RL-2: Rural Residential 2

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A house (not a mobile home) or a duplex, one main building a lot (ss. 16.1, 16.6). An accessory dwelling unit (a detached or garage suite) is allowed in any zone that allows a house or duplex (s. 4.38(a)). A secondary suite isn't in the zone's list of uses, though s. 4.5 lets one sit in a house or duplex, so whether a home here may have one is unclear: ask the District. The zone still lists an accessory residential unit under s. 16.10, which Bylaw No. 2824, 2021 repealed, so what that use allows is unclear

Main uses

Agriculture, a house (not a mobile home), a duplex, a residential child care facility, residential home occupations, a horse stable, a kennel, pet daycare, short-term rental (rules below); accessory small-scale manufacturing on lots of 2.035 ha or more, selling the farm's own produce from up to 92.9 m², accessory uses (ss. 16.1, 16.11, 16.12)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

4.0 ha (s. 16.2); no width or depth set

Lot coverage

None set in the zone

Height limit

Main building 10.68 m; accessory buildings 4.58 m (s. 16.3)

Setbacks

Front 7.62 m, rear 9.15 m, interior side 15.2 m (1.5 m on a lot under 0.8 ha), exterior side 7.62 m; a kennel 150 m from any lot line next to a residentially zoned lot (s. 16.5)

The zone is for rural homes and their accessory uses (s. 16). A home is at most 500 m² (s. 16.4).

An accessory dwelling unit: at most 90 m² (above a garage, 180 m² for the whole building with 90 m² lived in; 90 m² in the ALR), the house's front and side setbacks and 1.5 m from the rear line, 8 m or three storeys high; no parking space needed, no strata title, no short-term rental (s. 4.38).

Accessory buildings: one per lot of up to 60 m² (140 m² for farming), plus up to five of 10 m² or less and 3 m high; not in the front yard, 1.2 m from side and rear lines, 4.58 m high; on a lot of 2.0235 ha or more, 7.62 m from the front line. Buildings used only for farming have no limit on number or size, within the lot coverage (ss. 16.9, 4.4). Section 4.4(h) keeps accessory buildings 3.04 m from rear and side lines in the "Rural 1 and Rural 2 zones", which the bylaw doesn't otherwise name; whether that means RL-1 and RL-2 is unclear: ask the District.

Home occupations need a District business licence: one per home, at most 37 m², a resident running it and at most one employee from outside, no outdoor storage or signs beyond the sign bylaw; one that includes manufacturing only on a lot of 2.035 ha or more (ss. 4.18, 16.11). Without District water and sewer, the health unit's approval for sewage and proof of a good water supply (s. 4.18(o)).

Barbed wire fencing up to 3.05 m is allowed here (s. 16.7); other fencing (s. 4.6) and parking (Section 41) also apply.

Short-term rental (stays under 90 days, bed and breakfasts included) is a listed use, but only in the operator's principal residence (where they live at least 183 days a year), with a District licence, and never in an accessory dwelling unit, secondary suite, accessory building, vehicle or tent (ss. 16.1(i), 4.46; definitions in Section 1).

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 Squamish's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 16 of District of Squamish Zoning Bylaw No. 2200, 2011 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Squamish.