C5: Neighbourhood Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

No homes except one caretaker unit per lot (s. B.10)

Main uses

Shops (no adult entertainment stores, auction houses, secondhand stores or pawnshops), a barbershop, a beauty parlour, clothing cleaning and repair or a shoe repair shop, restaurants (no drive-throughs), a neighbourhood pub, offices (no escort services or methadone clinics), general services (no funeral parlours, drive-through banks or vehicle rentals), indoor recreation, community services, child care centres; one caretaker unit (s. B)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

2,000 m², 30 m wide, 30 m deep (s. C)

Lot coverage

50%; floor area at most 0.50 times the lot area, and at most 370 m² for each business (ss. D, E)

Height limit

Main buildings 9 m; accessory buildings and structures 4 m (s. G)

Setbacks

7.5 m from every lot line (s. F)

The zone is for neighbourhood shopping nodes (s. A).

No outdoor storage or display of goods at all; garbage and recycling out of the setback beside residential land; a child care centre opens straight onto an open space and play area on the lot (s. J).

Along land the Official Community Plan designates residential: a planted screen at least 1.5 m high in a 1.5 m strip and a solid fence at least 1.5 m high; loading areas and garbage screened to 2.5 m; a 1.5 m planted strip along the street (s. I).

A caretaker unit is a home inside the main building for the owner or a caretaker, there to protect the business (Part 1 definitions).

Parking: by use, in Part 5's Table D.1; company fleet spaces may be tandem (s. H).

Short-term rental isn't a listed use in this zone.

Every use the zone allows depends on City sewer, water, drainage and road works being in place and adequate; where they aren't, the lot may be used only as the A-1 zone allows until the owner extends them on the City's terms (Part 2, ss. B and C; Part 4, s. B.4).

Uses the zone doesn't list aren't allowed (Part 2, s. A).

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 City of Surrey's planning and development department before you buy or build.

Source: Part 35 of Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-06); zone map: Open Government Licence – Surrey.