R1: Residential One

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One dwelling per lot (s. 5.1(2)); no guest cottage or secondary suite (our reading of s. 5.1(1) and the definition of dwelling in s. 1.1)

Main uses

Residential; accessory uses, buildings and structures, including home occupations other than commercial visitor accommodation (s. 5.1(1)); the uses every zone allows (s. 3.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

No lot in the zone may be subdivided (s. 5.1(7))

Lot coverage

25% (s. 5.1(3))

Height limit

9 m for a dwelling, 6 m for accessory buildings and structures (s. 5.1(5), (6))

Setbacks

5 m from every lot line (s. 5.1(4)); 10 m from the sea, and 30 m from a watercourse, a source of water supply or a wetland (s. 3.3(3), (4))

The zone is for the homes on Ruxton Island (s. 5.1's information note).

Short-term rental: commercial visitor accommodation (guests by the night) is left out of this zone's home occupations (s. 5.1(1)(b)), and the zone's residential use, which the bylaw defines as leaving out renting a dwelling commercially for less than a month (s. 1.1), so renting a home for under a month isn't allowed here (our reading).

Second homes: the zones allow one dwelling per lot and list no guest cottage, and a dwelling is defined as having one set of cooking facilities (s. 1.1), so neither a cottage nor a suite in the house is allowed (our reading). An accessory building may be a sleeping cabin (no kitchen, for people staying in the house) but not a residence (s. 3.5(1)).

Home occupations (s. 3.6): arts and crafts, repairs, professional practice, personal and instructional services; carried on inside the dwelling or a permitted accessory building by the owner or an employee living in the dwelling, materials stored only in buildings, and no noise heard at the lot line or the shore.

Water (s. 3.3(3), (4)): no building or structure (septic fields, paving and retaining walls included) within 10 m of the sea's natural boundary or less than 1.5 m above it, or within 30 m of a watercourse, a source of water supply or a wetland; a boathouse, stairs, boat ramps and a landing platform up to 5 m² excepted at the shore.

Access (s. 3.10): on an island with road allowances a home needs an off-road parking area beside it for whatever vehicles (golf carts and ATVs included) are used to reach it; a subdivision of more than two lots needs a road right of way from each lot to a spot on the water fit for a community dock.

Allowed in every zone (s. 3.1): water supply works, solar panels and wind turbines (15 m high at most, set back 1.25 times their height, ss. 3.3(6), 3.4(2)) powering the lot, ocean geothermal loops, utility sheds, permitted septic systems, trails and horticulture.

Never allowed in any zone (s. 3.2): waste disposal, breakwaters, living aboard a boat moored or anchored as a permanent home, bridges, causeways or water pipes to another island, finfish farming, and a wind turbine powering another island. Derelict vehicles and boats must be kept inside a building (s. 3.8).

Strata bylaws or a building scheme may add private limits of their own (s. 2.2(3)'s information note).

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 Thetis Associated Islands Land Use Bylaw, 2014 (Bylaw No. 94) (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-11); zone map: Open Government Licence – Islands Trust.