PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
RR zoning in BC
RR means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial RR zone. 11 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 8 local governments. It goes by 3 names: Rural Residential (9 bylaws), Resort Residential, Rural Resource. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
RR in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Resort Residential · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | RV and park-model spaces (21 per hectare with community sewer, 1 per hectare otherwise) and one owner/operator dwelling | 2 ha (30 m wide) | 40% | Main buildings 11.5 m, accessory buildings 6 m |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Rural Residential · Salmon Valley Land Use Bylaw No. 2500 | One house, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 2.2.19 | 1 ha | No maximum stated | Main buildings 11.5 m; accessory buildings 10 m with a dwelling in them, 8.5 m otherwise |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Rural Residential · Kault Hill Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 3000 | One house, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 2.3.16 | 1 ha | No maximum stated | Main buildings 11.5 m; accessory buildings 10 m with a dwelling in them, 8.5 m otherwise |
| City of Abbotsford Rural Residential · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One house, plus either a secondary suite or a coach house (the coach house only on a lot over 0.4 ha) | 4.0 ha; width at least 25% of the depth | 10% | House 9.5 m or three storeys, whichever is less; coach house and accessory buildings 7.5 m or two storeys, whichever is less; farm buildings, farm retail and kennels as the A1 zone sets (s. 210.3.2) |
| Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Mudge Island Land Use Bylaw, 2007 (Bylaw No. 228) | One house per lot, and a cottage of up to 65 m² on a lot of 1.9 ha or more (s. 5.1(3), (5)) | 4 ha, and 8 ha on average; 1 ha, and 2 ha on average, on one property the bylaw's Map 1 shows (s. 5.1(8) to (10)) | 10%, leaving out cisterns and ponds, fences, garden beds, pervious paths and driveways, septic systems, wells, one woodshed up to 15 m², up to 15 m² of sheds for food or animals, and on a lot under 0.4 ha up to 100 m² of open decks (s. 5.1(4), (4.1)) | 9 m for buildings and structures (s. 3.4(1)(a)); a produce stand 3 m (its definition) |
| Galiano Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Galiano Island Land Use Bylaw No. 127, 1999 | One home, and one more for each 2 ha of lot over 2 ha (s. 5.4.2); a cottage with each home on a lot of 0.4 ha or more (s. 5.4.3); or a secondary suite instead of a cottage, on a lot of 0.4 ha or more (s. 2.28) | 1.2 ha, and 2 ha on average (ss. 5.4.9, 5.4.10) | 25% (s. 5.4.4) | 9 m; accessory buildings 5 m and one storey, cottages 9 m (s. 5.4.5, ss. 2.5, 2.6) |
| Gambier Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Gambier Island Land Use Bylaw No. 86, 2004 | One house; on a lot of 0.4 ha or more, an associated secondary dwelling too (s. 5.2(2), (3), s. 3.14); on a lot under 0.4 ha, a secondary dwelling only where the house was permitted before November 15, 1996 (s. 5.2(2)(a)) | 0.5 ha, and 4 ha on average (s. 5.2(13), (14)) | 25% on a lot under 1 ha, 20% on 1 to 2 ha, 18% on 2 to 3 ha, 15% on 3 to 4 ha, 12% on 4 to 10 ha, 10% on 10 ha or more (s. 5.2(5)) | 10 m for the house and other principal buildings (s. 3.5(2)); 7 m and one storey for accessory buildings (ss. 3.5(3), 5.2(9)); farm buildings 12 m (s. 5.2(10)) |
| Gambier Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Keats Island Land Use Bylaw No. 78, 2002 | One house and one sleeping cabin on a lot under 0.8 ha; one house and one accessory guest cottage on 0.8 to 8 ha; two houses on 8 ha or more (s. 4.4.9). One more house on a lot of 2 ha or more where a conservation covenant or public trail right of way is given to the committee's satisfaction, and two houses per strata lot of 1 ha or more in a bare land strata averaging 4 ha with such a covenant or trail (s. 4.4.10) | 1 ha, and 4 ha on average (s. 4.4.20, 4.4.21) | 25% for all buildings and structures together (s. 4.4.19) | 11 m (ss. 4.4.18, 2.8.1); a boathouse 4.6 m (s. 4.4.18) |
| North Pender Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · North Pender Associated Islands Land Use Bylaw No. 148, 2003 | One house; on a lot of 0.6 ha or more, a cottage too (s. 5.1(2), (3)); the bylaw has no secondary suite | 0.8 ha, and 4 ha on average (s. 5.1(10), (11)) | 25% (s. 5.1(4)) | 9.7 m for houses and cottages, 6 m for accessory buildings (s. 3.4(1), (2)); farm buildings up to 9.2 m in the ALR or on a lot with farm status, 7.6 m from every lot line (s. 3.7) |
| Saturna Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Saturna Island Land Use Bylaw No. 119, 2018 | One house on a lot of 1.21 ha or less (s. 4.1.3); a house and a cottage on a larger lot (s. 4.1.4); a secondary suite with the house, except in the Schedule E areas (s. 4.1.5) | 0.81 ha, or 0.4 ha for a lot on the sea, and 2.02 ha on average (ss. 4.1.10, 4.1.11) | 20% on a lot under 0.4 ha; none set on a larger lot (s. 4.1.6) | 9 m; farm buildings 15 m (s. 2.3.1) |
| Village of Lytton Rural Resource · Village of Lytton Zoning Bylaw No. 484, 1998 | One house | 2 ha | Not set | House 10 m, accessory buildings 15 m |
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 RR 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.