RD2: Low Density Residential Duplex Apex

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A duplex or a house: two homes at most, in one residential building, and a secondary suite with each house or each duplex home (s. 16.7.4)

Exceptions (2)

• Two homes and two suites in one building, a suite allowed inside a duplex home, and at most 16 short-term rental guests (8 a home) on each strata lot, on two lots the bylaw names at Apex
• A smallest strata lot for a duplex of 236 m² on one lot the bylaw names

Listed in s. 16.7.10 of the bylaw.

Main uses

A duplex, a single detached house, short-term rental (a main use here); accessory buildings, home occupation, secondary suites (s. 16.7.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

600 m²; 225 m² for each half of a duplex split under the Strata Property Act (s. 16.7.2)

Lot coverage

45% (s. 16.7.7)

Height limit

10.0 m; accessory buildings 5.5 m (s. 16.7.6)

Setbacks

Front 7.5 m, rear 7.5 m, sides 3 m (4.5 m beside a road); accessory buildings 7.5 m from the front, 3.0 m from the rear and sides, 4.5 m beside a road; no side setback at the shared wall of a side-by-side duplex split for separate ownership (s. 16.7.5)

The zone is for duplexes and houses at Apex Mountain (our reading of its name and uses), where short-term rental is a main use, not only an accessory one. Each home is at least 5.0 m wide (s. 16.7.8).

A lot with four or more outdoor parking spaces keeps another quarter of the parking area for snow storage, away from roads and sight lines (s. 16.7.9).

Secondary suite (s. 7.10): inside the house, sharing one unbroken foundation and roof with it (a garage, carport or breezeway counts as a break); on a lot under 1 ha it uses the house's own septic system or community sewer.

Short-term rental (s. 7.11) is a listed use: in a home someone lives in, or on a lot with a home someone lives in; up to 2 guests per bedroom; one rental unit per lot in Areas E and F (Naramata, Okanagan Lake West and West Bench), two in Areas A, C, D and I; in Areas A, C and E the operator lives in the same home and is there during the stay. In the ALR only as far as provincial law or the Agricultural Land Commission allows.

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).

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 16.7 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.