PlaceDossier / Zoning / Comox Valley Regional District
Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019
The Comox Valley Regional District's zoning bylaw, which applies in Comox Valley, Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley, Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek). Our summary of its 10 residential and rural zones, read from the consolidation to 2026-09-08 and checked 2026-10-20. Its other zones aren't summarised here.
The Comox Valley Regional District doesn't publish its zoning map as open data, so a PlaceDossier report can't say which of these zones a lot is in: it shows this table and says to ask. Bylaw No. 520 zones Electoral Areas A, B and C, Mt. Washington included. Denman and Hornby Islands are zoned by the Islands Trust, and Indian Reserves are outside it. Ask the CVRD's planning services department which zone a lot is in, or find it on the CVRD's iMap.
The zones side by side
| Zone | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 Residential One | One house, with a secondary suite, a carriage house or a secondary dwelling of up to 90 m² | 1 ha on a well and septic, 4,000 m² with community water or sewer, 600 m² with both | 35% | 10 m (accessory buildings 7 m) |
| R-RU Residential Rural | One house, with a secondary suite, a carriage house or a secondary dwelling of up to 90 m² | 0.8 ha | 35% | 10 m (accessory buildings 7 m) |
| CR-1 Country Residential One | One house, with a secondary suite, a carriage house or a secondary dwelling of up to 90 m²; on a lot of 1 ha or more, two houses instead | 2 ha | 35% | 10 m (accessory buildings 7 m) |
| MHP Mobile Home Park | A mobile home park of up to 20 homes a hectare, built to the bylaw's park standards (Part 600) | 2 ha | 40% | Not set |
| RM Residential Multiple | Duplexes or a boarding house, up to 30 homes a hectare | 4,000 m² | 40% (60% with driveways and parking) | 10 m (accessory buildings 6 m) |
| RU-8 Rural Eight | One house, with a secondary suite, a carriage house or a secondary dwelling of up to 90 m²; on a lot over 1 ha, two houses instead | 8 ha | 15% | 10 m (accessory buildings 8 m) |
| RU-20 Rural Twenty | One house, with a secondary suite, a carriage house or a secondary dwelling of up to 90 m²; on a lot over 1 ha, two houses instead | 20 ha | Floor area of all buildings at most 15% of the lot (s. 802.6) | 10 m (accessory buildings 8 m) |
| RU-ALR Rural ALR | One house with a secondary suite, plus the extra homes the Agricultural Land Commission Act and its regulations allow | 8 ha | 35%, not counting greenhouses | 10 m (accessory buildings 8 m) |
| UR Upland Resource | One house | 40 ha near the BC Hydro transmission line and Cumberland; 400 ha farther west | 35%, at most 1,000 m² | 10 m (accessory buildings 7 m) |
| WS-RA Water Supply and Resource Area | One house | 400 ha, with 100 m of road frontage | 35%, at most 1,000 m² | 10 m (accessory buildings 7 m) |
"Not set" means the zone itself sets no figure; general rules elsewhere in the bylaw may still apply. Each zone's page has its uses, setbacks and the general rules that apply to it.
Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property, and development permit areas, the ALR and building rules apply on top. Confirm with the CVRD's planning services department before you buy or build.
Source: Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019 (summarised in our words); no open zoning map (ask the CVRD's planning services department which zone a lot is in).