SR: Settlement Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house; on a lot of 0.4 ha or more, an associated secondary dwelling too (s. 5.1(2), (3), s. 3.14); on a lot under 0.4 ha, a secondary dwelling only where the house was permitted before November 15, 1996 (s. 5.1(2)(a))

Main uses

A house and an associated secondary dwelling, growing food or keeping animals for the household, agriculture on lots of 2 ha or more; accessory uses such as home occupations (s. 5.1(1), (11) to (13))

Smallest lot for a subdivision

0.5 ha, and 2 ha on average (s. 5.1(14), (15))

Lot coverage

25% on a lot under 1 ha, 20% on 1 to 2 ha, 18% on 2 to 3 ha, 15% on 3 to 4 ha, 12% on 4 to 10 ha, 10% on 10 ha or more (s. 5.1(5))

Height limit

10 m for the house and other principal buildings (s. 3.5(2)); 7 m and one storey for accessory buildings (ss. 3.5(3), 5.1(10)); farm buildings 12 m (s. 3.5(3))

Setbacks

7.5 m from the front and rear lot lines, 3 m from the interior sides, 4.5 m from a side along a road (s. 5.1(9)); 4.5 m from any road (s. 3.3(5)); animal pens, troughs and manure 10 m from any lot line or home (s. 3.3(3)); 15 m from the sea and other water (s. 3.3(1))

The zone is for residential neighbourhoods in the island's settlement areas (s. 5.1's purpose).

Livestock only on lots over 0.4 ha, farming and farm buildings only on lots of 2 ha or more (s. 5.1(4), (12), (13)).

More homes without subdividing (s. 5.1(6) to (8)): on a lot of 2 to 4 ha, a home of up to 74.3 m² for each owner on title before 1969, at no more than one home per 0.75 ha; where a covenant limits the lot to one house per 2 ha, that density without new lots; or one house and one secondary dwelling per 2 ha under a covenant that also gives up to 5% of the lot for park or trail and trail access along the water. The first two allow no secondary dwelling.

Associated secondary dwelling (s. 3.14): a second, smaller detached home on the lot; 60 m² on a lot of 0.4 ha, plus 8 m² for each further 0.2 ha, up to 120 m² on a lot under 2 ha and 200 m² on 2 ha or more. On a lot under 0.4 ha, one of 60 m² only where the house had a Sunshine Coast Regional District occupancy permit before November 15, 1996 (s. 3.14(1)(c)). Two homes on a lot stand at least 10 m apart (s. 3.3(8)).

Short-term rental (s. 3.7(1) and the definitions of short term and temporary overnight accommodation): paying guests may stay under 31 days as a home occupation inside a home on the lot (the house or the secondary dwelling, our reading of s. 3.7(1)(b)), with up to four guest bedrooms (s. 3.7(1)(h)), run by someone living on the lot more than 183 days a year (s. 3.7(1)(a) and the definition of resident); never in an accessory building (ss. 3.6(1), 3.7(1)(b)). The bylaw names no bed and breakfast use; this is the route for one. A whole house rented by the night with nobody living on the lot isn't among its uses (our reading); ask the Islands Trust.

Home occupations (s. 3.7): run by someone living on the lot, in a home or an accessory building, more than one allowed, up to two employees from off the lot, outdoor storage screened, sales limited to what is made on the lot; no restaurant, permanent sawmill, salvage yard or noisy, dusty or offensive use. More than that needs a temporary use permit, which the Settlement Residential and Rural Residential zones may get for uses that benefit the island (s. 10.2).

Accessory buildings: all of them together up to 100 m² on a lot of 0.4 ha or less, 200 m² on 0.4 to 1 ha, and 4% of the lot to 1,000 m² on a larger one, farm buildings not counted (s. 3.6(2), Table 3.1); none used for overnight guests (s. 3.6(1)). A shed up to 2.5 m high and 10 m² may stand 2 m from a lot line not on a road (s. 3.3(4)).

Water (s. 3.3(1)): no building or structure within 15 m of the sea, a lake, a wetland or a watercourse, and floors used for living, business or storage 1.5 m above its natural boundary; animal pens, troughs and manure 40 m from water (s. 3.3(1)(a)). Boat houses, stairs and walkways to the shore may be closer (s. 3.4(6)). A private dock or float stays within the lot's side lines projected seaward, 3 m in from them (s. 3.3(2)).

Development permit areas the Official Community Plan maps, for watersheds and streamsides and for riparian areas, need a permit before land is cleared, built on or subdivided there (Part 9).

Living on the lot while building: a building may be lived in by the owner for up to two years with a building permit (s. 3.1(1)(g)); shipping containers only for storage during construction (s. 3.2(1)(k)); campgrounds and trailer parks are prohibited (s. 3.2(1)(b)).

Subdivision (Part 8): the number of new lots is the parent lot's area divided by the zone's average (s. 8.1); each new lot's road frontage at least 10% of its perimeter unless the committee exempts it, no deeper than five times its width (s. 8.6); a lot for a relative only from a lot of 8 ha or more (s. 8.5); a water-access-only subdivision dedicates road access to a neighbourhood dock site (s. 8.9).

Parking: two spaces per home where the lot is reached by a constructed public road (s. 7.5).

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 Gambier Island Land Use Bylaw No. 86, 2004 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-11); zone map: Open Government Licence – Islands Trust.