CC1: Local Service Centre

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A house, live/work units and multi-family homes, the multi-family homes only where the lot has a commercial use; an accessory home; the zone sets no count of homes, only floor area. A secondary suite under Part 6; boarders at most two people in two sleeping rooms (ss. 10.2.1, 10.2.4, 6.15)

Main uses

Small shops and services for the neighbourhood: retail (each store up to 500 m², a grocery store up to 2,000 m²), a restaurant up to 500 m², a neighbourhood pub, a medical or dental office up to 500 m², a veterinary clinic up to 500 m², an artist studio, daycare, a religious institution, electric vehicle charging; homes as above; a home-based business, boarders, a secondary suite and short-term rental as accessory uses; fast food, a gas station, a liquor store or offices only on lots the bylaw names (ss. 10.2.1, 10.2.4, 10.2.5)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

800 m², 15 m wide, 30 m deep (s. 10.4.1)

Lot coverage

60%; floor area 0.45 times the lot area, with no extra for amenities; all the non-residential space on the lot together at most 2,000 m² (ss. 10.2.2, 10.3.1, 10.6.1)

Height limit

10 m (s. 10.6.1)

Setbacks

Front at least 4.5 m and at most 7.5 m (with one building, at most half its front face beyond 7.5 m; with more, building fronts within it along at least half the frontage), sides 3 m, flanking side 4 m, rear 4.5 m; 2.5 m more beside a major road not yet widened; Part 6's watercourse setbacks also apply (ss. 10.5.1 to 10.5.5)

The zone is for small-scale and community services within neighbourhoods (s. 10.1).

The lot sizes are for serviced lots (s. 10.4.1).

Secondary suites: one per home; a house with no other main use may have two, one of them in an accessory building (not in R2 or R3). A suite inside a house is at most 40% of the house's living space and 100 m². One in an accessory building only on an R5 or R14 lot, a corner, through or lane lot, or a lot of 500 m² or more; never on its own title, with 30 m² of private outdoor space, and no bigger than the zone lets an accessory building be, up to 100 m² (s. 6.15).

Short-term rental (stays under 30 days) only in the operator's own primary residence, the whole home or rooms; one per lot where the home has suites (s. 6.16).

Part 6 (general regulations: accessory buildings, watercourse setbacks, flood levels, fences, home businesses) also applies.

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 Nanaimo's planning and development department before you buy or build.

Source: Part 10 of City of Nanaimo Zoning Bylaw No. 4500 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Nanaimo.