CM-2: Mixed-Use Commercial Upper Gibsons

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Townhouses and apartments only, above, below or behind a commercial use facing the street; at most 150 homes a hectare, rounded down, more where the owner signs a housing agreement with the Town (s. 2.3.2(2.1.8), (3.1), (4.1)). No house

Main uses

Arts and culture, entertainment and recreation, food and beverage, a hotel, a microbrewery, offices, retail, service commercial, veterinary services, townhouses and apartments; accessory buildings, business services, home occupation and short-term rental; a gas station only on three lots the bylaw names; plus what every zone allows: public utilities, streets, community care, daycare, parks and recreation, conservation and emergency services (ss. 2.3.2(2), (3.2), 3.8.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

235 m², 7.5 m deep, 30 m wide for a new lot, as the bylaw prints them (s. 2.3.2(8))

Lot coverage

80% (s. 2.3.2(5.4)); at least 10 m² of amenity area a home (s. 2.3.2(4.2))

Height limit

15 m; up to 20 m where the owner signs a housing agreement with the Town for more homes (s. 2.3.2(5.1), (5.3))

Exceptions (1)

• 10 m on eight lots along Gibsons Way, Crucil Road and North Road the bylaw names

Listed in s. 2.3.2(5.2) of the bylaw.

Setbacks

Front 3 m, rear 1.5 m, inside sides 0 m (1.5 m beside a lot in a residential zone), street side 3 m; 5 m from a line on Highway 101 or North Road (s. 2.3.2(5.5)-(5.10))

The zone is for active commercial streets in Upper Gibsons: shops and services on the ground floor or above, with homes above, in buildings of four to six storeys (s. 2.3.2(1.1)).

Short-term rental (s. 3.7.4): in the operator's principal residence; a whole home while the operator is away only three months a year, up to two bedrooms year-round while they're home; a Town business licence and a parking plan. The section also caps homes rented short term that aren't the operator's principal residence at 35 in town (s. 3.7.4(1.8)), which reads against the residence rule; ask the Town.

A home here is most often in a strata building: what an owner may do with it is in the strata's bylaws as well, so read them (our reading).

Parking follows Part 4, landscaping and screening Part 3, s. 3.4 (s. 2.3.2(6), (7)). No use may send smells, noise, vibration, heat, glare or radiation beyond the lot lines (s. 3.8.2).

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 Town of Gibsons' planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 2.3.2 of Zoning Bylaw No. 1342, 2025 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Town of Gibsons.