I4: Industrial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

No house: one home per lot as an accessory use to the industrial use (s. 13.2.2)

Main uses

Heavy industry: industry and light industry, food and beverage processing (inside a building, with an odour plan), seafood, livestock, petroleum, wood and paper and topsoil processing, cannabis production and processing, a chemical plant, a concrete or asphalt plant, a composting facility, a crematorium, an automobile salvage and wrecking yard, boat building and repair, log sorting and storage, a recycling depot and plant, a waste transfer station, storage of flammable and combustible liquids, a storage yard, a truck terminal, a tow truck yard (up to 3 impounded vehicles for sale), railways and a railway yard, a veterinary clinic, a warehouse, wholesale; daycare, one home and an office up to 20% of the floor area as accessory uses, but no accessory restaurant or retail (ss. 13.2.1, 13.2.2)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

1,800 m², 15 m wide, 45 m deep (s. 13.3)

Lot coverage

50%; 15% more where the development meets one of Schedule D's amenity categories (s. 13.6.1)

Height limit

18 m (s. 13.6.1)

Setbacks

Front 7.5 m (4.5 m where the front is landscaped and not used for parking), one side 6 m and the other 3 m, flanking side 4.5 m, rear 6 m; 7.5 m from a line beside a residential or corridor zone, 15 m from the Agricultural Land Reserve, 7.5 m beside a major road not yet widened (ss. 13.4.1, 13.4.2, 13.4.4, 13.4.5)

The zone is for heavy industry that doesn't sit well beside homes (s. 13.1).

Shipping containers may be used for a truck and boat terminal, dock or railway yard here, and up to two of 30 m² each may stand for up to 2 years as accessory storage (ss. 6.2.1.1, 6.2.1.2).

Accessory buildings may each have as much floor area as the main building (s. 6.6.6), 3.0 m from the rear line (1.5 m on a lane) (s. 6.6.3).

Short-term rental isn't a listed use in this zone (ss. 13.2.1, 13.2.2); ask the City before renting the accessory home by the night.

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