PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
M-2 zoning in BC
M-2 (also written M2) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial M-2 zone. 15 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 14 local governments. It goes by 7 names: General Industrial (5 bylaws), Heavy Industrial (5 bylaws), Industrial Business, Industrial, heavy and 3 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
M-2 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District General Industrial · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | One caretaker's dwelling | 1 ha | 50% | Not set |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Marine – General · SweetWater Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2127, 2009 | None: the zone lists no dwelling | None set in the zone | Not set | 10 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Marine General · South Country Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2320, 2011 | None: the zone lists no dwelling | 1 ha | 70% | 10 m |
| City of Coquitlam Industrial Business · City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 | No homes except one caretaker's unit, inside the principal building, at most 60 m², and only on a lot of 8,100 m² or more (s. 1902(2), (3)(d), (4)) | No minimum lot size set in the zone, except 8,100 m² for a caretaker's unit (s. 1902(4)). Subdivision without City water and sewer: at least 1.25 ha (0.4 ha with City water but no sewer) (s. 602(2)) | None set (s. 1902(6)); floor area at most 1.5 times the lot area (s. 1902(5)) | Buildings and structures six storeys; the zone sets no height in metres (s. 1902(10)) |
| City of Cranbrook Light Industrial · City of Cranbrook Zoning Bylaw No. 3977, 2019 | No house: one security suite, built into the main building, is the only home the zone allows (ss. 7.21.2(c), 7.21.4, 7.21.7(d)); mobile homes are prohibited (s. 7.21.8) | 1,858 m², at least 15.0 m along the street (s. 7.21.3) | 70% (s. 7.21.6) | 18.5 m (s. 7.21.6) |
| City of Fort St. John Heavy Industrial · City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 | No homes except one caretaker suite with a business on the lot (ss. 23.2.2, 4.19) | 900 m², 30.0 m wide (s. 23.3, Table 22) | 100% (s. 23.3, Table 22) | None set in the zone (s. 23.3, Table 22 sets no height) |
| Township of Langley General Industrial · Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 | No house: one home or mobile home per lot for the owner, manager or caretaker and their family, accessory to the industrial use (ss. 702.1, 701.1, 701.4; M-2 takes M-1A's uses, our reading) | 1,858 m² (s. 110.1) | 60% (s. 702.4) | 12 m (s. 702.6) |
| Village of Lytton Heavy Industrial · Village of Lytton Zoning Bylaw No. 484, 1998 | One house, only as an integral part of the industrial use (s. 12.3) | 1 ha, 30 m wide | 40% | Buildings with a home 7.2 m; the zone sets no other height limit |
| City of Maple Ridge General Industrial · City of Maple Ridge Zoning Bylaw No. 7600-2019 | No house: one caretaker home, accessory to the industrial use, on a lot of 0.4 ha or more, inside the same building as the main use with its own entrance at grade, 37 to 90 m² and at most 40% of the building, never strata-titled (ss. 802.3, 802.11, 402.7) | 2,000 m², 30.0 m wide, 50.0 m deep with community water and sewer; 0.4 ha with water only; 0.8 ha with neither (s. 802.4) | 60%, all buildings together; floor space ratio 1.0 (ss. 802.5, 802.6) | 18.0 m (s. 802.8) |
| City of Merritt Heavy Industrial · City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 | A security or operator suite | 600 m², 20 m wide, 30 m deep | 75% | 18 m; accessory buildings 26 m (as printed) |
| City of Penticton Heavy Industrial · City of Penticton Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22 | One security or operator home (up to 100 m²), as an M1 use | 2,000 m², 30 m wide | Not set | 15 m |
| City of Port Coquitlam Heavy Industrial · City of Port Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw, 2008, No. 3630 | None: the zone allows no homes (Table 4.3)Exceptions (1)
Listed in Table 4.3, Note 7 of the bylaw. | 3,000 m², 30 m wide, frontage at least 10% of the lot's perimeter, 70 m deep (Table 4.2) | 60%; the zone sets no impervious surface limit (Table 4.4) | None set in the zone (Table 4.4) |
| City of Port Moody General Industrial · City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 | No homes except one caretaker's home inside the principal building, where living there is essential to the security of the business, at most 70 m² (ss. 12.2.2, 12.2.6(a)) | 1,148 m², 27.4 m wide (ss. 3.2, 12.2.7) | None set; no floor area ratio set (s. 12.2.3) | 15.0 m (s. 12.2.3) |
| City of Prince George General Industrial · City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007 | One residential security/operator unit, inside a main building or in a house or manufactured home (ss. 12.2.3, 12.2.6) | 1,000 m², 18.0 m wide (s. 12.2.4) | 80% (s. 12.2.5) | 12.0 m; a wrecking yard outside a building no higher than its solid screen and never over 3.0 m (ss. 12.2.5, 12.2.6) |
| City of Vancouver Industrial, heavy · Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 | No homes, except a caretaker's home where it is essential to the business, and a home with an artist studio in floor space that stood on February 26, 2013 (additions up to 10%); both conditional (ss. 2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3) | None set in the district (our reading) | None set. Floor space ratio 5.00 for manufacturing, transportation and storage and wholesaling (Class A), 1.00 for all other uses together: retail at most 1,000 m², offices the greater of 235 m² or 25% of the floor area, a restaurant 300 m² (s. 3.1.1.1) | 30.5 m; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may allow more (ss. 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.4) |
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 M-2 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.