C.1: General Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Apartments above the first storey, up to 30 homes per hectare, only with community water and community sewer; or one home for the owner, operator or an employee

Main uses

Shops (groceries, hardware, clothing, liquor, cannabis in Areas B, D and E, and many more), restaurants and bakeries (up to 150 m²), offices, banks and clinics, personal services, hotels and motels, pubs, theatres and clubs, studios and trade schools, major day cares and group homes, assembly and civic uses, parking lots and transit depots

Smallest lot for a subdivision

560 m² with community water and community sewer (15 m frontage); 1 ha without them

Lot coverage

50%

Height limit

12 m or three storeys, whichever is less

Setbacks

Front and exterior side 4.5 m; rear 7.5 m; interior sides none, except 7.5 m beside a residential zone or lane and 5 m on at least one side where there is no lane

Apartments sit only on storeys above the first, with no business on the same storey or above them, and no sign above the first storey (s. 13.1(10)). Businesses run inside buildings, except parking, loading and outdoor storage (s. 13.1(9)).

A home for the owner, operator or an employee: one per property, on the second storey or behind the business building (s. 3.27).

Cannabis stores only in Electoral Areas B, D and E; cannabis lounges are banned everywhere (ss. 3.3(9), 3.3(10)).

The access strip of a panhandle lot narrower than 14 m doesn't count toward the minimum lot size.

Outdoor storage is screened by a 2.5 m solid fence or a 2 m evergreen hedge, and kept out of the front yard and yards next to residential lots (ss. 3.30, 9.1); parking or display beside a residential lot is screened 2 m high. A landscaped strip of 2 m runs beside residential lots, 3 m beside roads and 7.5 m beside a controlled access highway (s. 10.1).

Fences and hedges up to 1.2 m anywhere on the lot, and up to 2 m outside the front and exterior side setbacks; retaining walls up to 1.2 m inside setbacks and 2.4 m outside them (s. 9.2).

Heights are measured from finished grade to the highest point of the building (s. 2); antennas, spires and fire towers are exempt, and chimneys, stair and elevator towers and rooftop equipment may rise 2.5 m above the limit (s. 4.3). Eaves, steps, decks and balconies may reach 1 m into a setback, chimneys and bay windows 0.6 m; sheds under 10 m² and 2.5 m tall that don't drain onto a neighbour are exempt from side and rear setbacks (s. 4.4).

Public parks and playgrounds are allowed in every zone except the comprehensive development zones (s. 3.2(3)). Banned everywhere (s. 3.3): living in a cellar; living or working in a tent, RV, park model or container, except one tent or one RV up to 10 m for 30 days a year outside a campground; storing wrecked vehicles in the open; pulp mills; and sewage plants that discharge to surface water.

Floodplain (s. 6.1): floors for living, business or storing goods sit above the flood construction level: the provincial floodplain maps where they exist; 351.1 m beside Mara Lake, 393.2 m beside Kalamalka Lake and 604.72 m beside Sugar Lake; 3 m above the natural boundary of Mabel Lake and of the Shuswap River between Shuswap Falls and Sugar Lake; 1.5 m above the natural boundary of any other stream, lake, marsh or pond. Buildings and fill stay 30 m from the Shuswap and Kettle rivers and Ashton, Bessette, Cherry, Duteau, Ferry, Kingfisher, Monashee, Tsuius and Wap creeks, and 15 m from other water bodies and dykes. Garages, carports, entrance foyers, renovations and most farm buildings are exempt from the level; the RDNO Board may grant exemptions on an engineer's report.

Streamside (s. 6.2): no development in the riparian assessment area (generally 30 m from a stream, lake or wetland under the provincial Riparian Areas Protection Regulation) unless a qualified environmental professional's assessment sets a smaller setback or the province approves.

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 RDNO's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023 (summarised in our words); zone map: RDNO Digital Data Files terms of use; Source: Regional District of North Okanagan GIS Department.