This outlines zoning information for single-family and two-family dwellings in the R1 to R5 and R9 to R12 Districts.

It is intended for convenience only and cannot be used as a substitute for the Burnaby Zoning Bylaw. To obtain additional information, please call the Building Department at 604.294.7140 or 604.294.7143.

Zoning Bylaw Definitions

Gross Floor Area means the total area of all the floors measured to the extreme outer limits of the building in accordance with the regulations set out in section 6.20 of the Zoning Bylaw.

Floor Area Ratio means the figure obtained when the gross floor area of all buildings on a lot (less the exclusions permitted in accordance with section 6.20 of the Zoning Bylaw) is divided by the area of the lot.

Accessory Building means a building, the use or intended use of which is ancillary to that of a principal building situated on the same lot.

Basement means the portion of a building between two floor levels that is partly underground but has at least one-half its height, from its finished floor to the underside of the joists of the floor next above it, above average natural grade as determined by the Building Inspector; and a basement shall be considered to be a storey.

Cellar means the portion of a building between two floor levels that is partly or wholly underground and has more than one-half its height, from its finished floor to the underside of the joists of the floor next above it, below average natural grade as determined by the Building Inspector; and a cellar shall not be considered to be a storey.

Crawl Space means the space at or below natural grade between the underside of the joists of the floor next above and the floor slab on the ground surface below, having a vertical clear height less than 1.2 m (3.9 feet).

Balcony means a cantilevered deck that projects from a building and that, except for a guard rail, is not enclosed.

Covered Deck means a roofed deck that is not cantilevered, projects from a wall of a building, is accessible from the interior of a building and, except for a guard rail, is not enclosed.

Sundeck means a roofless deck that is not cantilevered, projects from a wall of a building, is accessible from the interior of the building and, except for a guard rail, is not enclosed.

Permitted Floor Area
The permitted floor area is measured in two ways:

Gross Floor Area
applies to all buildings on the lot, including all floors.

Above Grade Floor Area
applies to the principal building only.

Gross Floor Area
The permitted gross floor area in each zoning district is as follows:

R1 District
The lesser of 60 percent of the lot area or 590 m² (6,350.9 sq. ft.). In an R1a District, 60 percent of the lot area is permitted.

R2 and R4 Districts
The lesser of 60 percent of the lot area or 440 m2 (4,736.3 sq. ft.). In an R2a and R4a District, 60 percent of the lot area is permitted.

R3 and R5 Districts
The lesser of 60 percent of the lot area or 370 m² (3,982.8 sq. ft.). In an R3a and R5a District, 60 percent of the lot area is permitted.

R9 Districts
The lesser of 60 percent of the lot area or 265 m² (2,852.5 sq. ft.). In an R9a District, 60 percent of the lot area is permitted.

R10 and R12 Districts
The lesser of 60 percent of the lot area or 370 m² (3,982.8 sq. ft.).

R11 District
The permitted gross floor area varies according to the building height.

Accessory Buildings

The gross floor area of all accessory buildings (e.g. detached garages/carports, sheds) on a lot shall not exceed 56 m² (602.8 sq. ft.). An allowance of 452.1 sq. ft. is given for detached garages and carports in the R zoning districts. Any area greater than 452.1 sq. ft., up to a maximum of 602.8 sq. ft., is included in the gross floor area.

The entire floor area of all additional accessory buildings is included in the gross floor area. That is, these other accessory buildings are not eligible for the 452.1 sq. ft. garage/carport allowance.

Measuring the Gross Floor Area

The gross floor area is defined as the total area of all the floors measured to the extreme outer limits of the building in accordance with the regulations set out in section 6.20 of the Zoning Bylaw. The extreme outer limits of the building includes the exterior walls and the supporting posts of any structure.

For all buildings on a lot, in addition to the floor area, the following shall be included in the calculation of gross floor area:

• all internal areas giving access, such as corridors, hallways, landings, foyers, staircases, stairwells, elevator shafts;
• areas with a high ceiling: in any space (including an entry area) where the height from a floor to the top of the wall plate (the ceiling) exceeds 3.7 m (12.1 feet), the amount of the upper open floor area in excess of 9.3 m² (100.1 sq. ft.). The stairwell area will be counted on every floor.

• cellars and basements (crawl spaces up to 3.9 ft. in height are excluded);
• floor area of detached garages and carports in excess of 42 m² (452.1 sq. ft.); the total floor area permitted for all accessory buildings is 602.8 sq. ft.
• R1 to R5, R9 and R12 Districts: floor area of attached garages and carports in excess of 42 m² (452.1 sq. ft.); this includes attached garages, attached carports, porte-cocheres and driveways under sundecks, even if they are located at grade or below grade.
• R10 and R11 Districts: floor area of attached garages and carports in excess of 42 sq. m. (452.1 sq. ft.) on a lot without lane access; or the entire floor area of attached garages and carports on lots with lane access.
• accessory buildings other than for parking;
• covered porches under certain conditions (see Sundecks, covered decks section of this information);
• balconies, sundecks, mezzanines, porches and verandas, which are enclosed;
• the area of balconies, sundecks, covered decks, which in total exceeds 8 percent of the permitted gross floor area (see diagrams below).
• the areas underneath sundecks, covered decks and habitable floor area, which are greater than an average height of 4 feet, as measured from the natural grade to the underside of the joists above (see diagrams below).

Above Grade Floor Area

In addition to a limit on the gross floor area which applies to all buildings on a lot, there is also a limit on the above grade floor area which applies to the principal building only. That is, the above grade floor area does not include detached garages, detached carports, and other accessory buildings.

To accommodate additions to older houses with basements, the above grade floor area for older houses (defined as having a building permit issued on or before 1991 December 16) does not include the floor area of the existing basement. For houses with permits issued after that date, the basement is included in the above grade floor area. The regulations are as follows:

Older houses with a building permit issued on or before 1991 December 16
(After 1991 July 22 for R10 Districts and after 1994 October 01 for R11 Districts)

• For the existing house, the above grade floor area shall include all the gross floor area located above a cellar, basement, crawl space or ground surface. Except in R11 Districts, an addition to a basement shall be included as above grade floor area.
• Refer to the zoning district for the permitted above grade floor area.

Houses with a building permit issued after 1991 December 16
(After 1991 July 22 for R10 Districts and after 1994 October 01 for R11 Districts)

• The above grade floor area shall include all the gross floor area of the house, except for the cellar (as defined under Zoning Bylaw Definitions at the beginning of this information).
• Refer to the zoning district for the permitted above grade floor area.

Measuring The Above Grade Floor Area
The measurement of above grade floor area applies to the principal building only. The following shall be included in the calculation of above grade floor area:

• internal areas giving access such as corridors, hallways, landings, foyers, staircases, stairwells, elevator shafts;
• areas with a high ceiling: in any space (including an entry area) where the height from a floor to the top of the wall plate exceeds 3.7 m (12.1 feet), the amount of the upper open floor area in excess of 9.3 m² (100.1 sq. ft.) for the entire building. The stairwell area will be counted on every floor.
• R1 to R5, R9 and R12 Districts: floor area of attached garages and carports in excess of 42 m² (452.1 sq. ft.); this includes attached garages, attached carports and porte-cocheres, even if they are located at grade or below grade.
• R10 and R11 Districts: floor area of attached garages and carports in excess of 42 m² (452.1 sq. ft.) on a lot without lane access; or the entire floor area of attached garages and carports on lots with lane access.
• balconies, sundecks, mezzanines, porches and verandas, which are enclosed;
• the area of balconies, sundecks, covered decks, which in total exceeds 8 percent of the permitted gross floor area (see diagrams below);
• the areas underneath sundecks, covered decks and habitable floor areas, which are located above the natural grade and are greater than an average height of 4 feet, as measured from the natural grade to the underside of the joists above. The area is measured to the supporting posts of the deck (see diagrams below); and
• covered porches under certain conditions (see diagrams below).

Sundecks, Covered Decks, Balconies, Cantilevered Floor Areas, Roof Overhangs and Spaces Underneath

The following drawings on the next two pages illustrate how floor area is measured for sundecks, covered decks, balconies, cantilevered floor areas, roof overhangs and for the spaces underneath these structures.

Notes:
a. Roofs: Up to a 4 ft. cantilever is permitted beyond the supporting structure without including the area below the cantilever in the floor area calculations.
b. Stair landings: The maximum size of a stair landing is 4 ft. by 4 ft. To accommodate a sliding door, the maximum size is 4 ft. by 8 ft. Larger stair landings will be included in the 8 percent deck/balcony allowance.

Covered Porches
Up to 3.7 m² (39.8 sq. ft.) of a covered porch will not be included as part of gross floor area and above grade floor area if all of the following conditions are met.

The covered porch:

• must be at least 60 percent open;
• faces a street, a flanking street or rear property line and is located at the first storey;
• projects 1.2 m (3.9 feet) or less from the supporting posts, into the required front yard, flanking side yard or rear yard (includes eaves, gutters and landings); and
• has a height of 3.7 m (12.1 feet) or less, measured from the porch floor to the top of the supporting roof framing. (Note: different types of porch roofs are permitted - see the diagrams below for permitted heights as measured to the highest point of the porch roof.)

If all four conditions are met, only the porch area in excess of 3.7 m² (39.8 sq. ft.) will be included in the calculation of gross floor area and above grade floor area.

If any of the four conditions are not met, then the entire porch area will be included in the calculation of gross floor area and above grade floor area. In the case where the porch height exceeds the measurements shown in the diagrams below, the entire porch area will be counted twice into the gross floor area and the above grade floor area.