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C1 zoning in BC
C1 (also written C-1, C.1) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial C1 zone. 28 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 20 local governments. It goes by 17 names: Local Commercial (6 bylaws), General Commercial (4 bylaws), Community Commercial (2 bylaws), Downtown Commercial (2 bylaws) and 13 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
C1 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Town Centre Commercial · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | A house or upper-floor apartments as accessory uses | Not set | Not set | Not set |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Commercial-1 · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | A house or an owner/operator dwelling | Not set | Not set | Not set |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local Commercial · Jaffray, Tie Lake, Rosen Lake Land Use and Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 1414, 1999 | One dwelling, accessory to a use on the lot (the designation's table; set back as the main building, s. 5.09(5)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Mixed Use Village Commercial · SweetWater Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2127, 2009 | Multiple family dwellings at up to 50 homes per hectare; in a building with businesses, homes take at most 25% of the first storey's floor area | 300 m² | 75% | 12 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local Commercial · Wycliffe Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2256, 2010 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the business, with its own outside door (s. 1.18(3)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local Commercial · South Country Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2320, 2011 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the main use, with its own outside door (the zone; s. 1.18(3)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Highway Commercial · Electoral Area E Zoning and Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2502, 2014 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the main use, with its own outside door (the zone; s. 1.18(3)) | 1,500 m² | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local Commercial · Steeples Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2615, 2015 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home up to 5 m tall on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the main use, with its own outside door (s. 1.11(3)) (the zone; s. 1.18(4)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local Commercial · Electoral Area C South Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2913, 2019 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the business, with its own outside door (s. 1.18(4)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Community Commercial · Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 3255, 2023 | One dwelling, built into the commercial building above the first storey or behind the business, self-contained and with its own outside door; a hotel's or motel's dwelling is exempt from that and may stand apart | 1,670 m² on on-site water and sewage disposal, 1,390 m² with community water or sewer, 555 m² with both; hotels and motels 2,000 m² (s. 2.2) | Not set | Main building 12 m or 3 storeys, accessory buildings 5 m or 1 storey (whichever is less in each case); a detached dwelling for a hotel or motel 9 m |
| Regional District of North Okanagan General Commercial · Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023 | Apartments above the first storey, up to 30 homes per hectare, only with community water and community sewer; or one home for the owner, operator or an employee | 560 m² with community water and community sewer (15 m frontage); 1 ha without them | 50% | 12 m or three storeys, whichever is less |
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District Retail Commercial · TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012 | Apartments in the commercial building; one detached house on lots over 8,000 m² | 500 m² with community water and sewer; 1,000 m² with water only; 2,000 m² with neither | 60% | 12 m |
| City of Abbotsford Local Commercial Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One accessory home for an owner, operator, manager or caretakerExceptions (1)
| 18.0 m wide (no area or depth set) | Not set | 9.5 m or three storeys, whichever is less |
| District of Barriere Downtown Core Commercial · District of Barriere Zoning Bylaw No. 111 | Homes in the commercial building | 500 m² on community water and sewer, 1,000 m² on community water only | No maximum | Main building 12 m, accessory buildings 5 m |
| City of Burnaby Neighbourhood Commercial · Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 2026, No. 14815 | Live-work units only: the home part at most 112 m² a unit, only alongside another C1 principal use, and not in the storey the district requires to be commercial (the ground storey, our reading) (s. 2.1.3). Apartments only where an R overlay district is also zoned on the lot (Part 6-2.0) | None set in the district; subdivision goes to the City's Approving Officer (our reading) | None set in the district; at least 20% of the lot left permeable, shown on a landscape architect's plan (Part 4-4.3) | 4 storeys, at least 1 (no minimum for uses outside a building); more where a residential overlay district is zoned on the lot (s. 2.1.4) |
| District of Clearwater General Commercial · District of Clearwater Zoning Bylaw No. 133, 2016 | Homes in the commercial building, on or above the business's floor with their own entrance; on a lot over 0.8 ha, one detached house | 500 m² on community water and sewer, 2,000 m² on community water only, 1 ha with neither; 15 m of frontage | 60%, all buildings together | Main building 15 m, accessory buildings 6 m |
| Village of Clinton Downtown Commercial · Village of Clinton Zoning Bylaw No. 607, 2025 | Homes in the commercial building | 450 m², 10 m wide | 60% | 12 m |
| City of Cranbrook Community Commercial · City of Cranbrook Zoning Bylaw No. 3977, 2019 | Apartments in a mixed commercial and residential building, above the shops or behind them on the ground floor, each home at least 32 m²; or a home or sleeping unit that goes with a business, above it or behind it, with its own outside entrance (ss. 7.14.1(y), 7.14.2, 7.14.6(b), 7.14.6(d)). At most 180 homes per gross hectare as the figure reads, though the words say eighty: unclear, so ask the City (s. 7.14.4)Exceptions (2)
Listed in ss. 7.14.1(aa), 7.14.6(b)(iv) of the bylaw. | 232 m², at least 7.5 m along the street (s. 7.14.3) | No limit set in the zone | 30.0 m (s. 7.14.5) |
| City of Delta Core Commercial · Delta Zoning Bylaw No. 7600, 2017 | Homes only as secondary residential accommodation: inside a building whose main use isn't residential, not in the front 10.5 m of its ground floor, and under half its floor area with the homes' common areas (ss. 14.10.2, 6.1.11); the zone sets no count of homes | 300 m² (s. 14.10.6) | None set in the zone, nor a floor space ratio (s. 14.10) | 11 m for every building, to the top or to mid-roof on a pitched roof (s. 14.10.5); Section 6.2.14 adds others |
| City of Kamloops General Commercial · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | Apartments, above a ground floor with community-serving businesses, or in an all-residential building on a landscaped lot | 278 m², 9 m wide | 60% | Commercial buildings 2 storeys; with a hotel or homes 4 storeys; in a transit-oriented area 10 storeys within 200 m of a transit exchange, 6 at 201 to 400 m; rooftop structures 4.5 m above the main roof |
| City of Kelowna Local & Neighbourhood Commercial · City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375 | Apartments above the ground floor (s. 14.9 note .6); no houses or townhouses | 830 m² to 1,500 m² (the zone sets a maximum too), 40 m wide (18 m beside a lane), 30 m deep (s. 14.10) | 50% for buildings; 70% for buildings, structures and hard surfaces (s. 14.11) | 3 storeys and 12 m; 0.75 FAR (s. 14.14) |
| City of Langley Downtown Commercial · City of Langley Zoning Bylaw, 2025, No. 3300 | Apartments and other buildings of two or more homes, seniors' buildings with personal care (55 and over) and congregate housing (55 and over, rented); the zone sets no count of homes, held by the floor area ratio for the lot's Official Community Plan land use (below). A caretaker's home as an accessory use, inside the main building and at most 93 m² (ss. 1.3, 2.4(g); s. 6, C1 zone) | 222 m², unless the Official Community Plan names a larger lot through lot assembly (s. 6, C1 zone) | None set (s. 6, C1 zone) | 46 m or the limit the Airport Zoning Regulation sets around Langley Regional Airport (out to 4 km); for lots zoned C1 after December 1, 2025, also as the Official Community Plan's Mixed Use land use permits. The table reads "not applicable" for lots outside the airport regulation's area, which we read as no limit set there (unclear: ask the City). Accessory buildings not applicable (s. 6, C1 zone) |
| Village of Lytton General Commercial · Village of Lytton Zoning Bylaw No. 484, 1998 | Apartments, or homes with a business: upstairs or downstairs with their own street entrance, or one on the ground floor for the owner or manager; a house only on a lot that had one, or one being lawfully built, on June 30, 2021 (the day of the Lytton fire) | 205 m², 6.7 m wide | Not set | Main building 10 m, accessory buildings 6.2 m |
| City of Merritt Recreational Commercial · City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 | One caretaker's house or modular home | 450 m², 15 m wide, 30 m deep | 50% | 14 m or 3 storeys; caretaker's home 11 m or 2.5 storeys |
| Town of Osoyoos Highway Commercial · Town of Osoyoos Zoning Bylaw No. 1395, 2024 | Apartments and townhouses, between 40 and 60 homes per hectare, none on the ground floor of a building facing Main Street; and homes in a building with a business, with their own outside entrance; at most one accessory dwelling a lot (ss. 14.1.1, 14.1.4, 14.1.5, 14.1.9)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 14.1.10 of the bylaw. | 1,000 m², width at least a quarter of the depth (ss. 14.1.2, 14.1.3) | 80% (s. 14.1.8) | 12.0 m (s. 14.1.7) |
| City of Penticton Commercial Transition · City of Penticton Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22 | One house or one duplex; live-work units; a boarding house | 550 m², 13 m wide | 40% | 11 m and 3 storeys |
| City of Prince George Downtown · City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007 | Apartments, row and stacked row houses, congregate housing, boarding houses and apartment hotels, up to 280 homes per hectare (s. 11.1.5)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 11.1.5 of the bylaw. | 135 m², 4.5 m wide (s. 11.1.4) | 100% (s. 11.1.5) | 55.0 m (s. 11.1.5) |
| City of Vancouver Commercial, neighbourhood · Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 | Homes only in a mixed-use building (conditional, where the Director of Planning finds the homes' design and liveability suitable): no homes in the first 10.7 m of its ground floor behind the front wall, entrances aside; a conversion of a building that stood before June 18, 1956 into several homes (conditional, no additions); seniors housing and a home with an artist studio (conditional). No houses, duplexes or apartment-only buildings are listed (ss. 2.1, 2.2.2 to 2.2.5) | None set in the district (our reading) | None set. Floor space ratio 1.20, of which homes at most 0.75 (an artist studio with a home counts as homes) (s. 3.1.1) | 9.2 m; up to 10.7 m with the Director of Planning's or Development Permit Board's approval. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak), in the rear yard (ss. 2.2.8, 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.5) |
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 C1 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.