RT-3: Multiplex Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A multiplex: three or more homes on the lot, attached, detached or semi-detached (not apartments, townhouses, or a triplex or fourplex in one building as the bylaw defines them); no count set beyond the floor area ratio (ss. 2201, 2207(2), (7))

Main uses

A multiplex, boarding, home occupations, accessory residential uses, accessory institutional support services (s. 2207(2))

Smallest lot for a subdivision

930 m² (740 m² for a lot zoned RT-3 before July 8, 2019) (s. 2207(4))

Lot coverage

50% (s. 2207(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. 2207(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 in the rear yard, front 4.5 m, rear and sides 1.2 m, street side 3.0 m, 6.0 m from any principal building (ss. 2207(8), (9))

A legacy zone: it applies only to land zoned so on June 30, 2025, until that land is rezoned, and the City won't rezone land into it (s. 2202(1)). Why a lot kept it, and whether the Province's small-scale multi-unit housing law lets it have more homes, isn't said in the bylaw: ask the City.

Floor area ratio 0.85, counting garages and accessory buildings; underground parking and storage not counted (s. 2207(5)).

Detached accessory buildings at most 11.0 m along any wall; a detached garage at most three spaces (s. 2207(11)).

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 2207 of City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05); zone map: Open Government Licence – Coquitlam.