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C-4 zoning in BC
C-4 (also written C4, C.4) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial C-4 zone. 15 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 13 local governments. It goes by 11 names: Service Commercial (4 bylaws), Recreational Commercial (2 bylaws), Corridor Commercial, Downtown Commercial and 7 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
C-4 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Highway-Tourist Commercial · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | Upper-floor apartments and a caretaker's house | Not set | Not set | Not set |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Local Service Commercial-4 · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | One dwelling: upper-floor or owner/operator | 4,000 m² with community water and sewer; 1 ha otherwise | 40% | 11.5 m; accessory buildings 6 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Service 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)) | 4,000 m² | 50% (75% for greenhouses with closed waste and storm water systems) | 12 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Recreation Commercial · Electoral Area C South Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2913, 2019 | One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot (s. 1.18(4)) | 2 ha | 70% | 12 m |
| Regional District of North Okanagan Service 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 (15 m frontage); 1 ha without them | 50% | 10 m or two storeys, whichever is less |
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District Recreational Commercial · TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012 | A caretaker's home; staff housing for campgrounds, guest ranches and resorts | 2,000 m² (2 ha for a resort) | Not set | Not set |
| City of Abbotsford Service Commercial Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One accessory home for an owner, operator, manager or caretaker | 1,000 m² | 50% | 10.0 m or two storeys, whichever is less |
| District of Clearwater Recreational Commercial · District of Clearwater Zoning Bylaw No. 133, 2016 | One caretaker home | 2,000 m² on community water and sewer, 1 ha with neither | 40%, all buildings together | No maximum |
| City of Fort St. John Highway Commercial · City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 | No homes except one caretaker suite with a business on the lot (ss. 21.2.2, 4.19)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 21.2.1(pp) of the bylaw. | 555 m², 15.0 m wide (s. 21.3) | 50% (s. 21.3) | 21.0 m (s. 21.3) |
| City of Kamloops Service Commercial · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | An accessory home inside the main building, at most 40% of its floor area and 150 m² | 557 m², 15 m wide | 60% | 2 storeys; structures 13.5 m (6 m on a lot with no building) |
| City of Merritt Corridor 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 |
| City of Penticton General Commercial · City of Penticton Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22 | Homes on the second storey or higher | 1,000 m², 18 m wide | 50% | 13 m |
| District of Saanich Office and Apartment · District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 | No house: apartments, attached housing (three or more homes, each with its own door at ground level) and congregate housing; apartments and congregate housing only above the first storey, with no advertising on those storeys. The zone sets no count of homes, only floor space (ss. 828.1, 828.4, 828.5, 2) | No minimum set in the zone | None set in the zone; floor space ratio at most 1.20 (s. 828.4) | 15.0 m (s. 828.3(b)) |
| District of Squamish Downtown Commercial · District of Squamish Zoning Bylaw No. 2200, 2011 | Apartments, with no count set, in the same building as the business use and with their own street-facing door (ss. 26.1(a), 4.16); at least 20% of a building's floor area goes to the zone's other uses, not apartments or public parking (s. 26.16). One caretaker dwelling a lot, as an accessory use (ss. 26.1(x), 4.3). No house, duplex or townhouseExceptions (1)
Listed in s. 26.17 of the bylaw. | 279 m², 7.62 m wide, 27.4 m deep (s. 26.2) | None set in the zone | 20 m; accessory buildings 4.58 m (s. 26.3) |
| City of Surrey Local Commercial · Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 | No homes except one caretaker unit per lot (s. B.4) | 1,500 m², 30 m wide, 30 m deep (s. C) | 40%; floor area at most 0.40 times the lot area, and at most 370 m² for each business (ss. D, E) | Main buildings 9 m; accessory buildings and structures 4 m (s. G) |
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 C-4 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.