RU1: Large Lot Housing

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Up to 4 homes on a lot (s. 11.6): houses, semi-detached or duplex homes, townhouses or stacked townhouses, secondary suites and carriage houses all count. More than one home needs community water, more than two community sewer (s. 11.3 notes .6, .7)

Main uses

Single detached houses, semi-detached and duplex housing, townhouses and stacked townhouses, group homes, urban agriculture; boarding or lodging house only with the 'b' sub-zone; child care for more than 8 children only with the 'cc' sub-zone; secondary suites, carriage houses, bed and breakfast (only where it's the lot's one home), child care for up to 8 children, home-based businesses (minor and major), short-term rental by a resident

Smallest lot for a subdivision

450 m², 16.5 m wide (15 m with a rear lane or strata road, 17 m on a corner), 30 m deep; a 150 m² building envelope; a semi-detached pair split along its party wall: 270 m², 9 m wide (10 m on a corner), 100 m² envelope; bare land strata lots too (s. 11.4)

Lot coverage

40% of the lot for buildings (55% with three or more homes); 70% for buildings, structures and hard surfaces (75% with three or more homes)

Height limit

Main buildings 11 m and 3 storeys, with no rooftop living space on a 3-storey building (with a walkout basement, 9 m at the front and 12.5 m at the rear); a third storey at most 70% of the second; carriage houses 5.7 m (6.1 m with a roof flatter than 3 in 12); accessory buildings 4.8 m

Setbacks

Front and flanking 3 m (a street-facing garage or carport 6 m from the sidewalk or curb, at least 3 m from the lot line); sides 2.1 m (1.5 m for accessory buildings and carriage houses) (none along a semi-detached party wall); rear 6 m, 4.5 m on lots wider than deep, 3 m with three or more homes (1.5 m beside a lane); accessory buildings and carriage houses 1.5 m from the rear (0.9 m beside a lane); 2.5 m between main buildings

Carriage houses: up to 100 m² of floor area on one storey or 90 m² on two, the upper storey at most 70% of the footprint (ss. 11.5, 11.6).

Secondary suites (s. 5.3): inside a house, a semi-detached or duplex home or a townhouse (never an apartment or a boarding house), built to the BC Building Code with an occupancy permit, on a lot with community water, and never titled apart from the home; at most 90 m² of floor area.

A carriage house is a home in a separate building subordinate to the main one, never strata-titled (s. 5.3).

A lit path runs from a carriage house or suite to its parking and the street (s. 11.5).

Bed and breakfast (s. 9.3): only in a single detached house and only where it's the lot's one home; up to four guest rooms of two guests each, at least 11 m² each; the licensed operator lives there and is on site while guests stay; never combined with short-term rental; guest parking screened from neighbours; one space per guest room (Table 8.3.1).

Home-based businesses (s. 9.2) are run by a resident who lives there more than 240 days a year, with no outdoor storage or work, no nuisance and no commercial vehicle over 5,500 kg. Minor: inside the home, residents only, one client at a time, up to 20 m² and 25% of the home. Major: in the home or one accessory building, one outside worker, two clients at a time, up to 50 m² and 25% of the home (no fixed cap, but at most half the home, in a ground-oriented home on a transit supportive corridor or in an urban or village centre); one parking space.

Child care for up to 8 children (minor) is run by a resident who lives there more than 240 days a year (s. 5.3).

Short-term rental (stays under 90 days, s. 5.3) is allowed as a minor use only: run by a principal resident who lives in the home more than 240 days a year (a suite or carriage house by a resident of the same lot); one booking per home at a time; up to three bedrooms of two adults each; on a lot with a house and a suite or carriage house, at most two homes and five bedrooms let this way (s. 9.10).

On a lot with three or more homes beside a watercourse or riparian area, the riparian management area (OCP Table 21.1) is dedicated to the City, plus 5 m where an OCP trail runs alongside.

Accessory buildings may have one half bathroom of up to 3 m² (a full one only in a pool house) and no bedroom, and can't be a home (s. 6.9).

Accessory buildings: at most 90 m² of footprint each (s. 11.5).

Steps, decks, porches, balconies and eaves may reach 0.6 m into required setbacks, and up to 2.5 m into the rear yard on lots with two homes or fewer (s. 6.2).

A house, semi-detached home or duplex built to Step 5 of the BC Energy Step Code or certified passive house may reduce its front, rear and flanking setbacks by up to 0.25 m (not the 6 m to a garage, nor a rear setback of 1.5 m or less) (s. 6.7).

Fences up to 2.0 m, but 1.2 m within the front and flanking setbacks (3.0 m on the low side of a slope if no more than 2.0 m above the neighbour's ground); no barbed or razor wire; within 1.4 m of a building, not wood or vinyl (s. 7.5).

Parking (Table 8.3): minimums per main home depend on location. Outside the Core Area and away from frequent or medium transit, 1.25 spaces for a studio or one-bedroom home, 1.5 for two bedrooms and 2 for three or more; less in the Core Area and urban centres and near frequent transit; 0.14 visitor spaces per home from the seventh home; no residential minimum in a Transit Oriented Area (Maps 8.3.a to 8.3.d).

Every home given a parking space gets an energized outlet for Level 2 charging (75% fewer with the 'r' rental-only sub-zone; not needed for suites or carriage houses) (s. 8.2.17).

On a lot beside Highway 97 or Highway 33, buildings and structures stand 4.5 m from that lot line (s. 6.4).

Setbacks from streams and lakes are those of the official community plan's riparian management areas, measured from the top of bank (s. 6.5).

Site-specific (s. 11.7): at 2473 Ethel Street a boarding house may also use an accessory building, for up to 14 residents.

Sections 6 to 9 of the bylaw (general rules, landscaping and fences, parking, specific uses) also apply.

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 City of Kelowna's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – City of Kelowna.