C7: Service Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One security or operator suite

Main uses

Vehicle services, sales, rentals, storage and towing, filling station, building supply, machinery repair and sales, machine and welding shop, light manufacturing, warehouse, indoor storage, delivery, transportation and logistics, bus depot, recycling depot, auction house, mobile and modular home sales, shops, second-hand store, offices and services, indoor recreation, veterinary and animal services; with the City's approval, animal boarding, film studio, restaurant, pay parking, truck stop or winery

Smallest lot for a subdivision

450 m², 15 m wide, 30 m deep

Lot coverage

80%

Height limit

18 m or 4 storeys

Setbacks

Front 0 m, interior sides 1.2 m, exterior side 0 m, rear 1.2 m

Coverage can rise to 95% with permeable driveways or paths on 15% of the lot.

Merchandise displayed outdoors stays 2 m from every lot line (s. 7.19.7).

At 1750 Hill Street, 1531 Walnut Avenue and 1590 Fir Avenue, s. 7.19.8 limits the land "within the C3 zone" to a machine and welding shop with storage, though the clause sits in the C7 zone's section, so which uses those lots have is unclear; ask the City of Merritt.

Buildings and objects stay below Transport Canada's obstacle limitation surfaces for Merritt's airport (s. 7.19.6).

A security or operator suite is one home inside the main building for a caretaker, operator or security staff, one per property (s. 2.2).

The bylaw doesn't allow short-term rental (stays under 30 days) in this zone (s. 4.34.1).

Shipping containers for storage, vented and labelled, screened and kept in the back yard: one per 0.2 ha (s. 4.19).

An accessory building can't be a home, a suite or a short-term rental (s. 4.16), and goes up only with or after the main building.

Fences up to 1.25 m between the street and the front of the building, 2.5 m elsewhere; a 6 m sight triangle at a corner stays clear above 1.25 m (ss. 4.14, 4.15).

On a lot averaging a 15% slope or more, buildings rise no higher than 7 m above the street centreline's level at the middle of the lot (lots below the street) or above the middle of the rear lot line (lots above it), and no wall rises more than 9 m from the lowest finished grade (s. 4.21).

Minimum lot sizes apply to new lots; an existing smaller lot stays lawful (s. 4.6).

Every zone also allows public utilities, electric vehicle charging, and temporary site buildings and containers during construction (s. 4.2).

Floodplain (s. 4.30, Schedule B): land below the Province's 200-year flood level of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, or less than 1.5 m above any other watercourse, is floodplain. Floors of homes, businesses and storage there sit at least 0.6 m above that level, and fill stays 30 m from the rivers and other watercourses unless a riparian assessment allows it. Setbacks from streams follow provincial and federal rules (s. 4.24).

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 Merritt's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Thompson-Nicola Regional District.