RR: Rural Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house per lot, and a cottage of up to 65 m² on a lot of 1.9 ha or more (s. 5.1(3), (5))

Main uses

Homes and agriculture; home occupations; buildings accessory to the home and one produce stand (s. 5.1(1) to (3))

Smallest lot for a subdivision

4 ha, and 8 ha on average; 1 ha, and 2 ha on average, on one property the bylaw's Map 1 shows (s. 5.1(8) to (10))

Lot coverage

10%, leaving out cisterns and ponds, fences, garden beds, pervious paths and driveways, septic systems, wells, one woodshed up to 15 m², up to 15 m² of sheds for food or animals, and on a lot under 0.4 ha up to 100 m² of open decks (s. 5.1(4), (4.1))

Height limit

9 m for buildings and structures (s. 3.4(1)(a)); a produce stand 3 m (its definition)

Setbacks

On a lot of 0.4 ha or less, 6 m from the front and rear lot lines, 1.5 m from the interior sides, 4.5 m from a side along a road (s. 5.1(6)); on a larger lot, 10 m from every lot line (s. 5.1(7)); troughs and manure piles 7.5 m from any lot line (s. 3.3(3)); 30 m from the sea and other water (s. 3.3(4))

The zone holds the island's homes and farms (our reading: the bylaw's only other land zone is for parks and public assembly, s. 4.1).

A cottage is a small home used only as a residence (its definition); like the house, it may be someone's permanent home, or used now and then by an owner or a tenant under a residential tenancy agreement who lives elsewhere, and their non-paying guests (the definition of residence).

Short-term rental (the definition of residence, s. 1.1): residential use leaves out tourist accommodation and commercial vacation rental, so neither the house nor the cottage may be rented to guests by the night. A bed and breakfast is allowed as a home occupation (s. 3.6(1)(m)), inside the house (our reading: s. 3.6(2)(h) allows a home occupation in an accessory building, but s. 3.5(1) lets no one stay overnight in one), run by a permanent resident, where every meal may be served to paying guests (s. 3.6(2)).

Home occupations (s. 3.6): only the kinds the bylaw lists (personal services, repairs and building of vehicles, boats and equipment, offices, child care, catering, crafts, classes, farm sales, rentals of bikes and non-motorised watercraft, a bed and breakfast), run by a permanent resident as the main worker with up to two others at a time, inside the house or an accessory building up to 95 m² together, nothing showing outside but a 0.3 m² sign; some farm, craft and repair uses may be outdoors.

Water (s. 3.3(4), (5)): buildings and structures 30 m from and 1.5 m above the natural boundary of the sea, a wetland, a watercourse or other water, bar boat ramps and low stairs and walkways; 7.5 m from the sea where a qualified professional certifies the shore is bedrock that won't erode.

A dock or float off the lot is in the Water General zone: up to 52 m², with a ramp or walkway up to 3 m wide (s. 5.3); the Province approves building below the natural boundary (its note).

Accessory buildings may go up before the house, but no building other than a house or cottage may be slept in (s. 3.5(1), (2)); living on a boat moored off the island isn't allowed, bar commercial fishing boats and boats passing through (s. 3.5(3)).

Recreational vehicles and tents (s. 3.8): may be lived in when screened from neighbours, the road and the sea and connected to an approved septic system, or used for non-commercial seasonal stays of up to 90 days a year and 60 in a row, and lived in while a house is built. The bylaw counts campers and trailers as dwellings and allows one house per lot, so whether one may be lived in beside a house is unclear (our reading).

No bridge, causeway or tunnel, and no water or sewer line, may join the island to another (s. 3.2(1)(b)).

Subdivision (Part 8): every new lot meets the zone's smallest lot and the lots together its average (s. 8.1); road frontage at least 10% of the lot's perimeter unless the committee exempts it, no deeper than three times its width (s. 8.5); a lot for a relative only from a lot of 8 ha or more (s. 8.4).

Parking: two spaces per home, one per home occupation employee plus one per business (s. 7.2).

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 5.1 of Mudge Island Land Use Bylaw, 2007 (Bylaw No. 228) (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-11); zone map: Open Government Licence – Islands Trust.