R-CL: Residential Compact Lot

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One of these (s. 403.2): small-scale multi-unit housing, up to 4 homes (3 on a lot of 280 m² or less) where the lot meets the conditions below; or one house with either a secondary suite or one accessory dwelling unit (such as a coach house), not both. In the ALR, subject to the Agricultural Land Commission Act

Main uses

Homes, home occupations (an office only), accessory buildings

Smallest lot for a subdivision

220 m² and at most 464.5 m² (5% of a subdivision's lots, off a curve or cul-de-sac bulb, may be bigger); 11 m wide with a driveway from the street, 8.2 m from a rear lane (corner lots 13.5 m and 12.5 m); 18 m deep (22 m from a lane); no panhandle lots; at most 24.7 lots per hectare, except where small-scale multi-unit housing replaces houses and in the Southwest Gordon, Routley and Yorkson plan areas, which follow the Willoughby Community Plan (ss. 403.3, 403.7)

Lot coverage

55% on a lot under 372 m², with the house's footprint at most 150 m²; 40% on bigger lots, 45% with infill housing; covered porches and decks not counted (s. 403.4)

Height limit

Homes 9.0 m; a detached new home within 4.5 m of the rear lot line 4.5 m (a coach house on a lane excepted); accessory buildings that aren't homes 3.75 m or 1.5 storeys, whichever is less; no hoop or fabric-covered buildings (s. 403.5)

Setbacks

With a driveway from the street: house front at least 6.0 m and at most 7.5 m (the front face or garage may come to 2.5 m with 6 m of parking before the sidewalk), rear 3.0 m, sides 1.2 m (2.4 m along a collector or arterial street); accessory buildings front 6.0 m, rear and sides 0.6 m (1.2 m on a lane or local street, 2.4 m along a collector or arterial street). With a driveway from a rear lane: house front 2.5 m (5.0 m on a collector or arterial street), rear 1.0 m, sides 1.2 m (2.4 m along a collector or arterial street); accessory buildings front 2.5 m, rear 0.6 m, interior side 0 m (1.2 m on a lane or local street, 3.0 m along a collector or arterial street) (s. 403.8)

Small-scale multi-unit housing (s. 102): up to 4 homes on one lot, attached or detached (3 on a lot of 280 m² or less), only where the lot is inside the Official Community Plan's urban containment boundary, under 4,050 m², on municipal sewer and water, not protected as heritage, outside the Willowbrook Transit-Oriented Area and not reached from an arterial road. A secondary suite may sit in one of these homes; that suites count toward the 4 is our reading. The bylaw sets no higher count near frequent bus stops. Which of these conditions a lot meets we don't check: ask the Township.

A third storey: at most 50% of the first storey's floor area with 1 or 2 homes on the lot, 80% with 3 or 4 (s. 403.4).

Infill housing means new detached homes on a lot that keeps a house or duplex built before the 2024 small-scale multi-unit housing amendment (Bylaw No. 6020); with it, coverage may go up to 45% (s. 102).

A secondary suite is a home inside a house (or a duplex or small-scale multi-unit building), at most 120 m², built to the BC Building Code; in the ALR it must also meet the Agricultural Land Commission's rules (s. 102). An accessory dwelling unit is a home in a building of its own on the lot, such as a coach house (a home above a detached garage); the zone allows one only where the house has no suite.

Compact lots are built under an Exterior Design Control Agreement set at rezoning and secured at subdivision (s. 403.11); landscaping follows the development permit or that agreement (s. 403.10).

Accessory buildings go up only with or after the house (s. 104.15). Parking: one space per home, at least 2 on the lot (s. 107.3). On a lot reached from a lane, all parking is off the lane (s. 403.9).

Home occupations (s. 104.3): only an office run by people who live in the home, at most 25 m², not in a secondary suite.

Short-term rental isn't a listed use in this zone, and neither is a bed and breakfast (the bylaw allows one only as part of a farm use, which this zone doesn't list). Ask the Township before renting a home by the night.

Uses the zone doesn't list aren't allowed, even where a general clause might seem to cover them (s. 101.4).

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 Township of Langley's community development division before you buy or build.

Source: Section 403 of Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-04); Section 100 (definitions and general rules), Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw No. 2500; zone map: Open Government Licence – Township of Langley.