SRR: Small Rural Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house (one single family dwelling) per lot and a secondary suite on a lot of 2 ha or more (s. B.6.6); no other building may be lived in, and a second home is prohibited unless the zone allows it (ss. B.1.2.1, B.1.2.3)

Main uses

A house and horticulture with sales of what's grown; home occupation, keeping animals for the household; on a lot of 2 ha or more a secondary suite, and farming with agri-tourism and sales (s. D.1.1.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

0.5 ha, and 2 ha on average (s. D.1.1.3)

Lot coverage

20% (s. D.1.1.3)

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

On a lot under 1 ha: 6 m from the front, 4.5 m from a side along a road, 1.5 m from the other lot lines; on 1 ha or more: 10 m from every lot line; greenhouses 7.5 m on 1 ha or more; farm waste storage 30 m from lot lines and well heads (s. D.1.1.3)

The zone is for houses on smaller rural lots, with gardens and, on 2 ha or more, small farms (our reading of its uses).

Up to three accessory buildings serving the homes, besides a suite, a pump house and a woodshed, and one produce stand up to 4.6 m² (s. D.1.1.2).

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.1.1 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.