C-2A: Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Homes only in a mixed-use building (conditional) above shops or other businesses: no homes in the first 10.7 m of the ground floor behind the street wall, entrances aside. Houses, duplexes, apartments and seniors housing only where they stood on May 19, 2026; lock-off units only in an apartment or mixed-use building (ss. 2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.5)

Main uses

Shops, restaurants, offices, banks, personal services, fitness centres, hotels, artist studios, child day care, schools and many other commercial and community uses, outright or conditional, carried on inside a building (patios, gas stations and the like excepted) (ss. 2.1, 2.2.1)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

None set in the district (our reading)

Lot coverage

None set. Floor space ratio 2.50, with at least 0.35 in businesses on the street-facing ground floor; 3.50 for a mixed-use building whose homes are all secured rental with at least 35% having 2 or more bedrooms, or a hotel; 3.70 for those on a corner lot with 45.7 m of frontage and 1,672 m² (s. 3.1.1)

Height limit

23.0 m, measured from the building grades at the front lot line; 27.5 m in a transit-oriented area. Accessory buildings 4.6 m (ss. 2.2.8, 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.5, 3.1.2.6)

Setbacks

Front 2.5 m (the Director of Planning may reduce it), rear 1.5 m; sides 1.8 m beside a residential district with no lane between, else none (s. 3.1.2)

Every habitable room needs a window on an outside wall (s. 4.2).

Whether a lot is in a transit-oriented area is set by the Transit-Oriented Areas Designation By-law; we don't check it: ask the City (Section 2).

Redeveloping a site with 3 or more homes that removes rental homes (or did within the 3 years before applying) falls under the Rental Housing Stock Official Development Plan (s. 2.2.4).

Outright uses get a permit once they meet the rules; conditional uses are at the Director of Planning's discretion, weighing the schedule's intent, Council's policies and guidelines and what neighbours, owners and tenants submit (s. 2.1).

A lock-off unit: a smaller home inside a larger one with its own outside door and a shared inside door that locks, 26 to 29.7 m² (19 m² with the Director of Planning's approval), one kitchen and a full bathroom (Section 2, ss. 11.3.1.2, 11.3.1.3, 11.3.3).

One family to a home, plus at most 2 boarders or lodgers; no home rented for less than 30 days except as a hotel, bed and breakfast or short-term rental (ss. 11.3.1.1, 11.3.1.7). The smallest home is 37 m² (29.7 m² with the Director of Planning's approval) (s. 11.3.1.2).

Short-term rental is a conditional use, only in the operator's principal residence (a home, secondary suite, laneway house or lock-off unit); never in an accessory building or a vehicle, or alongside a bed and breakfast; at most 2 adults to a bedroom and one booking at a time; its permit lasts 2 years (s. 11.9.1).

Sections 2 (definitions), 10 (general regulations) and 11 (use-specific regulations) of the by-law also apply. Parking is set by the separate Parking By-law, which we haven't summarised.

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 Vancouver's development, buildings and licensing department before you buy or build.

Source: the C-2A District Schedule (May 2026) of Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05); Section 11, Use-Specific Regulations (February 2026), Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575; Section 2, Definitions (June 2026), Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575; zone map: Open Government Licence – Vancouver.