PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
RU2 zoning in BC
RU2 (also written RU-2) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial RU2 zone. 8 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 7 local governments. It goes by 8 names: Medium Lot Housing, Residential Urban, Rural, Rural 2 and 4 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
RU2 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Rural-2 · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | One house, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 3.19; or a standalone residential campsite | 4 ha (30 m wide) | 25% | Main buildings 11.5 m; accessory buildings 10 m with a dwelling in them, 8.5 m otherwise |
| Regional District of Central Okanagan Rural 2 · Regional District of Central Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 871 | One single detached house with a secondary suite inside it; on a lot of 3.8 ha or more, one accessory home for a farm worker or caretaker per 3.8 ha, up to two, instead of the suite (ss. 3.18, 3.26.4); temporary housing for seasonal farm workers (s. 6.2.12) | 4 ha, with 30 m of frontage | 10% | 12 m; accessory buildings 8 m |
| Sunshine Coast Regional District Rural Resource · Sunshine Coast Regional District Electoral Area A Zoning Bylaw No. 337 | One house; on a lot over 1 ha, a duplex or two houses; over 4 ha, a third house and an auxiliary dwelling; four homes at most (s. 1061). A secondary suite is allowed where the zone allows only one house or a duplex; a lot can have one secondary suite or one auxiliary dwelling, not both, and neither counts toward the zone's limit on homes (ss. 502, 506). On SCRD sewer a suite needs the SCRD's sign-off on capacity first. | Set by the lot's subdivision district, not its zone (ss. 401, 407): from 640 m² to 100 ha; a lot's report gives its district in "What you can build (zoning)", under "The record", as "Subdivision district (smallest new lot)". Lots on Ruby, Sakinaw, Hotel, Garden Bay and Mixal lakes in the larger districts need 60 m of lakeshore (s. 408) | 35% on a lot of 2,000 m² or less, 15% above | 11 m (s. 512) |
| Sunshine Coast Regional District Rural Residential Two · Sunshine Coast Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 722 | Area E: one house under 8,000 m², two houses (or a house and a community care facility) above. Areas B and D: one house under 1 ha, two houses up to 4 ha, three houses and an auxiliary dwelling of up to 55 m² above 4 ha. Area F: one house under 1.5 ha, two houses above (s. 7.11.4). A secondary suite of up to 55 m² is allowed in each house, on top of the zone's count of homes (s. 5.24); on SCRD sewer it needs the SCRD's sign-off on capacity first. | Set by the lot's subdivision district, not its zone (s. 4.2): from 1,000 m² to 100 ha; a lot's report gives its district in "What you can build (zoning)", under "The record", as "Subdivision district (smallest new lot)" | 35% up to 3,500 m², 15% above | 11 m; a house on a lot under 750 m² 8.5 m unless the lot's average slope is over 20%; a detached auxiliary dwelling or accessory building 8.5 m (s. 5.11) |
| City of Kelowna Medium Lot Housing · City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375 | Up to 4 homes on a lot (s. 11.6): houses, semi-detached or duplex homes, townhouses or stacked townhouses, secondary suites and carriage houses all count. More than one home needs community water, more than two community sewer (s. 11.3 notes .6, .7) | 350 m² (325 m² with a rear lane or strata road), 13 m wide (12 m with a lane, 15 m on a corner), 27 m deep; a 130 m² building envelope (s. 11.4) | 40% of the lot for buildings (55% with three or more homes); 70% for buildings, structures and hard surfaces (75% with three or more homes) | Main buildings 11 m and 3 storeys, with no rooftop living space on a 3-storey building (with a walkout basement, 9 m at the front and 12.5 m at the rear); a third storey at most 70% of the second; accessory buildings 4.8 m |
| District of Lake Country Small Lot Small-Scale Multiple Housing · District of Lake Country Zoning Bylaw 561, 2007 | One house with one secondary suite or one accessory suite; or, where small-scale multiple housing is allowed (below), 2 to 4 homes, and then up to two suites (two secondary, two accessory, or one of each). Whether those suites count toward the 4 homes the bylaw doesn't say: unclear (s. 15.2) | 400 m², 13.5 m wide, 30.0 m deep (s. 15.2) | House 40% (50% with driveways and parking); small-scale multiple housing 50% (60% with driveways and parking) (s. 15.2) | House 9.5 m or 2½ storeys; small-scale multiple housing 11 m or 3 storeys; accessory buildings 4.5 m, or 8 m and 2 storeys with an accessory suite (s. 15.2) |
| Township of Langley Rural · Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 | Up to 2 houses or mobile homes on a lot, subject to the Agricultural Land Commission Act (s. 201.2); each house may hold a secondary suite (the bylaw's definition of a house, s. 102; our reading). Besides these: a temporary mobile home for family or a farm employee on 8,094 m² or more, seasonal farm worker housing on 4 ha or more, housing for full-time farm help on a working farm, and migrant farm worker housing on 4 ha or more (ss. 201.3 to 201.5) (RU-2 allows every RU-1 use, homes on RU-1's terms: our reading) | 8.0 ha (s. 110.1) | 33% (66% with commercial greenhouses, other buildings still 33%); accessory buildings not used for farming at most 200 m² of ground floor in all | House 9 m; other buildings not used for farming 9 m or 2 storeys, whichever is less; the zone sets no height for farm buildingsExceptions (1)
Listed in s. 202.7 of the bylaw. |
| District of Summerland Residential Urban · Zoning Bylaw No. 2000-450 | Up to four homes a lot (s. 10.2.5): houses, duplexes or small multi-unit buildings, with secondary suites and carriage houses | 460 m², 12 m wide and 30 m deep (half that for each side of a side-by-side duplex or row home) (s. 10.2.4) | 40% | The lesser of 11 m or 3 storeys; accessory buildings 7.5 m or 2 storeys |
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 RU2 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.