PlaceDossier / Zoning / City of Merritt

FD: Future Development

A zone in City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 (City of Merritt). Our summary of Section 7.26 of the bylaw as consolidated to 2024-06-25.

What the zone allows

Homes allowed
One house or modular home per lot
Main uses
House or modular home; accessory buildings
Smallest lot for a subdivision
2 ha, 50 m wide, 30 m deep
Lot coverage
50%
Height limit
11 m or 2.5 storeys
Setbacks
Front 9 m, interior sides 3 m, exterior side 9 m, rear 9 m; accessory buildings 1.2 m from side and rear lot lines

The zone holds land for the development the official community plan foresees there (s. 7.26.1); more homes or other uses would need a rezoning.

Modular homes sit on a permanent foundation and meet CSA A277.

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

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.

Section 4.14 sets no fence height for this zone; a 6 m sight triangle at a corner stays clear above 1.25 m (s. 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.

City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 applies in Merritt.

Other zones in this bylaw

AR1 Agricultural, R1 Low Density Residential, R3 Small Parcel Residential, R4 Residential Modular Home, R5 Mobile Home Park, R7 Medium Density Residential, R8 High Density Residential, RC1 Residential Care Housing, C1 Recreational Commercial, C2 Tourist Commercial, C3 Regional Commercial, C4 Corridor Commercial, C5 Neighbourhood Commercial, C6 City Centre District, C7 Service Commercial, C8 Airport Commercial, M1 Light Industrial, M2 Heavy Industrial, P1 Park and Cemetery, P2 Institutional and Public Use, P3 Post-Secondary Educational, CD01-RC Comprehensive Development – Residential Commercial, CD2-RC Comprehensive Development – Gateway 286, CD3-GW Comprehensive Development – Gateway 286.