RU-1: Rural One

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A house and a secondary suite; on a lot of 4,000 m² or more, an accessory dwelling unit as well; on 4 ha or more, two houses with a suite each, and one more house with a suite for each further 4 ha, up to five houses (s. 11.2.2)

Main uses

Farming, nurseries and commercial greenhouses, homes, silviculture, accessory buildings; more than one main building on a lot (ss. 11.2.1, 11.2.2(a))

Smallest lot for a subdivision

4 ha (ss. 9.1.1, 11.2.3)

Lot coverage

15% (s. 11.2.5)

Height limit

10 m (s. 10.2.1(f))

Setbacks

Front and rear 7.5 m, sides 3 m (s. 11.2.4); barns feeding livestock or poultry in confinement for sale 75 m from a lake or stream

The zone is Quadra Island's rural and farm land, with more houses as a lot gets bigger.

Secondary suite (Part 4): a complete home with its own kitchen, sleeping area and bathroom inside another dwelling; the two can never be strata-titled or otherwise split.

On any upland lot (s. 11.1.3): parks, public utilities, up to five boarders in a house, farming for the household, home occupations and short-term rental (stays under 90 days) with a home; on a lot over 4,000 m² a home industry; on 4 ha or more a home sawmill or shakemill with up to five staff from off the lot, 30 m from every lot line, and gravel removal 30 m from every lot line. The Province's principal residence rule may apply to short-term rental on top.

Home occupation (s. 10.1): in the house or an accessory building, up to two staff from outside the family, everything indoors, one sign of 1 m²; a home industry (lot over 4,000 m²) may work and store outdoors behind screening. Cannabis production and sale are never home occupations.

Buildings (s. 10.2): 10 m high at most; none on land subject to erosion, flooding or a landslide; accessory buildings never in the front yard and 1 m from the side and rear lines; no houseboat or float home on a lake or stream.

Streams (ss. 10.3, 10.4): within 30 m of a stream connected to fish habitat a qualified environmental professional's report under the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation sets the setback, never closer than 7.5 m; 7.5 m from any other water feature; the SRD's floodplain bylaw can ask more.

Roads (s. 10.6): 7.5 m from a road along the front or rear; a side along a road 4.5 m on a lot 31 m wide or less, else the front setback.

Parking (s. 10.9): two spaces for each home.

A lot smaller than the zone's minimum may still be used for the zone's uses (s. 11.1.1), and a lot area a home count needs may be 5% short (s. 11.1.2).

On land in the Agricultural Land Reserve the Agricultural Land Commission's rules come first.

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 SRD's planning department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 11.2 of Quadra Island Zoning Bylaw, 1990 (No. 1213) (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-13); zone map: Open Government Licence – Canada.