RA: Rural Acreage

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One single family house (s. 5.6.3) of at least 60 m² (s. 5.6.4), with a secondary suite inside it (s. 3.16); on a lot of 8 ha or more, one additional dwelling for a farm worker or caretaker instead of the suite (s. 3.13)

Main uses

Homes, farming, portable saw or shake mill, service kennel, veterinary clinic or animal hospital (100 m from lot lines), hobby kennel, home occupation, short-term rental, agri-tourism and agri-tourist accommodation, cannabis production

Smallest lot for a subdivision

4 ha (s. 5.6.2)

Lot coverage

10%

Height limit

12 m; accessory buildings 8 m

Setbacks

Front 8 m, sides and rear 8 m

Accessory buildings: as many as the allowed uses need (s. 5.6.3).

A rural land use bylaw does the job of a zoning bylaw in Joe Rich: its map gives each lot a land use designation, which sets the uses, homes, lot sizes, setbacks and heights the way a zone does (Section 1, Part 2).

Secondary suite (s. 3.16, Bylaw 1596 of May 14, 2026): one per lot, inside the house (not joined to it by a breezeway or carport), up to 100 m² of floor area, never strata-titled, and not on a lot with an additional dwelling. It needs community water or a private water source (with a water licence where one is required), and community sewer or a septic system that an Authorized Person confirms can take both homes, with room for a backup field.

Additional dwelling (s. 3.13): where the designation allows one, it houses a farm worker's or caretaker's household and is at most 140 m² of floor area or 75% of the house's, whichever is less; a lot with one can't also have a secondary suite (s. 3.16.4).

Short-term rental is a listed use since Bylaw 1587 (May 14, 2026; s. 3.9): one per property, in all or part of the house or in its secondary suite but not both, never in an additional dwelling; at most 4 bedrooms and 8 guests overnight, one parking space set aside for it, one small sign and no other outside sign of it. It is allowed only inside an established fire protection area: each lot's report says whether the RDCO's fire protection area map puts it inside one.

Home occupation (s. 3.5): in the house or another building on the lot, up to 100 m² of floor area plus 50 m² for storage, run by residents with up to two workers from elsewhere at a time; no more than 55 dBA at the lot line, no light over 4 lux beyond it, no odour, smoke or dust, at most three vehicles parked for it, and two signs of up to 1 m². Retail sales only of goods made or grown on the lot, by mail or phone, or incidental to the service. On lots under 5,000 m², no vehicle or machinery repair or painting, cabinet making, welding or machining. A licensed family day care is allowed.

Agri-tourism is tourist facilities tied to a working farm or ranch, within 200 m² of floor area and 100 people (Part 1). Agri-tourist accommodation needs an approved agri-tourism activity on the lot: up to 10 bedrooms on a lot of 3.8 ha or more, 4 on a smaller one, with a parking space for each (s. 3.15).

A service kennel, veterinary clinic or animal hospital stays 100 m from every lot line and is accessory to the home; a hobby kennel is accessory to the home too, and both may need the Agricultural Land Commission's approval in the ALR.

A portable saw or shake mill needs a lot of 8 ha or more, cuts only logs from that lot, at most 50 m³ of lumber a day, with a 15 m fire guard, and the Agricultural Land Commission's approval in the ALR (s. 3.7).

Cannabis production needs a federal licence and a lot of 8 ha or more, with its buildings 30 m from lot lines and 15 m from watercourses (s. 3.17); on a lot with any ALR land only in an open field, in a structure with a soil base, in one built or permitted before July 13, 2018, or in an existing federally licensed operation (s. 3.14.4). Cannabis stores are banned everywhere (s. 3.14.3).

Livestock (s. 3.12): on lots under 2,500 m² up to 10 small animals; 2,500 to 5,000 m² 30 small animals; 5,000 m² to 1 ha 2 large and 30 small; 1 to 2 ha 6 large and 60 small; 2 ha or more no limit. Feedlots and hog farms need 30 ha outside the ALR. Buildings that shelter animals overnight stay 15 m from lot lines and from creeks and other water (s. 3.11).

Outside storage: at most four unlicensed vehicles on any lot (s. 3.8.1); up to 4 pieces of logging, industrial or construction equipment on a lot of 4 ha or more, 2 on 5,000 m² or more, none on a smaller lot, kept 15 m from side and rear lines and from water (ss. 3.8.2, 3.8.3).

On a lot with a house, nobody may live in an RV for more than 10 days a month, and nothing but permitted vehicles is stored in the front or corner side setback; on a lot without a house, no RV may be parked (s. 3.14).

Floodplain (s. 3.1): floors for living, business or storing goods sit 3 m above the natural boundary of Mission Creek and 1.5 m above any other watercourse; fill to raise them stays 30 m from Mission Creek, 15 m from other watercourses and 7.5 m from lakes, swamps and ponds. Garages, carports, entrance foyers and most farm buildings are exempt; the RDCO may grant exemptions on a geotechnical report.

In the ALR the Agricultural Land Commission's rules come first for every use and subdivision (s. 3.10).

A panhandle lot's strip is at least 20 m wide, its driveway no steeper than 8%, with room at the end for two vehicles to turn (s. 3.2).

Height is measured from the finished grade to the highest point; chimneys, masts, spires and similar are left out (Part 1).

Lot coverage counts all buildings and structures but not open patios, low decks, pools, eaves, or greenhouses in rural designations (Part 1).

Only the uses the designation lists are allowed (s. 4.1.2). A lot smaller than the minimum that existed before the bylaw can still be built on under its designation (s. 4.2), and a lot cut off for a relative needs 8 ha (s. 4.5).

Subdivision is approved by the Province's approving officer (Ministry of Transportation), with roads, water, septic, drainage and slope stability to the RDCO's Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw (ss. 6.1, 6.12). The bylaw's policies support new rural residential lots of 4 ha or more and don't support changing a designation to subdivide (Section 4, Part 3).

Section 3 of the bylaw sets development permit areas (aquatic ecosystems, slope stability and rural hillside, wildfire interface, sensitive terrestrial ecosystems, and form and character); building, clearing or subdividing inside one usually needs a permit first. Whether this lot is in one isn't checked here: ask the RDCO.

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 RDCO's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 2, s. 5.6 of Joe Rich Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 1195, 2007 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-04); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of Central Okanagan.