R-2: Compact Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house or one duplex; a secondary suite in a house

Main uses

House or duplex; communal buildings on strata common property, bed and breakfast, boarding, home based business, secondary suite, one accessory building

Smallest lot for a subdivision

400 m² for a house, 600 m² for a duplex

Lot coverage

45%, all buildings together

Height limit

Main building 10 m, accessory buildings 5 m

Setbacks

Front 6 m, interior sides 2.4 m, exterior side 4.5 m, rear 6 m; the accessory building stands in the rear yard (unless on strata common property), 1.5 m from the rear and interior side lot lines and 4.5 m from the exterior side

Every lot must be on community water and sewer. One accessory building per lot, up to 65 m², with no limit on strata common property (s. 8.2.3).

A manufactured home isn't a listed use in this zone.

Secondary suite (s. 5.22): one, inside a single family dwelling (a house; the bylaw's single family dwelling leaves out manufactured homes, s. 2.2), never in a duplex or manufactured home, with its own entrance, up to 40% of the house's habitable floor area and 90 m², registered with the District and inspected before anyone moves in; one more parking space (Table 3).

Bed and breakfast (s. 5.16): in the operator's own home, up to four guest rooms and eight guests, no cooking in the guest rooms, one parking space per guest room, and no guest staying more than 60 days in a calendar year.

Boarding (s. 5.17): up to two rooms of a house (not a duplex or manufactured home) let to boarders, with the owner living in the home.

Home based business (s. 5.18): run mainly by the people who live there, inside the house, duplex or manufactured home, with at most one full-time or two part-time employees from outside, no outside storage or change to how the home looks, and none of vehicle repair, trucking, sawmilling, welding, kennels, retail of goods not made on the lot, pubs or restaurants, or cannabis retail. A child care centre or preschool of up to ten children counts as one (s. 5.19). One customer parking space (Table 3).

The bylaw doesn't mention short-term rental. Renting a whole home by the night isn't a listed use, and a use the bylaw doesn't list isn't permitted (s. 5.1.1); a bed and breakfast is. Ask the District before renting a home short term.

A manufactured home for a relative or caregiver (s. 5.24) may be added for as long as a physician certifies the care is needed: on a lot of 4,000 m² with community water or 8,000 m² without, on a lot with no more than one house, 6 m from every lot line and 5 m from the house, with sewage disposal under the provincial Sewerage System Regulation and a covenant on title; not on ALR land without the Commission's approval.

A manufactured home (CSA Z240 or A277) sits on a BC Building Code foundation, anchored and skirted (s. 5.20).

No accessory building before the main building, and none used as a home or for sleeping unless the zone allows it (s. 5.5).

Besides residents' own cars: one RV, camper or trailer, one boat and one commercial vehicle driven by someone who lives there; no commercial vehicle repairs or wrecks (s. 5.6).

No one may live or do business in an RV except in a campground (s. 5.1.2); while a lot is built on under a building permit, a temporary building or RV may be used for up to a year, or two with the District's extension (s. 5.4).

Fences up to 1.2 m in the front yard and the street side of the side yard in front of the house, 2 m elsewhere; at a street corner nothing over 1 m in the 6 m sight triangle (ss. 5.10, 5.11).

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)).

Parking (Table 3): 2 spaces for each house, duplex unit or manufactured home.

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.