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A4 zoning in BC
A4 (also written A-4) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial A4 zone. 3 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 3 local governments. It goes by 3 names: Agricultural and Produce Processing, Rural (4.0 ha lot), Rural Resources. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
A4 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Abbotsford Agricultural and Produce Processing · 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) (as A1, s. 240.5.1) | Produce processing and the non-farm uses that serve it 0.8 ha; otherwise as A1: 35%; greenhouses may add 25% (to 60% in all), or 40% (to 75%) where the whole greenhouse operation recirculates its irrigation water | Produce processing 12.2 m; otherwise as A1: 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 |
| Municipality of North Cowichan Rural Resources · Zoning Bylaw 1997, No. 2950 | Two homes in one residential building: a house or manufactured home, with a secondary suite (s. 54(1), (4)) | 12 ha, with 180 m of frontage (s. 54(2), (3)) | 10% (s. 54(5)) | 9 m for buildings with homes; farm buildings under the farm building code (s. 54(7)) |
| District of Saanich Rural (4.0 ha lot) · District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 | One house with a secondary suite (s. 5.24). Small-scale multi-unit housing and garden suites aren't listed uses here (s. 125.1) | 4 ha, 60 m wide; no panhandle lots (s. 125.9) | 40% on a lot under 2,000 m²; none set on bigger lots (s. 125.4) | House 7.5 m, 6.5 m with a flat or low-pitched roof (under 3 in 12); farm buildings one storey (a hayloft or mezzanine allowed); accessory buildings 3.75 m (ss. 125.5, 125.6, 125.8) |
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 A4 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.