Zoning

The Provincial Government has enacted new legislation aimed at increasing the supply of housing within BC. This includes legislation on Transit-Oriented Areas, Short-term Rentals, Development Financing Tools and enabling Small-Scale Multi-Unit housing units on most single-family and duplex zoned lots in the province. This legislation was adopted in November 2023 and is now in effect; however, the City’s regulations will need to be changed to align with the legislation. Visit our update page for more information.

Properties in the City are regulated by the Zoning Bylaw. Business owners are governed by commercial or industrial zoning regulations, which differ from the residential zoning regulations that affect homeowners. Each zone determines the development potential of any property, as well as the permitted uses.

The Zoning Bylaw

For complete zoning regulations, review Zoning Bylaw, 1995, No. 6700 - Divisions I-VI
For complete Development Permit guidelines and heritage guidelines, review Zoning Bylaw, 1995, No. 6700 - Development and Heritage Guidelines, Divisions VII-VIII

What You Can Do On Your Property

If you're developing or renovating a property for business or residential purposes, there are a number of zoning regulations to consider. You can find the zone of any property in the City by using our free mapping service CityMap. Using CityMap, simply search any property address and select the ‘Property Report’ tool to see the zone, OCP designation, heritage status, and more.

If you're interested in a home-based business, you can use CityMap to confirm the zone of your property, check that your proposal meets zoning requirements, then Apply, Renew & Pay for a Business Licence.

The following handouts share helpful zoning information for single family homes and duplexes:

Common Zoning Designations

Please refer to the Zoning Bylaw for complete information for each of these zones, including regulations on Gross Floor Area, Lot Coverage, height, setbacks, parking, and more.

Type	Short-Form	Designation
Residential
	RS-1, RS-2	One Unit Residential
	RT-1, RT-2	Two-Unit Residential
	RG-1, RG-2, RG-3	Ground-Oriented Residential
	RM-1, RM-2, RM-3	Medium Density Apartment
	RH-1	High Density Apartment
Commercial and Mixed Used
	C-2	General Commercial
	CS-1, CS-2, CS-3	Service Commercial
	C-1A, C-1B	Central Lonsdale Mixed Use
	LL-1, LL-2, LL-3, LL-4, LL-5	Lower Lonsdale Mixed Use
	W-1	Waterfront Mixed Use
Industrial
	M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5	Industrial
Public
	P-1, P-2	Public Use and Assembly
Comprehensive Development (CD)
	CD-001, CD-002, CD-003, etc.	Each CD Zone is unique, having undergone a site-specific rezoning process

Apply for a Rezoning

If you're a developer wanting to build or develop a property in a way that doesn't fit within the City's existing regulations, you must apply for a rezoning application. For more information, visit the Planning Applications page.

Find an Active Rezoning Application

Learn more about active or recently completed rezoning applications, as well as opportunities to share your input on the Active Applications page.

Contact Us

For general Planning questions, please contact us at gateway@cnv.org or call 604-982-WORK (9675).

If you have an active rezoning application, please contact the planner working on your project directly.