PlaceDossier / Zoning / City of Port Moody

RS1-S: Single Detached Residential – Small Lot

A zone in City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 (City of Port Moody). Our summary of Section 8.5 of the bylaw as consolidated to 2026-07-27.

What the zone allows

Homes allowed
A house with a secondary suite and an additional dwelling unit (a home of its own, detached or attached, which may be stratified) (s. 8.5.2; s. 4). Or small-scale multi-unit housing, only on a lot in the SSMUH Areas of the bylaw's Map 3: up to 3 homes on a lot of 280 m² or less; up to 4 on a lot over 280 m² and up to 4,050 m²; up to 6 on such a lot inside the map's Prescribed Bus Stop 400 m Radius; as a house, semi-detached homes, additional dwelling units, townhouses, apartments or secondary suites, counted together (ss. 5.5.1 to 5.5.4). Which part of the map a lot is on we don't check: ask the City
Main uses
A house, small-scale multi-unit housing; with a house, a secondary suite, an additional dwelling unit, a home office, supportive recovery, and one of bed and breakfast, boarding, child care, community care or a home-based business; with small-scale housing, a secondary suite, boarding and a home office
Smallest lot for a subdivision
325 m², 9.0 m wide (s. 3.2)
Lot coverage
House: 45% for all buildings, accessory buildings (additional dwelling unit included) at most 65 m²; small-scale housing 45% with up to 4 homes, 50% with 5 or 6 (ss. 8.5.3, 8.5.4)
Height limit
House: 3 storeys and 10.5 m with a roof pitched 3 in 12 or more, 9.0 m with a flatter roof (parapets under 0.6 m); accessory buildings 3.7 m flat roof, 4.5 m pitched; additional dwelling unit 6.71 m; small-scale housing 10.5 m with up to 4 homes, 11.5 m with 5 or 6, accessory buildings 4.0 m (ss. 8.5.3, 8.5.4)
Setbacks
House: front 6.0 m, sides 1.2 m (1.8 m on a flanking street), rear 7.5 m; additional dwelling unit sides 1.2 m, rear 1.5 m; accessory buildings sides 0.9 m, rear 1.5 m, behind the house, 2.0 m from it; small-scale housing: front 4.6 m, sides 1.5 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 1.5 m on a lane, 4.0 m without one (ss. 8.5.3, 8.5.4)

Small-scale multi-unit housing: floor area ratio 0.7 for 3 homes, 0.1 more for each further home, up to 1.0 for 6; height 10.5 m with up to 4 homes, 11.5 m with 5 or 6, accessory buildings 4.0 m; coverage 45% with up to 4 homes, 50% with 5 or 6; front 4.6 m, sides 1.5 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 1.5 m on a lane or 4.0 m without one; 6.1 m between buildings front to back, 2.4 m side to side, 2.0 m to an accessory building.

The zone is for small lots in areas the Official Community Plan designates Single Family Low Density in Moody Centre, Seaview and Pleasantside (s. 8.5.1).

A house: floor area ratio 0.5 on a lot of 555 m² or more, 0.7 on a smaller lot (s. 8.5.3).

Parking: a house 2 spaces, a semi-detached home 2 each, a secondary suite 1; small-scale housing at least 0.5 a home (at most 4 spaces off a local road or lane, 2 off an arterial), none required inside the Prescribed Bus Stop 400 m Radius; parking off the lane where there is one; driveway and parking at most half the front yard; in this zone one space for each principal home whatever s. 6.3 says (s. 8.5.6) (s. 6.3).

Homes only on a lot served by a community water system and a community sewer system (s. 5.1.2(e)).

Floor area counts nearly every floor, including enclosed parking over 23 m² per required space, but not a basement 60% or more below grade or crawl spaces (s. 5.3.4).

A secondary suite is a home inside a building that holds only one other home, the two forming one property; it needs its own parking space (ss. 4, 5.2.7, 6.3).

Home office (type A): residents only, no customer visits or signs. Home-based business (type B): residents and up to 2 employees, at most 50 m², not with bed and breakfast, boarding or child care. A low-impact business (type C), with one client at a time and at most 5 visits a day, is allowed wherever homes are (s. 5.2.3).

Child care: at most 10 children in a single detached zone; in a multi-residential zone 5 in any home and 25 in one facility (s. 5.2.8). Supportive recovery: at most 10 residents under a housing agreement, 200 m from schools, child care and other such homes, not with boarders, child care, an additional dwelling unit, a home occupation or a secondary suite (s. 5.2.9).

Short-term rental (stays under 90 days) only in the host's principal residence, and only as part of a bed and breakfast (at most 3 guest rooms, no cooking in them, one parking space each) or boarding (at most 2 boarders, inside the main home); it may need a business licence and inspection. Neither can share the lot with child care or a home-based business, nor with each other (ss. 4, 5.2.5, 5.2.6).

Mechanical equipment such as heat pumps 1.8 m from interior lot lines; fences 1.2 m in the front yard, 2.0 m behind the house; no shipping containers (ss. 5.2.12, 5.2.15, 5.2.17).

Lots listed in Schedule B have their own site-specific rules; ask the City whether this lot is one.

Gaming, firearms sales, adult entertainment, pawnbrokers and medical cannabis production are prohibited in every zone (s. 5.1.2).

Sections 5 (general regulations) and 6 (parking) of the bylaw also apply, and 5.2.10 for landscaping.

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 Port Moody's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 8.5 of City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05); zone map: Open Government Licence – Port Moody.

City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 applies in Port Moody.

Other single detached zones RS1, RS1-S, RS3, RS6 and RS9, the semi-detached zone RT and the Civic Service zone P1 zones in this bylaw

RS1 Single Detached Residential, RS3 North Shore Single Detached Residential, RS6 Heritage Woods Single Detached Residential, RS9 Single and Semi-Detached Residential, RT Semi-Detached Residential, P1 Civic Service.