RT: Semi-Detached Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A building of two homes (semi-detached, each with its own entrance, which may have its own title), each home with one of a secondary suite, bed and breakfast, boarding, child care, community care, a home-based business or supportive recovery, plus an additional dwelling unit (s. 9.1.2). 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

Semi-detached homes, small-scale multi-unit housing; with semi-detached homes, for each home one of a secondary suite, bed and breakfast, boarding, child care, community care, a home-based business or supportive recovery, and an additional dwelling unit and a home office; with small-scale housing, a secondary suite, boarding and a home office

Smallest lot for a subdivision

744 m², 15.0 m wide (s. 3.2, which lists it as RT1; the zone's code is RT, so we read it as this zone)

Lot coverage

Semi-detached: 40% for all buildings, accessory buildings (additional dwelling unit included) at most 65 m², 80 m² with enclosed parking; small-scale housing 45% with up to 4 homes, 50% with 5 or 6 (ss. 9.1.3, 9.1.4)

Height limit

Semi-detached: 10.5 m and 3 storeys; accessory buildings 4.5 m; 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. 9.1.3, 9.1.4)

Setbacks

Semi-detached: front 6.0 m, sides 1.5 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 7.5 m; accessory buildings and an additional dwelling unit sides 1.5 m (3.0 m on a street), rear 1.5 m, behind the house; 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. 9.1.3, 9.1.4)

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 one building of two homes in various layouts (s. 9.1.1).

Semi-detached: floor area ratio 0.5 (s. 9.1.3).

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; an additional dwelling unit's parking in the rear yard (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 9.1 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.