AG: Agriculture

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house, and a secondary suite on a lot of 2 ha or more (ss. D.2.1.1, B.6.6); in the ALR, on a lot of 2 ha or more with farm status, also a manufactured home for the owner's family or a farm worker, up to 120.7 m² and 9 m wide, under a covenant to remove it when no longer so used (and for a farm worker, the Agricultural Land Commission's written approval) (s. D.2.1.2)

Main uses

Agriculture including intensive agriculture and cannabis production, with sales of what's grown or raised, a house; home occupations, agri-tourism; on a lot of 2 ha or more a secondary suite, kennels and riding stables; on farm-classed ALR land of 4 ha or more, agri-tourism accommodation of up to four sleeping units; a golf course only on the lands the bylaw's Schedule C, Map 3 shows (s. D.2.1.1, D.2.1.2)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

8 ha, and 8 ha on average (s. D.2.1.3)

Lot coverage

35%; in the ALR 75% counting greenhouses; agri-tourism 1%; cannabis buildings 200 m² (s. D.2.1.3)

Height limit

9 m for houses; accessory buildings 7 m on a lot of 0.4 ha or less, 9 m on a larger one; buildings only for forestry or farming 12 m (s. B.2.3.2)

Setbacks

The house, a suite or farm-worker home and their accessory buildings: on a lot under 1 ha 6 m from the front, 4.5 m from a side along a road, 1.5 m from other lot lines; on 1 ha or more 10 m from every lot line. Other buildings 20 m; greenhouses 7.5 m; intensive farming, kennels and farm waste 30 m; cannabis buildings 30 m, and 150 m from a school or the P3 zone (s. D.2.1.3)

The zone is for farming, much of it in the Agricultural Land Reserve, where uses beyond farming may need the Agricultural Land Commission's approval (the zone's notes).

Up to three accessory buildings serving the homes, besides a suite, a pump house and a woodshed, and one produce stand up to 20 m² (s. D.2.1.2).

Secondary suite (s. B.6.6): one, only on a lot of 2 ha or more; up to 90 m² and 40% of the house when in or attached to it, up to 90 m² in an accessory building (in the ALR only inside the house); never in a manufactured home; outside the ALR, a covenant against strata-titling it is registered first.

Renting a home or a suite for less than a month is prohibited unless the local trust committee issues a temporary use permit (s. B.6.3).

Bed and breakfast (s. B.3.6): a home occupation in the house only, with two guest bedrooms on a lot under 0.5 ha, three under 2 ha and four on 2 ha or more; breakfast the only meal, no second kitchen.

Home occupations (s. B.3): from a list of trades, offices, classes and crafts, indoors, up to 95 m² in all (150 m² on a lot over 2 ha), with two outside workers (four on 2 ha or more); heavier home industries such as contractor yards and boat or vehicle repair only on lots over 2 ha, 30 m from the lot lines (s. B.3.4).

A trailer, RV or accessory building may serve as a home for up to two years while the house is built under a building permit (s. B.6.4.1).

Water (s. B.2.1.1): buildings and structures 7.5 m from the sea (15 m where the shore isn't protected from erosion by bedrock or certified works) and 15 m from a lake, stream or wetland, and 1.5 m above the natural boundary; septic fields 30 m from them. Buildings stay 7.5 m from the top of a bluff in the escarpment development permit area (s. B.2.1.2).

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 Islands Trust's office for the island before you buy or build.

Source: Section D.2.1 of Gabriola Island Land Use Bylaw, 1999 (Bylaw No. 177) (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-11); zone map: Open Government Licence – Islands Trust.