R-CL(CH): Residential Compact Lot (coach house)

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One of these (s. 406.2): 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 and one coach house (a home on the second storey of a detached garage, s. 102). The bylaw's definition of a house includes up to one secondary suite (s. 102), so a house with a suite and a coach house is our reading

Main uses

Homes, home occupations (an office only), accessory buildings (s. 406.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

390 m² (465 m² on a corner), 13.0 m wide (15.5 m on a corner), 30.0 m deep; the zone gives sizes only for lots reached from a lane; no panhandle lots (s. 406.9)

Lot coverage

50%; covered porches, verandahs, patios and entranceways in the front yard and accessory buildings under 9.3 m² not counted (s. 406.4)

Height limit

Homes 9.0 m; infill housing within 6.0 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; no hoop or fabric-covered buildings (ss. 406.6, 406.7)

Setbacks

House: front 2.5 m, rear 1.0 m, sides 1.2 m (2.5 m along a collector or arterial street). Detached garage (with the coach house above it): none in the front yard, rear 1.0 m, sides 1.2 m (0 m where two neighbours build matching garages together under a party wall agreement, sprinklered), street side 2.5 m. Other accessory buildings: none in the front yard, rear and sides 0.6 m, street side 2.5 m. Stairs, porches, verandahs and balconies may come to 1.5 m of the front or street side; nothing above 1.0 m in a corner lot's sight triangle (6.0 m on local streets and lanes, 7.5 m on arterial or collector streets) (s. 406.5)

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.

How many lots or homes a development may hold follows the Community or Neighbourhood Plan for the area, whatever the lot sizes allow (s. 406.2); we don't read those plans: 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. 406.4).

The first floor at most 0.8 m above the average grade on any side facing a street (less strict on a lot sloping 5% or more) (s. 406.7).

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).

Parking by s. 107, at least 2 spaces a lot; no parking space within 2.5 m of a corner of the lot where it meets a street or lane, and an outdoor space may reach into the lane's dedication but not beyond the lane (ss. 107.3, 406.8).

Landscaping and fencing follow s. 111 and the development permit or Exterior Design Control Agreement (s. 406.10).

The zone's rules apply only to lots created after it was adopted (s. 406.11).

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 406 of Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); Section 100 (definitions and general rules), Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw No. 2500; zone map: Open Government Licence – Township of Langley.