R-4: Intensive Small-Scale Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

At least 3 homes on a lot; no upper limit set beyond the floor area ratio; more than one principal building allowed (ss. 1005(3), (7))

Main uses

Small-scale residential: one or more homes in detached, attached or semi-detached buildings, from a house with suites, carriage houses or garden cottages to a duplex, triplex, fourplex or multiplex (not townhouses, row-style village homes or apartments; Part 2); boarding, home occupations, accessory residential uses, accessory institutional support services

Smallest lot for a subdivision

930 m² (no width set) (s. 1005(4))

Lot coverage

50% (s. 1005(6))

Height limit

Principal buildings 9.5 m, or 11.0 m where at least 80% of the roof is pitched 3 in 12 or steeper; detached accessory buildings 3.7 m, 4.6 m with a roof of 4 in 12 or steeper (s. 1005(10))

Setbacks

Homes and attached accessory buildings: front 4.5 m, rear 6.0 m, sides 1.2 m, street side 3.0 m. Detached accessory buildings at least 1.6 m from a home: front 4.5 m, rear and sides 1.2 m, street side 3.0 m, and only in the rear yard (ss. 1005(8), (9))

The zone is for ground-oriented homes on larger lots (s. 1005(1)).

Floor area ratio 0.85, counting garages and accessory buildings (s. 1005(5)).

Each home needs at least 37 m² of outdoor space marked off by fences, railings or planting, and an indoor, windowless storage room of at least 3.3 m² at ground or main floor (s. 1005(13)). Detached accessory buildings at most 11.0 m along any wall; a detached garage at most three spaces (s. 1005(11)).

A building with only one principal home (a house, with or without suites) is at most 511 m², plus up to 40 m² for an attached garage, or the zone's floor area ratio if that is less (s. 524).

An accessory dwelling unit (a secondary suite, carriage house or garden cottage) counts as one of the zone's homes (Part 2). A detached building holding only an accessory dwelling unit is a principal building, not an accessory one, so it takes the zone's principal setbacks (Part 2).

Parking: one space for a home under 79 m², 1.5 from 79 to 158 m², 2 for a bigger one, all of which may be in tandem (s. 706(1)).

A lot smaller than the zone's minimum may still be built on if it was registered before June 30, 2025 and is on City water and sewer (s. 511).

Subdivision without City water and sewer: at least 1.25 ha (0.4 ha with City water but no sewer) (s. 602(2)). The Approving Officer may cut the zone's minimum width by up to 10% for the last lot of a subdivision (s. 603(2)).

Boarding: at most two boarders in a home; a bed and breakfast counts as boarding, for one family or two boarders, inside the building (s. 508(1)).

Home occupations: licensed, run by someone who lives there with at most one employee from elsewhere, indoors, at most 40% of the home's floor area, no sales of goods made elsewhere and nothing that shows from outside but a small sign (s. 508(3)).

Tourist accommodation (stays of 60 days or less) isn't a residential use under the bylaw (Part 2) and isn't listed in this zone; a bed and breakfast counts as boarding (above). Ask the City whether and how a home here may be rented by the night.

Parts 2 to 7 of the bylaw also apply: setbacks can grow for arterial roads, flood and slope protection and streamside areas (ss. 518, 519, 523) or shrink for allowed projections (s. 514); Part 7 sets parking.

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 City of Coquitlam's planning and development department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 1005 of City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05); zone map: Open Government Licence – Coquitlam.