M-2: Heavy Industrial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

No homes except one caretaker suite with a business on the lot (ss. 23.2.2, 4.19)

Main uses

Heavy manufacturing and production, sawmills and secondary wood processing, aggregate processing and storage, natural resource development, light and heavy food processing, a major brewery or distillery, feed and seed storage, bulk fuel sales, a tank farm, freight terminals, a rail yard, industrial storage yards, heavy equipment sales and service, a towing service, recycling and a recycling drop-off, a wrecking yard, labs, trade training, professional and trade contractors' offices; accessory buildings and a caretaker suite (s. 23.2)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

900 m², 30.0 m wide (s. 23.3, Table 22)

Lot coverage

100% (s. 23.3, Table 22)

Height limit

None set in the zone (s. 23.3, Table 22 sets no height)

Setbacks

Main building: front 7.5 m, inside sides 6.0 m, street side 6.0 m, rear 5.0 m (s. 23.3, Table 22). Accessory buildings: not in the front yard, 1.0 m from inside lines, 3.0 m from a street side and from a lot line next to a residential or park zone, 1.5 m from the rear (s. 4.18)

The zone is for heavy industry with highway access or close to it (s. 23.1).

Every use is inside a building, except outdoor displays, storage yards, rental and sales, parking and loading and specialized work yards; junk is kept at least 30 m from a public road and from residential, multiple-dwelling and park zones, behind a solid fence or wall at least 2.5 m high and piled no higher than it (s. 23.4.3).

No odours, noxious matter, effluent, dust, fumes, smoke, heat, glare, noise, radiation or vibration past the Province's standards (s. 23.4.4).

Shipping containers and temporary storage structures at the rear, screened from view, as many as the lot coverage allows (s. 4.25).

Fenced on at least three sides; fences up to 2.4 m, barbed wire allowed (s. 4.13).

A caretaker suite: one per lot, only with a commercial or industrial use on it, walled off from the business; inside the main building it has its own outside entrance, shares the building's utility connections and is at most 40% of the building's floor area or 90 m², whichever is less (s. 4.19).

Short-term rental of a home isn't a listed use; ask the City.

Parking and loading (Section 5), landscaping, fencing and the other general regulations (Section 4) also apply.

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 Fort St. John's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 23 of City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – City of Fort St. John.