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C2 zoning in BC
C2 (also written C-2, C.2) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial C2 zone. 28 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 23 local governments. It goes by 16 names: General Commercial (6 bylaws), Service Commercial (4 bylaws), Community Commercial (2 bylaws), Highway Commercial (2 bylaws) and 12 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
C2 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Community Commercial · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | One dwelling | 2,000 m² with community water and sewer; 1 ha otherwise | Not set | Main buildings 11.5 m, accessory buildings 10 m |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Commercial-2 · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | One owner/operator dwelling | 0.5 ha with community sewer; 1 ha otherwise (20 m wide) | 40% | Main buildings 11.5 m, accessory buildings 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay General Commercial · Jaffray, Tie Lake, Rosen Lake Land Use and Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 1414, 1999 | One accessory dwelling and up to two apartments built into the main building (above the first storey or behind the business, own outside door, at most 90 m² each; s. 8.10(4)) | 0.6 ha | 50% | 15 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Local 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)) | 0.3 ha | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay General 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)) | 0.6 ha | 50% | 12 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay General 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)) | 0.6 ha | 50% | 12 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Service 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, gas stations 1,000 m², car, RV, boat, trailer and manufactured home dealers 1,500 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 Highway and Tourist Commercial · Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023 | One home for the owner, operator or an employee | 560 m² with community water and community sewer (2,000 m² for a hotel or motel; 15 m frontage); 1 ha without them; 8 ha in the ALR (or as the Agricultural Land Commission approves) | 50% | Motels 10 m or two storeys, hotels 12 m or three storeys, other buildings 10 m |
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District Service Commercial · TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012 | A caretaker's home | 1,000 m² with community water; 2,000 m² without | 60% | 12 m |
| City of Abbotsford Neighbourhood Commercial Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | Apartments, only alongside another principal use, within the zone's floor space ratio of 0.60 | 4,047 m² | 50% | 10.0 m or three storeys, whichever is less |
| District of Barriere Yellowhead Corridor Commercial · District of Barriere Zoning Bylaw No. 111 | Homes in the commercial building | 2,000 m² | 60% | Main building 12 m, accessory buildings 5 m |
| City of Burnaby General Commercial · Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 2026, No. 14815 | Live-work units only, under the C1 district's conditions: the home part at most 112 m² a unit, only alongside another principal use, and not in the storeys the district requires to be commercial (the ground and second storey, our reading) (ss. 2.1.3, 2.2.3). 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) | 8 storeys, at least 2 (no minimum for a service station or uses outside a building); more where a residential overlay district is zoned on the lot (ss. 2.2.4.1, 2.2.4.2) |
| District of Clearwater Service Commercial · District of Clearwater Zoning Bylaw No. 133, 2016 | One caretaker home | 1,000 m² on community water and sewer, 2,000 m² on community water only, 1 ha with neither; 20 m of frontage | 60%, all buildings together | Main building 15 m, accessory buildings 12 m |
| Village of Clinton Highway Service Commercial · Village of Clinton Zoning Bylaw No. 607, 2025 | Homes in the commercial building | 758 m², 15 m wide | 60% | 12 m |
| City of Coquitlam General Commercial · City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 | Apartments only, above the first storey and above every storey used for business, with all their parking concealed, and at most half the floor area on the lot (s. 1502(2), (3)(a), (5)(b), (8)(b)). No house or small-scale residential use | None set in the zone (s. 1502(4)); tourist accommodation only on a lot of 1,390 m² or more (s. 1502(3)(c)). Subdivision without City water and sewer: at least 1.25 ha (0.4 ha with City water but no sewer) (s. 602(2)) | 70% (s. 1502(6)); floor area at most 1.05 times the lot area (s. 1502(5)(a)) | 7.6 m for buildings and structures (s. 1502(9)) |
| City of Cranbrook Highway Commercial · City of Cranbrook Zoning Bylaw No. 3977, 2019 | One home, only with a hotel or motel, built into the main building with its own outside entrance (ss. 7.15.2(b), 7.15.6(b))Exceptions (1)
Listed in ss. 7.15.2(b), 7.15.6(b) of the bylaw. | 464 m², at least 15.0 m along the street (s. 7.15.3) | No limit set in the zone | Main building 12.0 m; accessory buildings 4.5 m (s. 7.15.5) |
| City of Fort St. John Downtown Core Commercial · City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 | Apartments (a building of three or more homes off a shared entrance or hall) and homes on the upper floors of a mixed-use building (shops on the ground floor) (s. 19.2; definitions in s. 3); the zone sets no count of homes. The homes of a mixed-use building sit above the business floors and keep the RM-4 zone's requirements for apartments (s. 19.4.4); whether a building of apartments alone must also meet RM-4's is unclear: ask the City | 185 m², 6.0 m wide (s. 19.3) | 100% (s. 19.3) | 21.0 m and 6 storeys (s. 19.3) |
| City of Kamloops Local Commercial · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | An accessory home with the store | 557 m², 18 m wide | 35% including accessory buildings | Commercial buildings 1 storey; with homes 2 storeys; accessory buildings 1 storey; structures 13.5 m |
| City of Kelowna Vehicle Oriented Commercial · City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375 | Apartments above the ground floor (s. 14.9 note .6); no houses or townhouses | 1,000 m², 40 m wide (30 m beside a lane), 30 m deep (s. 14.10) | 65% for buildings; 85% for buildings, structures and hard surfaces (s. 14.11) | 3 storeys and 12 m (hotels 6 storeys and 24 m); 0.9 FAR (1.0 for hotels) (s. 14.14) |
| City of Langley Service Commercial · City of Langley Zoning Bylaw, 2025, No. 3300 | No house or apartments: a caretaker's home only, as an accessory use, inside the main building and at most 93 m² (ss. 1.3, 2.4(g); s. 6, C2 zone) | 920 m²; no frontage set (s. 6, C2 zone) | 90% for the main building; floor area ratio 0.5 (s. 6, C2 zone) | 15 m; accessory buildings not applicable (s. 6, C2 zone) |
| Township of Langley Community Commercial · Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 | Homes only above the first floor of a commercial building, with no more home floor area than twice the building's business floor area, and at most one home per 135 m² of lot (74 a hectare) (ss. 602.1, 602.3)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 602.3 3) of the bylaw. | 930 m² (s. 110.1) | 40%, or 60% where at least half the required parking is inside the building or underground (s. 602.4) | 12 m (s. 602.6) |
| Village of Lytton Highway Commercial · Village of Lytton Zoning Bylaw No. 484, 1998 | Homes with a business; one on the ground floor, for the owner or manager | 1,000 m² on a community sewer, 2,000 m² without; 30 m wide | 40%; outdoor storage up to 25% of the lot | Buildings 10 m, fences 4.5 m |
| City of Merritt Tourist Commercial · City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 | Apartments, townhouses, or one or two homes in a main building, alongside the commercial use; a security or operator suite | 375 m², 15 m wide, 25 m deep | 70% | 22 m or 5 storeys |
| Municipality of North Cowichan Commercial General · Zoning Bylaw 1997, No. 2950 | A house, on the R3 zone's rules; an accessory dwelling unit, attached to the lot's main use; homes above a ground floor kept for shops or other uses in a mixed-use building of two or more homes; bed and breakfast rooms (s. 69(1); definitions in s. 12). The zone sets no count of homes for a mixed-use building, so how many fit is unclear: ask the MunicipalityExceptions (1)
Listed in s. 69(8), (9) of the bylaw. | 560 m², 15 m of frontage (s. 69(2), (3)) | 100%, less what parking and loading, landscaping, fencing and highway setbacks need (s. 69(4)) | Main building 12.0 m; accessory buildings 5.0 m (s. 69(6)) |
| City of Penticton Neighbourhood Commercial · City of Penticton Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22 | One home inside a commercial building, with its own door to the outside | 550 m², 15 m wide | 40% | 11 m and 3 storeys |
| Town of Princeton Central Business · Town of Princeton Zoning Bylaw No. 880, 2013 | Dwelling units, with no count set beyond the floor area ratio: at the back of a building's ground floor or above its first storey, each with its own door from outside and no hallway shared with a business (ss. 18.1, 18.3). No mobile homes (s. 18.3) | 200 m² and 7 m of frontage; 1,700 m² for a hotel or motel (s. 18.2) | 100%; floor area at most 3.0 times the lot (s. 18.2) | 10.5 m (s. 18.2) |
| District of Saanich General Commercial · District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 | No house: apartments and congregate housing only above the first storey, with no advertising on those storeys, and at most one home for the owner, operator, manager or caretaker inside a commercial building, which may be on the main floor (ss. 816.1, 816.5, 816.6, 2) | No minimum set in the zone | None set in the zone; floor space ratio at most 1.20 (s. 816.3) | 15.0 m (s. 816.4(b)) |
| City of Vancouver Commercial · Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 | Apartments and other multiple dwellings (conditional) where the Director of Planning finds the site suitable for homes; homes in a mixed-use building (conditional), none 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); lock-off units only in a multiple dwelling or mixed-use building. No houses or duplexes are listed (ss. 2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.5 to 2.2.7) | None set in the district (our reading) | None set. Floor space ratio 0.75; the Director of Planning may allow up to 2.15 for a multiple dwelling and 2.50 for all uses together with at least 0.35 in businesses on the street-facing ground floor; 3.50 for a mixed-use building whose homes are all secured rental, at least 3 of them and 35% with 2 or more bedrooms, outside sub-area A (stretches mapped at the end of the schedule); 3.70 for one on a corner lot with 45.7 m of frontage and 1,672 m² (ss. 3.1, 3.1.1, 3.2.1.1) | 15.3 m with a ground floor of 5.2 m or more, else 13.8 m, and 6.1 m within 6.1 m of the rear line; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may allow more. The all-rental mixed-use building 22.0 m and 6 storeys with a ground floor of 5.2 m or more, else 19.8 m and 6 storeys, under a plane from 15.3 m at the front line except on wide streets, 6.1 m within 4.6 m of the rear line. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak), in the rear yard (ss. 2.2.9, 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.7, 3.1.2.8, 3.2.2.1, 3.2.2.6) |
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 C2 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.