C1: Highway Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Apartments and townhouses, between 40 and 60 homes per hectare, none on the ground floor of a building facing Main Street; and homes in a building with a business, with their own outside entrance; at most one accessory dwelling a lot (ss. 14.1.1, 14.1.4, 14.1.5, 14.1.9)

Exceptions (1)

• Up to 85 homes per hectare on one lot the bylaw names

Listed in s. 14.1.10 of the bylaw.

Main uses

An alcohol production facility, apartment buildings and townhouses, a child care facility, restaurants and bars, indoor recreation, offices, an outdoor market, personal services, a recycling depot, retail, tourist accommodation, vehicle sales and rentals; accessory buildings, bed and breakfast, dwelling units and home occupation (s. 14.1.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

1,000 m², width at least a quarter of the depth (ss. 14.1.2, 14.1.3)

Lot coverage

80% (s. 14.1.8)

Height limit

12.0 m (s. 14.1.7)

Setbacks

Front 6.0 m, rear 6.0 m, interior sides 3.0 m, exterior side 4.5 m; above-ground fuel pumps and tanks the same (s. 14.1.6)

The zone is for highway commercial uses along Main Street, with homes above the shops or in apartment and townhouse buildings (our reading of its uses).

The zone's list of uses points dwelling units to s. 14.2.9, which belongs to another zone; we read its own s. 14.1.9 as the one meant (our reading).

Short-term rental of a whole home isn't a listed use in this zone (s. 5.4); tourist accommodation and bed and breakfast are.

Bed and breakfast (s. 7.3): in the house, up to 4 bedrooms and 8 guests, no cooking in the guest rooms, stays of at most 30 days in a row, run by people who live in the house and are there during each stay.

Home occupation (s. 7.5): residents only, in the home or an accessory building, up to 40% of the home and 50 m²; no outdoor storage, retail limited to goods made there and remote sales; no vehicle repair, contractor's yard, animals or cannabis; one extra parking space.

Accessory dwelling (s. 7.2): a separate home, not joined to a building with homes in it, up to 125 m²; never strata-titled; not on a lot under 1 ha unless it is on community sewer; its parking space isn't in tandem with another use's.

Parking (s. 10.2): 1.5 spaces per apartment or townhouse home, 1 per accessory dwelling.

A minimum lot size under 1 ha applies only to a new lot on community water and sewer (s. 8.4).

Floodplain (s. 9): no building within 7.5 m of the natural boundary of a lake, pond or marsh; living space on the Osoyoos Lake floodplain stands at or above 280.70 m (geodetic), and elsewhere 1.5 m above any other watercourse.

Accessory buildings go up only with or after the main building, never between it and the front lot line, and can't be lived in or hold a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, wet bar or deck (s. 7.1).

Fences up to 1.2 m in the front setback and 2.0 m behind it; nothing over 1.0 m within 6 m of a street corner (ss. 6.1, 6.12).

Every zone also allows public parks, utilities, emergency services, licensed day care for up to 8 and a residence for up to 10 (6 in care) (s. 6.11).

Only the uses the zone lists are allowed (s. 5.4).

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 Town of Osoyoos's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 14.1 of Town of Osoyoos Zoning Bylaw No. 1395, 2024 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District Okanagan Similkameen.