C-1: Local Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One dwelling, accessory to a business on the lot: a manufactured home up to 5 m tall on a non-permanent foundation, or a self-contained unit built into the main building above the first storey or behind the main use, with its own outside door (s. 1.11(3)) (the zone; s. 1.18(4))

Main uses

General and convenience stores, personal services, professional offices, gas station with auto repair and body shop, restaurants and neighbourhood pub, gift and souvenir shop, bus depot, postal outlet, tourist and business information

Smallest lot for a subdivision

0.3 ha

Lot coverage

60%

Height limit

10 m

Setbacks

Front 7.5 m; rear 6 m beside a residential or institutional zone (4.5 m otherwise); sides 4.5 m; gas pumps 4.5 m from every lot line (s. 1.10(3))

The business runs inside an enclosed building, apart from parking, loading, driveways, storage yards and display, rental or sales areas, which have a dust-free surface.

Outdoor display, rental and sales areas up to 300 m².

Fences exactly 2 m along a lot line next to a residential or institutional zone or a lot with a home; outdoor storage screened by a solid board fence or evergreen hedge at least 2 m tall on every side not facing a building on the lot (s. 1.15).

Section 1.17 bans vehicle wrecking, outdoor repair and stored derelict vehicles, allowing one derelict vehicle out of the front yard in the residential, rural, P-1 and P-2 zones; whether the ban reaches this zone at all is unclear, so ask the RDEK.

New lots also need at least 1,670 m² of usable land: one piece averaging 15% slope or less, with no land slip, avalanche, rock fall, flooding or high water table hazard (ss. 2.4, 3.3).

Heights are measured from finished grade (on lots under 1,670 m², the natural ground) to halfway between the eaves and the ridge; a flat roof to its top; the walls under a single-pitch roof may reach 1.5 m above the limit (ss. 3.2(6), 1.11(6), 3.3). Chimneys, antennas, silos, solar collectors, spires and the like are exempt (s. 1.11(2)).

Every zone also allows parks, public utilities, highways and railways, heritage sites, conservation areas and reserves (s. 1.3). Billboards and third-party signs are banned everywhere (s. 1.13). Buildings stay 22 m from a controlled access highway unless the lot is on a frontage road (s. 1.6). Section 1.29 adds uses on four named lots: a solar farm, indoor RV storage, a residential treatment centre, and three guest ranch cabins with kitchens.

Inside the ALR, farm uses and those the Agricultural Land Commission approves are permitted, as is cannabis production under the ALR Use Regulation (its buildings 15 m from the front and inside side lot lines and 30 m from the rear and a side beside a road); the Commission's rules also apply to suites, farm-hand dwellings and dwellings for a relative needing care (ss. 1.10(6), 1.14, 1.20, 1.21, 1.25, 1.27).

Floodplain (Schedule B): the floor of any living or business space, or space for goods that flood water would damage, sits 3 m above the high water mark of the Kootenay, St. Mary, Wild Horse and Bull rivers, and 1.5 m above that of any other stream, lake, marsh or pond; fill and supports stay 30 m from those four rivers, 15 m from other streams and 7.5 m from a lake, marsh or pond. In the Special Policy Area on Schedule B1 (the Bull River hazard area: alluvial fans and fast water), the floor sits at the highest of 1 m above the ground, 0.6 m above anything that could pond water, or an engineer's level. Renovations, small additions, carports, garages and entrance foyers are among the exemptions (Schedule B2).

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 RDEK's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Steeples Zoning & Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2615, 2015 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of East Kootenay.