HA-2: Gastown Historic Area

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Homes of any kind (conditional), and live-work units: a home combined with an office, a health care office, a barber or beauty salon, a photography studio or an artist studio (conditional) (ss. 2.1, 2.2.7)

Main uses

Shops, a grocery or drug store and Class 1 restaurants outright, but only on the ground floor, at most 500 m² and 10.7 m of frontage; offices, hotels, restaurants, a pub, a cabaret, liquor and cannabis stores, theatres, studios, small bakery, clothing and jewellery making, wholesaling, parking, schools, child day care, churches, a social service centre, bed and breakfast and short-term rental, conditional. Carried on inside a building, patios and the like excepted (ss. 2.1, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.4)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

None set in the district (our reading)

Lot coverage

None set, and no floor space ratio: the height limits and the window rule shape a building (s. 3.1.1.1)

Height limit

At least 12.2 m and at most 22.9 m; the Director of Planning or Development Permit Board may set either higher or lower after consulting the area's advisory group (ss. 3.1.2.1 to 3.1.2.3)

Setbacks

None set (our reading); each window needs a clear view of 24.0 m across a 50° angle, which the Director of Planning may reduce to 2.4 m for a heritage building (ss. 4.1.3 to 4.1.6)

The schedule's aim is to keep Gastown's turn-of-the-century historic and architectural character, on the site of the old Granville Townsite (s. 1.1).

Any change to a building's outside, or a change of use, needs the Director of Planning's approval after consulting the area's advisory group, even for outright uses (s. 2.2.3).

Each habitable room needs a window on an outside wall (s. 4.1).

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).

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 HA-2 District Schedule (February 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.