C-3A: Commercial

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Homes only in a multiple dwelling or a mixed-use building (conditional, where the Director of Planning finds the site suitable and the homes liveable): no homes in the first 10.7 m of a mixed-use building's ground floor behind its front wall, entrances aside; lock-off units only in those; conversions of buildings that stood before June 18, 1956 (conditional, no additions); a home with an artist studio (ss. 2.1, 2.2.3 to 2.2.7)

Main uses

Shops, offices, restaurants, services, schools, light manufacturing (clothing, food, jewellery and the like), warehouses, wholesaling, hotels, a pub, a community centre and many other uses, outright or conditional, carried on inside a building (patios, gas stations, drive-throughs 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 1.00; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may allow up to 3.00, weighing nearby homes, bulk and views, open space, traffic and the homes' liveability, and 10% more from a heritage density transfer (s. 3.1.1)

Height limit

9.2 m; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may allow more. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak) (ss. 2.2.9, 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.6)

Setbacks

No front yard (parking 1.2 m back); sides 1.5 m beside an RM district and 0.9 m beside an RA, R1 or RT district with no lane between, else none; rear 3.1 m, and floors with homes 7.6 m from the rear line, both less the distance from the rear line to a lane's centre line (ss. 3.1.2.2 to 3.1.2.5, 3.1.2.7, 3.1.2.10)

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).

Bed and breakfast: at most 2 bedrooms and 4 guests, the operator living in the home, and no boarders at the same time (s. 11.9.2).

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-3A District Schedule (June 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.