A2: Agricultural Large Acreage

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One house or manufactured home (s. 8.2.7(a)), with a secondary suite and a carriage house, both listed (90 m² at most for a carriage house in the ALR, s. 7.4.1(g)); temporary farm worker housing and agri-tourism accommodation under their own rules (ss. 7.13, 7.16)

Main uses

Farming, intensive farming, greenhouses and nurseries, a house or manufactured home; agri-tourism accommodation, a fruit stand, winery, cidery, craft brewery or distillery, stable, kennel (4 ha lots) or animal shelter (2 ha), small child care, home occupations, short-term rental, temporary farm worker housing (ss. 8.2.2, 8.2.3)

Exceptions (1)

• Agri-tourism accommodation in a recreational vehicle and a tent-only campground, set far back from the lot lines, on one lot the bylaw names

Listed in s. 8.2.8 of the bylaw.

Smallest lot for a subdivision

8.0 ha, 60 m wide; with the Agricultural Land Commission's approval of a homesite severance, a lot consolidation or a road widening, as small as 1,400 m² and 20.0 m (s. 8.2.4)

Lot coverage

Homes and their yards within a farm home plate of up to 1,200 m²; buildings outside it 10% of the lot, 65% where greenhouses or nurseries are the main use (s. 8.2.5)

Height limit

Houses the lesser of 9.5 m or 2 storeys; accessory buildings 11 m or 2 storeys; greenhouses, animal and other intensive farm buildings 12.0 m (s. 8.2.5)

Setbacks

Front and rear 7.0 m, sides 4.0 m (4.5 m beside a street, 6.0 m for a garage door facing it); greenhouses, nurseries, animal buildings, kennels, cannabis production and other intensive farming 15.0 m from every lot line, 30.0 m from the side and rear beside a town residential zone (s. 8.2.6)

The zone is for farming on large lots, on land the community plan designates agricultural (s. 8.2.1).

Parking and loading for greenhouses and nurseries within 30.0 m of a residential lot line need a 6.0 m landscaped strip along it (s. 8.2.7(c)).

A carriage house (a home in an accessory building, s. 7.4) is no larger than the main home and must be on municipal water and sewer, unless the lot is 1 ha or more and has a septic system; a secondary suite (s. 7.3) is one in the house, no larger than the rest of it.

Short-term rental is allowed (s. 7.2): one home on the lot, run by someone living on the lot as their primary residence (in the house, the suite or the carriage house), up to four bedrooms and eight guests.

Short-term rental isn't allowed on a lot that already has licensed agri-tourism accommodation (s. 7.2.1(c)).

The provincial small-scale housing floor doesn't apply in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

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 Summerland's development services department before you buy or build.

Source: Section 8.2 of Zoning Bylaw No. 2000-450 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – District of Summerland.