R-2: Rural Residential 2

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One home per hectare of lot (s. 4.14.3), and a secondary suite with it (s. 2.18); how many homes an older lot under 1 ha may have is unclear, ask the RDN

Main uses

Homes; home-based business, secondary suite

Smallest lot for a subdivision

1 ha, with 40 m of frontage on a road (s. 4.14.3); up to half the lots in a subdivision may be 80% of that if the average holds (s. 6.7). No lot under that size may be created by a strata plan either, bare land strata aside (s. 2.23).

Lot coverage

25%

Height limit

10 m

Setbacks

4.5 m from the front and from a side along a road, 2 m from the other lot lines

The zone is for homes on rural lots of 1 ha or more.

Secondary suite (s. 2.18): at most one per house and two per lot, only one of them detached; inside a house up to 40% of its floor area and 90 m², two bedrooms and its own entrance; not in a duplex or manufactured home; kept on the same title as the house and never rented for less than a month; without community sewer, Island Health must approve the septic. A suite in an accessory building needs a lot of 800 m² on community water and sewer, 8,000 m² otherwise.

Bed and breakfast (s. 2.15): a home-based business in the house, up to three guest rooms, and not on a lot that has a suite.

Short-term rental of a whole home isn't a use this zone lists, and a suite may not be rented for less than a month (s. 2.18); ask the RDN before renting a home short term.

Watercourses (s. 2.10): no building within 30 m of the Little Qualicum River, the Englishman River or French Creek north of Highway 4A (from the natural boundary, or from the top of a bank within 30 m), 15 m of the other streams on the Area F plan's Map 3, and 8 m of any other watercourse.

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 RDN's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 4.14 of Electoral Area F Zoning and Subdivision Bylaw No. 1285, 2002 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District of Nanaimo.