M2: Heavy Industrial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A security or operator suite

Main uses

Heavy manufacturing, machine and welding shop, metal recycling, vehicle wrecking, storage and towing, storage yard, warehouse, transportation and logistics, fuel sales, greenhouse

Smallest lot for a subdivision

600 m², 20 m wide, 30 m deep

Lot coverage

75%

Height limit

18 m; accessory buildings 26 m (as printed)

Setbacks

6 m from every lot line

Coverage can rise to 90% with permeable driveways or paths on 15% of the lot.

Uses are carried on inside a building where practical; nothing that causes a nuisance or a health, fire or explosion hazard, and no burning of waste except wood waste from forest industries (s. 7.22.6).

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 or side yard: one per 0.2 ha, stacked two high at most (s. 4.19).

Fences up to 2.5 m (s. 4.14).

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.

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.