RD-3: Two Family/Single Family Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Two homes in one duplex, or one house (s. 40(1)); the zone lists no secondary suite, but s. 11(3)(d) lets a house on a lot of 530 m² or more in the RD zones, with no other homes, have one (our reading: ask the Township)

Exceptions (1)

• On lots the Township's Schedule A.2 overlay map shows as small-scale multi-family housing lots, up to four homes in up to two buildings under the RSM-2 zone (three under RSM-1 on lots of 280 m² or less), unless the lot is also shown as a tsunami hazard lot

Listed in s. 30.10, 40.2, 40.3 of the bylaw.

Main uses

One house or one duplex, home occupation, boarding (s. 30.3), urban hens (s. 40(1))

Exceptions (1)

• A group children's day care centre on one lot the bylaw names, with no parking spaces required

Listed in s. 40(1)(f), (12)(b) of the bylaw.

Smallest lot for a subdivision

668 m², 18.3 m wide at the front building line, for a new lot (s. 40(2), (3))

Lot coverage

30% for all buildings and structures; accessory buildings and structures together 10%; floor area up to 0.35 times the lot area for a house, and for a duplex on a lot of 800 m² or more, 0.4 for a duplex on a smaller lot (s. 40(4), (8))

Height limit

Main building 7.3 m, and the back home of a front-to-back duplex no higher than the front one; accessory buildings 3.6 m (s. 40(6))

Setbacks

Main building: front 7.5 m, rear 7.5 m, sides 1.5 m and 4.5 m together (3 m on one side without a rear lane, 3.6 m beside a street); the second and third storeys 1.5 m behind the first storey's front face, and a garage, attached or detached, 1.5 m behind the main building's front face; accessory buildings behind the front of the main building, 1.5 m from the side (3.6 m beside a street) and rear, 2.5 m from the main building (s. 40(8.1), (9))

The zone is for a house or a duplex on its own lot (s. 40).

A house or duplex here: at least 7 m wide and at least 88 m² on the first storey; a duplex's two homes share at least half of the common wall between their living areas; driveways at most 5.5 m wide in all on a duplex lot (s. 40(5), (7), (10), (13)).

Fences at most 1.2 m high in front of the main building's front face and 2 m behind it (s. 40(11), subject to s. 22); parking as Parking Bylaw, 2025, No. 3089 sets (s. 40(12)).

Boarding: at most two rooms and 25% of the home, only in a house with one kitchen and no secondary suite (s. 30.3).

A duplex here is often two strata lots: what an owner may do with a home (renting it, changes) is in the strata's bylaws as well, so read them.

Whether a lot is on the small-scale multi-family housing overlay or a tsunami hazard lot is on the bylaw's Schedule A.2; ask the Township.

Short-term rental isn't a use this zone lists; ask the Township of Esquimalt before renting a home short term.

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 Township of Esquimalt's development services department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 40 of Zoning Bylaw, 1992, No. 2050 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Corporation of the Township of Esquimalt.