curves: 12 to 14 percent maximum grade outside the right-of-way, and no curve radius under 100 feet unless the fire district and County approve
• Culverts: at least 12 inches in diameter where a private driveway meets a fire apparatus access road
• Inspection: the County inspects and accepts the driveway before the house can be occupied

Your driveway also has to be long enough

Spokane County's road standards require every approach to lead to off-road parking on private property, and the driveway has to be long enough that a parked vehicle doesn't hang into the road right-of-way, sidewalk or pathway. The City has the same rule that an approach must serve an off-street parking space. When we lay out a new driveway, length matters as much as width.

Planning a wider concrete driveway

Widening is one of the most common driveway jobs we see. A few things to sort out before you pour:

• Inside your property line, width is your call: the frontage and approach limits above apply to the approach in the right-of-way, not the slab in front of your garage. Many owners keep a code-width approach and flare the driveway wider as it reaches the garage or a parking pad
• The approach may need to be rebuilt: in the City, a replaced approach has to meet current standard plans, and in the County, widening an approach takes a permit and inspection
• Match the joints and thickness: a widened section should be tied in and jointed with the existing slab. Our driveway thickness guide, control joint guide and rebar guide cover the details
• Use a freeze-thaw mix: our concrete psi guide explains why driveways here need air-entrained concrete

If your existing driveway is cracked or heaved, our repair vs. replace guide can help you decide whether to widen the old slab or start over.

What it costs

Driveway pricing depends on width, length, base work, tear-out and the approach, so we quote each driveway after a site visit. There's no charge for the quote.

Get a driveway quote

Raven Buildings pours driveways and approaches across the Spokane area. See our pages for concrete driveways in Spokane, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, then call 509-350-2016 or request a free quote with your address and how wide you'd like to go.

Sources

• City of Spokane Design Standards, Section 3.4-5 Driveways (PDF)
• City of Spokane Driveway Approach Application (PDF)
• Spokane Municipal Code 17H.010.220, Driveways
• City of Spokane Standard Plans, Section F (PDF)
• Spokane County Urban Residential Approaches (E-4)
• Spokane County Rural Residential Approaches (E-3)
• Spokane County BP-14, Private Driveways
• Spokane County Code Chapter 9.75, Road and Sewer Construction Standards