PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
A1 zoning in BC
A1 (also written A-1) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial A1 zone. 20 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 20 local governments. It goes by 11 names: Agriculture (5 bylaws), Agriculture 1 (4 bylaws), Agricultural (3 bylaws), Acreage Reserve and 7 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
A1 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional District of Central Okanagan Agricultural · Regional District of Central Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 871 | One single detached house with a secondary suite inside it; on a lot of 3.8 ha or more, one accessory home for a farm worker or caretaker per 3.8 ha, up to two, instead of the suite (ss. 3.18, 3.26.4); temporary housing for seasonal farm workers (s. 5.1.11) | Outside the ALR 4 ha; in the ALR no minimum (the Agricultural Land Commission decides), but 0.5 ha where the Agricultural Land Commission Act's conditions apply; 30 m of frontage | 35%; greenhouses up to 75% less the other buildings | 12 m; accessory buildings 8 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Rural Resource · Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 3255, 2023 | One house, a secondary suite, and farm-hand dwellings on a farm | 60 ha (1 ha for a retiring farmer's homesite) | 10% (35% for farm buildings, 75% for greenhouses) | 10 m |
| Regional District of Mount Waddington Rural · RDMW Zoning Bylaw No. 21, 1972 | One house or one duplex; with a house, a secondary suite or a cabin (a second detached home up to 93 m², on a lot of at least 1 ha, which may be rented out) | 4 ha | Not set | Not set |
| Regional District of Nanaimo Agriculture 1 · Electoral Area F Zoning and Subdivision Bylaw No. 1285, 2002 | One home per hectare of lot, up to two (s. 4.1.4), and a secondary suite with each house, up to two a lot (s. 2.18) | 4 ha, with 100 m of frontage on a road (s. 4.1.4); up to half the lots in a subdivision may be 80% of that if the average holds (s. 6.7) | 10% for buildings other than farm buildings, 25% for farm buildings, 75% for greenhouses, 75% in all | 10 m |
| City of Abbotsford Agricultural One · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One house (a permanent building or a manufactured home) with one secondary suite of up to 100 m²; on a lot of 0.4 ha or more, one accessory farm dwelling unit (up to 90 m², or 186 m² on a lot over 40 ha); on farm-classed ALR land with Agricultural Land Commission approval, one full-time farm worker residence (up to 300 m²) and temporary farm worker housing (up to 60 workers per farm operation) | 8.0 ha (no minimum width or depth); the minimum doesn't apply to a road dedication, to ALR consolidations, boundary adjustments, homesite severances and subdivisions adding no lot that the Agricultural Land Commission approves, or to splitting off, along the zone line, a part the official community plan designates and the bylaw zones industrial, or a part outside the ALR zoned to exclude farming (s. 210.5.1) | 35%; greenhouses may add 25% (to 60% in all), or 40% (to 75%) where the whole greenhouse operation recirculates its irrigation water | House three storeys; farm buildings 15.0 m (grain bins 46.0 m, silos 34.0 m, shipping containers 6.0 m); full-time farm worker residence three storeys; temporary farm worker housing three storeys in a permanent building, two in a prefabricated one; accessory farm dwelling unit 7.5 m or two storeys, whichever is less, in its own building (15.0 m inside a farm building); other non-farm accessory buildings 7.5 m |
| City of Burnaby Agriculture · Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 2026, No. 14815 | One single family home on a lot, with at most one secondary suite: 2 homes (s. 6.1.3). The bylaw lists the home as an accessory use, alongside agriculture, a park or a community garden as the principal use, and counts farming as principal only where it covers at least 30% of the lot under an agriculture plan the City accepts (s. 6.1.2). Whether a house may stand on a lot with no farm, park or garden is unclear: ask the City. In the ALR the Agricultural Land Commission's rules also apply | Outside the ALR 5,000 m², 37 m wide; in the ALR 220,000 m² (22 ha), 114 m wide; a lot partly in the ALR takes the larger; not applied when lots are consolidated (ss. 6.1.4, 6.1.4.1) | The house and its accessory buildings together at most 250 m² of the lot, detached accessory buildings at most 60 m², and at most 500 m² of floor area in all (crawlspaces and attics not counted); buildings a farm needs aren't limited. In the ALR, agricultural processing at most 2,000 m² of the lot, farm retail 2,000 m² (all own produce) or 300 m² (at least half from the farm or its co-operative). The district sets no permeable share (ss. 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 6.1.4.2; Part 4-4.3) | House 10.5 m and 2.5 storeys; accessory buildings 4.0 m and one storey; buildings a farm needs 15 m. Measured from the average grade along the front wall to the middle of a sloping roof (ss. 6.1.4, 6.1.5.1) |
| Village of Clinton Agriculture · Village of Clinton Zoning Bylaw No. 607, 2025 | One principal farm residence, up to 500 m², with one more residence for farm staff or family (90 m² on a lot under 40 ha, 186 m² over 40 ha), a secondary suite and an accessory dwelling unit, as the ALR allows | No minimum set (ALR land: subdivision needs the Agricultural Land Commission) | No maximum set | 12 m |
| City of Delta Agriculture · Delta Zoning Bylaw No. 7600, 2017 | One farm house of up to 500 m² with a secondary suite, and one accessory farm home (a house or a coach house) of up to 90 m² on a lot of 40 ha or less, 186 m² on a larger one; a second farm house only with a professional agrologist's report and the Agricultural Land Commission's written approval; migrant farm worker housing only in the ALR, on a farm of 8 ha or more and a lot of 4 ha or more, with the Commission's approval (s. 10.10.4, 10.10.9) | 8 ha for a new lot, and only where the community plan and, in the ALR, the Agricultural Land Commission allow it (s. 10.10.8) | Set by farm use: 75% for greenhouses, 35% for livestock, mushrooms and nurseries, 25% for field crops (s. 10.10.10) | Farm house 3, accessory farm home 2, accessory buildings 1 (s. 10.10.7; the table gives no unit, storeys in our reading) |
| Hornby Island Local Trust Committee Agriculture 1 · Hornby Island Land Use Bylaw No. 150, 2014 | One home on a lot under 4 ha, two on a lot of 4 ha or more (s. 8.5(2)); a secondary suite in a home on a lot of 2 ha or more (s. 8.5(1)(d)); in the ALR a second home or a suite may also need the Agricultural Land Commission's approval (s. 8.5's information note) | 16 ha (s. 8.5(6)) | 10% on a lot of 1 ha or more, 15% on a smaller lot (s. 8.5(3)) | 8 m; 7 m within 100 m of the sea; accessory buildings 6 m (s. 3.4); farm buildings 10 m (s. 3.4(4)) |
| Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee Agriculture 1 · Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw, 1999 (Bylaw No. 355) | One house and a secondary suite (s. 9.1.1, s. 3.16); on a lot classified as a farm, a second home: one built before February 22, 2019, a manufactured home built from July 4, 2019 to the end of 2021, or a farmworker's home up to 56 m² on 1.2 to 2 ha, 90 m² over 2 ha and 186 m² over 40 ha (s. 9.1.1); the zone doesn't list a seasonal cottage | 8 ha, with a well and septic (s. 9.1.4); in the ALR only where the Agricultural Land Commission approves or exempts it (s. 5.1.2) | 35% leaving out greenhouses, 75% counting them; a campground 5% (s. 9.1.2) | 7.6 m and two storeys (s. 3.8.1); accessory buildings 6 m on a lot of 1.2 ha or less, 7 m on a larger one (s. 3.8.2); farm buildings 10.7 m (s. 3.8.3) |
| City of Kamloops Agricultural · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | Up to 2 homes: a house (which may be a manufactured home) and a residential suite (which may also be a manufactured home) | 8 haExceptions (3)
| Not set | Houses 2 storeys; structures 20 m |
| City of Kelowna Agriculture · City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375 | One house (a single detached home or a mobile home), with a secondary suite and a carriage house, which may be a mobile home; on Agricultural Land Reserve land another home only where the Agricultural Land Commission allows it (s. 10.3 notes .6, .8, .13) | 4 ha (40,000 m²), 40 m wide, with or without sewer; each lot needs a 150 m² building envelope (s. 10.4) | 35% of the lot for all buildings, structures and hard surfaces (75% for greenhouses and nurseries with closed waste and storm water systems); the house at most 500 m² of floor area (s. 10.5) | House 10 m; carriage house 5.4 m; farm buildings 16 m; non-farm accessory buildings 6 m; kennels and alcohol production 10 m; farm stands 6 m |
| District of Lake Country Agriculture 1 · District of Lake Country Zoning Bylaw 561, 2007 | One house with one secondary suite, or one manufactured or mobile home. On land classed as a farm for assessment, also one mobile home up to 9 m wide for family or farm help, more farm homes where Council approves them under the Agricultural Land Commission Act, and seasonal housing for farm help (s. 12.1.5) | 3.8 ha; a homesite severance lot 2,500 m² with community water, 700 m² with water and sewer | 10% for homes and accessory buildings; 35% for farm buildings and homes together, 75% for greenhouses and nurseries with closed water systems | Homes and farm-help housing 9.5 m or 2½ storeys; accessory buildings 6.0 m; farm buildings 16.0 m (silos 34.0 m, silo and grain storage 41.0 m, grain bins 46.0 m) |
| City of Maple Ridge Small Holding Agricultural · City of Maple Ridge Zoning Bylaw No. 7600-2019 | One house with a secondary suite and a detached garden suite: 3 homes (on a lot over 0.4 ha urban infill allows no more, s. 402.29). A farm worker's home as well only on a farm of 2 ha or more designated Agricultural in the Official Community Plan (1.7 ha Rural Residential), with the Agricultural Land Commission's approval, an agrologist's report and a covenant, and then no garden suite (ss. 402.2, 402.11). A campground's caretaker may have a home only where there's no house (s. 402.5) | 2.0 ha, 60 m wide, 150 m deep (s. 501.4) | 60%, all buildings together; within it farm and forestry buildings 20%, greenhouses 50%, the house 10%, a commercial kennel 20%, produce sales and other accessory buildings 10% or 279 m² of floor area, whichever is less (s. 501.6) | House 9.5 m; farm worker's home 7.0 m; farm and cannabis buildings 15.0 m; commercial kennel 4.5 m; accessory buildings 6.0 m; garden suite as s. 402.11 sets (s. 501.8) |
| Municipality of North Cowichan Agricultural · Zoning Bylaw 1997, No. 2950 | Two homes in one residential building; on a lot of 2 ha or more, two homes in up to two buildings, the smaller an accessory home of up to 90 m² (or the size of a home authorized before September 21, 2022 that it replaces) (s. 51(4))Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 51(4)(f), (g) of the bylaw. | 12 ha, with 180 m of frontage (s. 51(2), (3))Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 51(2.1) of the bylaw. | 10% | 9 m for buildings with homes; farm buildings under the farm building code (s. 51(7)) |
| City of Port Moody Acreage Reserve · City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 | One house, which may hold a secondary suite (or boarders, or a community care home, instead) (s. 8.1.2). The zone lists neither small-scale multi-unit housing nor an additional dwelling unit | 8.0 ha, 15.0 m wide (s. 3.2) | 40% for all buildings (s. 8.1.3) | House 10.5 m or 3 storeys, whichever is less; accessory buildings 4.5 m (s. 8.1.3) |
| City of Quesnel Agriculture · City of Quesnel Zoning Bylaw No. 1980 of 2025 | One house per 4 ha, two at most (farm help included); with a house, a secondary suite, secondary dwelling or carriage house | 2 ha, with 30 m of frontage | 10% | Main building 9 m, accessory buildings 7 m |
| District of Saanich Rural (2 ha lot) · District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 | One house with a secondary suite (s. 5.24); or small-scale multi-unit housing where s. 5.37 allows it (a lot inside the Urban Containment Boundary and the Sewer Service Area): houseplexes and at most one house, up to 4 homes (Schedule G). No garden suite (not a listed use here) | 2 ha, 60 m wide; no panhandle lots; a homesite severance the Agricultural Land Commission approves 2,500 m² | 40% on a lot under 2,000 m²; none set on bigger lots (small-scale multi-unit housing: Schedule G) | House 7.5 m, 6.5 m with a flat or low-pitched roof (under 3 in 12); a houseplex 11 m (Schedule G); farm buildings one storey (a hayloft or mezzanine allowed); other accessory buildings 3.75 m |
| District of Summerland Agricultural Small Acreage · Zoning Bylaw No. 2000-450 | One house or manufactured home (s. 8.1.7), with a secondary suite or a carriage house (90 m² at most in the ALR); seasonal farm worker housing and agri-tourism accommodation under their own rules (ss. 7.13, 7.16) | 2 ha, 60 m wide; with the Agricultural Land Commission's approval of a homesite severance or a lot consolidation, as small as 1,400 m² and 20 m (s. 8.1.4) | Homes and their yards within a farm home plate of up to 905 m²; buildings outside it 10% of the lot, 65% for greenhouses and nurseries on 2 ha or more (s. 8.1.5) | Houses the lesser of 9.5 m or 2 storeys; accessory buildings 11 m or 2 storeys; farm buildings 12 m |
| City of Surrey General Agriculture · Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 | One house, which may hold a secondary suite | 4 ha in the ALR, 2 ha outside it; at least a tenth of the lot's perimeter wide | No limit set (s. E) | House 9 m; other main buildings 12 m; accessory buildings 9 m; structures 12 m |
Listed by local government, not ranked. "Not set" means the zone itself sets no figure; general rules elsewhere in its bylaw may still apply. Each zone's page has its uses, setbacks and the bylaw's sections.
Two lots both zoned A1 under different bylaws can allow quite different things, and provincial law sets a floor of homes on most house zones in towns (how many homes can I build?). Site-specific exceptions, development permit areas and the ALR apply on top. Find the lot's own zone with the search above, then confirm with the local government before you buy or build.
Sources: each zone's bylaw, linked from its page, summarised in our words. Other councils' zones aren't here: the zoning we cover.