Home Remodeling in
Bremerton, WA

The Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council led a program with Kitsap County, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo to produce pre-approved ADU plans, drawn by the Artisans Group.

There are six: the Lille at 480 square feet, the Sidney at 600, the Sinclair at 800, the two-story Blakely at 800, the Kitsap at 672 to 834, and the Salish at 1,000. They are free to use anywhere in Bremerton as long as the plan is not modified.

Full plan sets can be reviewed at the Community Development permit counter, open 9 a.m. to noon, Monday to Friday, or by appointment. A pre-approved plan has already been checked against the building code, which saves time and design cost.

An ADU is allowed anywhere a new or existing single-family home is allowed, and ADUs do not count toward the zone's density. A lot can have the house plus two ADUs, attached or detached, for three homes in total. The owner does not have to live on site.

Size is where Bremerton is unusually generous. An ADU can be up to 1,000 square feet or 60 percent of the main house's habitable floor area, whichever is greater. So once the house is larger than about 1,667 square feet, the ADU can be 60 percent of its size.

Since code amendments took effect on 16 June 2025, no parking is required to add ADUs at all. Parking you choose to add still has to meet the city's design standards.

An ADU follows the setbacks, height and lot coverage of the zone. In the R-10 zone that means 15 feet at the front and rear and 5 feet at the sides. There are two useful exceptions: an ADU can sit directly on the rear property line where it backs onto an alley, and as close as 3 feet to a side line if that wall is built to fire separation standards.

The design has to keep the look of a single-family home, so no duplex-style layouts, and materials should complement the main house. The city publishes an ADU Design Guide for this.

The Department of Community Development is in Suite 600, on the sixth floor of the Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 6th St., on (360) 473-5275. The Permit Center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the counter open 9 a.m. to noon and appointments available through the rest of the day. Applications go in through the city's online Permit Portal.