FM-1: Fairview Slopes Multiple Dwelling

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

A single detached house or duplex (outright), a house with a secondary suite (conditional); multiple dwellings, infill houses, duplexes and multiple dwellings, and mixed-use buildings (conditional); a 2-home conversion of an existing building (outright, no additions), larger conversions of buildings that stood on June 18, 1956 (conditional); a rooming house (outright). No laneway houses or lock-off units are listed (ss. 2.1, 2.2.4, 2.2.5)

Main uses

Homes of the kinds above, seniors housing; small offices, shops, a grocery or drug store, Class 1 restaurants, barbers, laundromats, bed and breakfast and short-term rental, conditional, where they fit the residential character and serve the neighbourhood, at most half the floor area in sub-area 1, 15% or 130 m² in sub-area 2 and all of it in sub-area 3 (on the schedule's maps); child day care, community care (Class A outright), churches, schools and a hospital, conditional (ss. 2.1, 2.2.7, 2.2.8)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

None set in the district (our reading)

Lot coverage

None set. Floor space ratio 0.60; a home built before December 1, 1973 may add 20% of its floor area, to at most 1.00; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may allow up to 1.50, weighing the site, open space, design and community benefits (s. 3.1.1.1)

Height limit

10.7 m, measured from the lane, under a plane from 7.6 m at the south line on a street running east-west; more with the Development Permit Board's and Council's approval. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak), in the rear yard, at most 48 m² or 35% of the required rear yard, whichever is more (ss. 2.2.10, 3.1.2.1 to 3.1.2.4)

Setbacks

None set in the schedule (our reading); the City's guidelines for Fairview Slopes shape siting

The schedule's aim is to keep the small-scale residential character of Fairview Slopes by keeping its houses and allowing new low-profile homes, with some shops and light industry, designed for the slope's views and central location (s. 1.1).

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. 2.2.2).

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 secondary suite: a smaller home inside a house or duplex with its own outside door (an inside door to the main home is allowed), one kitchen and a full bathroom, at least 37 m² (29.7 m² with the Director of Planning's approval); it may be in a basement (Section 2, ss. 10.20.3, 11.3.1.2, 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 FM-1 District Schedule (May 2026) of Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05 and 2026-10-06); 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.