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C5 zoning in BC
C5 (also written C-5, C.5) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial C5 zone. 13 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 12 local governments. It goes by 11 names: Neighbourhood Commercial (2 bylaws), Recreation Commercial (2 bylaws), Campground, Cabin and Motel Commercial, City Centre Commercial and 7 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
C5 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Tourist Commercial · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | A caretaker's house and upper-floor apartments | 2,000 m² with community water and sewer; 1 ha otherwise (1 ha for a campground) | Not set | Not set |
| Regional District of Central Okanagan Campground, Cabin and Motel Commercial · Regional District of Central Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 871 | One home per lot, and at most one in a whole strata plan (s. 11.5.10). Tourist cabins, campsites and motel units aren't homes: the bylaw defines them as stays of under 90 days in a row (motels under a month), not residential use (Part 15) | 1.0 ha, with 50 m of frontage (ss. 11.5.2, 11.5.3) | 30%; at most 20 accommodation units per hectare (ss. 11.5.9, 11.5.12) | 9.0 m (s. 11.5.11) |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Recreation 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 | 70% | 12 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Highway 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)) | 1,500 m² | 60% | 10 m |
| Regional District of North Okanagan Recreation Commercial · Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023 | One home (a manufactured home allowed) for the owner, operator or an employee | 1 ha (8 ha in the ALR, or as the Agricultural Land Commission approves); frontage 10% of the lot's perimeter | 30% | Main buildings 10 m or two storeys, whichever is less; accessory buildings and park model units 6 m |
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District Local Commercial · TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012 | A caretaker's home | 2,000 m² | 30% | 12 m |
| City of Abbotsford City Centre Commercial Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | Apartments and congregate housing, only alongside another principal use, within the zone's floor space ratio of 1.75 (2.75 with underground parking) | Not set | 95% | 21.3 m or six storeys, whichever is less |
| City of Kamloops Shopping Centre Commercial · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | Apartments in residential or mixed-use buildingsExceptions (1)
| 8,000 m², 60 m wide; 1,500 m², 40 m wide for multi-unit or mixed-use developmentExceptions (2)
| 60% | Commercial buildings 2 storeys; with a hotel or homes 6 storeys; 10 storeys in the North Shore and Sahali town centres or within 200 m of a transit exchange in a transit-oriented area; rooftop structures 4.5 m above the main roof |
| City of Merritt Neighbourhood 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 | 500 m², 20 m wide, 25 m deep | 70% | 18 m or 4 storeys |
| City of Penticton Urban Centre Commercial · City of Penticton Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22 | Homes on the second storey or higher, up to 6.0 FAR on the lot | 275 m², 9 m wide | 100% | 36.6 m; 15 m on the 100 to 300 blocks of Main Street and on Front Street |
| City of Prince George Visitor Commercial · City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007 | No house: one residential security/operator unit, a home for a caretaker, operator or security staff, as a secondary use, inside a main building or in a house or manufactured home that serves a campground (ss. 11.5.3, 11.5.7; definition in s. 2.3) | 835 m², 18.0 m wide; 1.0 ha for a campground (ss. 11.5.5, 11.5.7) | 50% (s. 11.5.6) | 12.0 m; a hotel or motel 30.0 m (s. 11.5.6) |
| City of Surrey Neighbourhood Commercial · Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 | No homes except one caretaker unit per lot (s. B.10) | 2,000 m², 30 m wide, 30 m deep (s. C) | 50%; floor area at most 0.50 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) |
| City of Vancouver Commercial, West End · Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 | No new homes: homes, seniors housing, community care and group residences only where they stood on February 4, 2014 (conditional), none within 2.0 m of the street's grade on a commercial frontage, entrances aside (ss. 2.1, 2.2.3) | None set in the district (our reading); a street-level shop at most 7.7 m of frontage, unless the Director of Planning allows more for an older grocery or drug store and its neighbours on a wide site (ss. 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.6) | None set. Floor space ratio 2.20; 10% more from a heritage density transfer (ss. 3.1.1.2, 3.1.1.5, 3.1.1.6) | 18.3 m, under a plane from 7.4 m at the north lot lines and 11.0 m at the south ones on a street or lane (ss. 3.1.2.2, 3.1.2.8 to 3.1.2.11) |
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 C5 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.