C-4: Office and Apartment

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

No house: apartments, attached housing (three or more homes, each with its own door at ground level) and congregate housing; apartments and congregate housing only above the first storey, with no advertising on those storeys. The zone sets no count of homes, only floor space (ss. 828.1, 828.4, 828.5, 2)

Main uses

Offices, medical services, apartments, attached housing, congregate housing (serviced homes for people 65 or older or with disabilities), assembly, adult and child day care, a cable hub site, accessory buildings (s. 828.1); everything else is prohibited (s. 828.2)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

No minimum set in the zone

Lot coverage

None set in the zone; floor space ratio at most 1.20 (s. 828.4)

Height limit

15.0 m (s. 828.3(b))

Setbacks

7.5 m from a line on a street (3.75 m where that strip is landscaped and not parked on); 0 m from a rear or inside side line not on a street, else at least 3.0 m from it; a rear line next to a rural or residential zone 7.5 m, an inside side line next to one 3.0 m for a one-storey building and 6.0 m for a taller one; the part of a building holding apartments, attached housing or congregate housing 7.5 m from the front and side lines and 10.0 m from the rear (s. 828.3(a))

One lot the bylaw names, the District's own Municipal Hall, may also hold farm markets and food and beverage sales (s. 828.6(b)).

Non-market housing developments are allowed on any lot inside the Sewer Service Area or the Urban Containment Boundary that isn't zoned industrial, under Schedule I's rules, which we haven't summarised (s. 5.39).

Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 and Schedule B of the bylaw also apply here (s. 828.6(a)).

Short-term rental (stays under 30 days) isn't among the zone's listed uses (s. 2 defines it apart from bed and breakfast); ask the District whether and how a home here may be rented that way.

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 District of Saanich's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Schedule 828 of District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Saanich Data Catalogue Licence (based on the Open Government Licence – British Columbia).