C-2: Service Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One caretaker home

Main uses

Car wash, civic use, offices, commercial vehicle storage, convenience store, contractor's yard and building supply, entertainment, mini-storage, nursery, personal services, restaurant, fabrication shop, service station, transportation, farming, towing, veterinary clinic and kennel, vehicle sales, service, rental and repair, parking lot; outdoor storage, caretaker home

Smallest lot for a subdivision

1,000 m² on community water and sewer, 2,000 m² on community water only, 1 ha with neither; 20 m of frontage

Lot coverage

60%, all buildings together

Height limit

Main building 15 m, accessory buildings 12 m

Setbacks

Front 6 m (service station buildings 12 m; uncovered pump islands 5 m from every lot line), interior sides 3 m (accessory buildings 1.5 m), exterior side 4.5 m, rear 6 m

One caretaker home: a house, a manufactured home or a unit in the main building, for the owner, operator or caretaker (s. 2.2).

Cannabis retail is also allowed at 343 Clearwater Valley Road (s. 9.2.3, Bylaw 312).

Whether a convenience store run as a main use is capped. Section 9.2.4 limits one "as an accessory use" to 140 m², but the zone lists convenience stores as a main use, so this is unclear; ask the District of Clearwater.

Mostly governed by the official community plan's development permit rules (s. 9.2.1).

Outdoor storage (s. 5.21): not in a front yard of a lot with a home; its share is capped at "40% of the total site coverage", and whether that means 40% of the lot or of the area covered by buildings is unclear (ask the District); it stands 10 m from side and rear lot lines, 30 m from homes and from rivers, streams and lakes, screened by a solid fence 1.8 to 2.5 m tall along streets and residential zones.

Land for derelict vehicles, parts or wrecking is enclosed by a solid fence 2.5 to 4 m tall (not needed along a lot also zoned C-2, I-1, I-2 or I-3), with nothing stacked above it; barbed wire only above 2.1 m (s. 5.11.3).

Commercial kennels are soundproofed and stand 6 m from every lot line (s. 5.13).

Construction camps for major projects (s. 5.27): on a lot of 4 ha or more, 50 m from lots in zones that don't allow them, for the construction period only, then restored.

The bylaw doesn't mention short-term rental and lists no bed and breakfast in this zone; a use the bylaw doesn't list isn't permitted (s. 5.1.1). Ask the District before renting a home short term.

A landscape plan by a landscape architect, designer or certified arborist comes with any building or development permit worth $50,000 or more (s. 5.12.1); garbage bins of 1 m³ or more are screened 2.5 m tall (s. 5.12.5).

Next to a residential lot, the setbacks along the shared lot line are landscaped or screened at least 1.5 m tall on this lot (s. 5.12.4).

Shipping containers (s. 5.26) as accessory buildings: up to two 40 ft or four 20 ft per lot, screened, at accessory building setbacks.

Nothing but a sign within 4.5 m of a provincial controlled access highway (s. 5.8.1).

Development within a riparian assessment area of a stream follows the provincial Riparian Areas Regulation's setbacks (s. 5.8.3).

On ALR land, the Agricultural Land Commission's rules come first: no extra home, duplex, carriage suite or garden suite without its approval, and agri-tourism lodging of up to four rooms (s. 4.4). Licensed cannabis production is allowed on ALR land in any zone, on a lot of 8 ha or more (s. 5.23.1).

Every zone also allows community gardens, municipal parks, utilities, rooftop solar and accessory uses of the zone's main uses, off ALR land (s. 5.2); beekeeping under the Animal Control Bylaw (s. 5.28).

Height is measured from the average finished grade to the highest point, leaving out chimneys, antennas and rooftop equipment (s. 2.2).

Minimum lot sizes apply to new lots. A lot for a relative's home under s. 514 of the Local Government Act is 8,000 m² (s. 5.3(e)).

Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property, and development permit areas, the ALR and building rules apply on top. Confirm with the District of Clearwater's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: District of Clearwater Zoning Bylaw No. 133, 2016 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Thompson-Nicola Regional District.