AI: Administrative and Institutional

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

None: the zone lists no dwelling (s. 22.1.1); a community care facility and a school's dormitories may house people

Exceptions (1)

• One house, with a church, a school of up to 65 students, farming and a home occupation, on one lot the bylaw names in Area C

Listed in s. 22.1.7(b) of the bylaw.

Main uses

Assembly (a church or community hall among them), a cemetery, a child care centre, civic facilities (government offices, a fire hall, library, health care centre, hospital), a community care facility, cultural facilities, educational facilities, a funeral home; accessory buildings (s. 22.1.1; definitions in Section 4)

Exceptions (2)

• A power substation on one lot the bylaw names in Area E
• A fire rescue training facility on about 650 m² the bylaw maps in Area E

Listed in s. 22.1.7(d) of the bylaw.

Smallest lot for a subdivision

500 m², 30.0 m wide (ss. 22.1.2, 22.1.3); every new lot needs 200 m² of usable area (s. 8.3)

Lot coverage

40% (s. 22.1.6)

Height limit

15.0 m (s. 22.1.5)

Setbacks

Front 7.5 m, rear 7.5 m, sides 4.5 m (4.5 m beside a road), accessory buildings the same (s. 22.1.4)

The zone is for public and institutional buildings: schools, halls and churches, government services, care homes, child care and cemeteries (s. 22.1.1; our reading of its uses). It allows no house, so a lot here is rarely for sale as a home (our reading).

Site-specific (AIs) rules in Areas C and E; none in Areas A, D, F and I (s. 22.1.7).

Parking (Table 11.2): one space for every 5 seats or 20 m² of assembly area, whichever is more; 2 a classroom for an elementary or middle school, 3 for a secondary school; one for every 2 people a community care facility is licensed for; one for every 4 hospital beds; one for every 40 m² of a cultural facility; one for every 30 m² of other institutional floor area.

No barbed wire fences in this zone (s. 6.4.2).

A minimum lot size under 1 ha applies only to a new lot on both community water and community sewer; otherwise the smallest new lot is 1 ha (s. 8.1.4; in Areas C and E a system run by a strata, private utility or company counts).

Short-term rental isn't a listed use in this zone, and uses the zone doesn't list are prohibited (s. 5.4); ask the RDOS before renting a home short term.

New lots must be at least a quarter as wide as they are deep.

Only the uses the zone lists are allowed (s. 5.4).

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 RDOS's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 22.1 of Okanagan Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 2800, 2022 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Regional District Okanagan Similkameen.