A-2: Rural Residential (Country)

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house, a secondary suite, and farm-hand dwellings on a farm

Main uses

House, farming, produce stand, veterinary clinic, kennel, guest ranch, riding stable, shooting range, fish pond, rural retreat, hostel, sand and gravel extraction, forestry, sawmill, landfill; a cabin or lodge, home business, farm-hand dwelling and secondary suite

Smallest lot for a subdivision

8 ha (1 ha for a retiring farmer's homesite)

Lot coverage

10% (35% for farm buildings, 75% for greenhouses)

Height limit

10 m

Setbacks

7.5 m from every lot line for the house (accessory buildings 1.5 m from the rear and sides, 4.5 m beside a road)

Despite the name, this zone also allows gravel pits, sawmills (100 m from lot lines), planer mills (300 m) and shooting ranges (50 m from lot lines, 100 m from other homes).

Secondary suite (s. 1.18): one per lot, at most 49% of the house's floor space, on approved sewage disposal and never strata-titled. A suite above a detached garage is allowed only where the zone permits a secondary suite outright (not "within the dwelling only"): 70 m² on lots under 0.4 ha, 90 m² on 0.4 ha or more.

Inside the ALR, the Agricultural Land Commission's rules apply to every use and building.

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: Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 3255, 2023 (summarised in our words); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of East Kootenay.