Zoning Bylaw Rewrite

Provide flexible and modern regulations
Develop more flexible regulations that support creative and innovative design opportunities while aligning with the goals of other City policies.

Make zoning accessible and easy to comprehend
Create a document that is easy to access and understand, including making use of more explanatory visuals.    

Improve ease of use for applicants and City staff 
Make the Zoning Bylaw more user-friendly for applicants, residents, design professionals, and City staff.    

Implement and align with policies and programs
Ensure that recent provincial legislation and City plans, strategies, and programs are implemented.

The provincial government defines small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) as a range of buildings and dwelling unit configurations that can provide more affordable and attainable housing for middle-income families. One or more of the following forms may be constructed on a lot, any of which could also contain a secondary suite:

• Single-family homes (including laneway homes)
• Duplexes 
• Multiplexes (buildings with 3 or more primary units)
• Cottage courts or cottage clusters (multiple single-family homes on the same lot)
• Rowhouses

SSMUH offers housing options that are ground-oriented and compatible in scale and form with established single- and two-family neighbourhoods.

New legislation on SSMUH was introduced by the Province in November 2023 and includes the following residential zoning changes required to be adopted by municipalities across British Columbia:

• Permitting up to 3 or 4 dwelling units on all lots zoned for single- and two-family uses, depending on the lot size
• Permitting up to 6 dwelling units on single- and two-family lots when within 400 m of transit stops with frequent service
• Eliminating requirements for residential parking minimums on lots within 400 m of transit stops with frequent service

The City of Burnaby adopted new SSMUH zoning regulations in June 2024 in order to meet Provincially mandated deadlines.

In November 2023, the provincial government brought in new legislation to introduce changes to residential uses within transit-oriented areas (TOAs), which are those areas within 800 metres of SkyTrain stations and 400 metres of bus exchanges. The new legislation makes the following zoning changes:

• Increasing permitted residential building heights within TOAs to allow for 8 to 20 storeys, in line with a newly prescribed distance-based framework
• Eliminating requirements for residential parking minimums on lots within TOAs

The City adopted the new Transit-Oriented Areas Designation Bylaw in December 2024, which identified the properties to which the new legislation applies.

Proposed Zoning Bylaw updates to multi-family residential zoning districts in support of provincial TOA requirements were introduced to Council in October 2024, along with the height-based development framework. Detailed text amendments were presented to Council for consideration in April 2025, and will likely be adopted in June 2025.

Visit Provincial Housing Legislation Changes for more information. 

New regulations were adopted by Council on June 10, 2024, which includes the City-initiated rezoning of all R District lots to the new R1 SSMUH District. The City began accepting development applications to build within the new R1 SSMUH District in July 2024. See our New Home Construction webpage for more information.

As per provincial legislation, newly rezoned R1 SSMUH lots are eligible to build up to 3 to 6 dwelling units depending on their lot area and proximity to a frequent transit network bus stop – see “What is small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH)?” and “What is a Frequent Transit Network Area (FTNA)?” The tenure (e.g. whether a dwelling unit is owned or rented) does not change the number of permitted units and so the total dwelling unit count is inclusive of any secondary suites.

The R1 SSMUH District provides flexibility in housing form and tenure to encourage housing choice that meets the needs of diverse household compositions. As such, one or more of the following forms may be constructed on a lot, any of which could also contain a secondary suite:

• Single-family homes (including laneway homes)
• Duplexes 
• Multiplexes (buildings with 3 or more primary units)
• Cottage courts or cottage clusters (multiple single-family homes on the same lot)
• Rowhouses

Lots in the R1 SSMUH District with 2 or more primary dwelling units are eligible for stratification. However, dwelling units classified as secondary suites under the BC Building Code must remain registered under the same title as the primary dwelling unit within which they’re contained and so cannot be stratified. In Burnaby, dwelling units on fee simple rowhouse lots are also not eligible for stratification and the strata conversion of existing purpose-built rental housing, except for duplex or semi-detached dwelling units, is not permitted. 

Lots in the R1 SSMUH District may be eligible for subdivision under 2 scenarios: 1) fee simple rowhouse lots; and 2) SSMUH lots for all other permitted housing types. Rowhouse lots require a minimum lot width of 5 metres to 8 metres depending on the lot type. SSMUH lots require a minimum lot width of 10 metres and a minimum lot area of 281 square metres. See Section 101.3 of the R1 SSMUH District regulations for more information. 

Subdivision application through to final subdivision approval must be completed and the new lots registered at the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA) prior to application for a building permit.

Yes. All R1 SSMUH District lots are eligible to build SSMUH housing forms without a rear lane, as per the provincial legislation. 

Building forms commonly referred to as laneway homes will continue to be permitted in the new R1 SSMUH District, including on lots without lanes. However, these are regulated the same as other principal buildings, such as single-family dwellings, and so are no longer referred to as “laneway homes” in the new regulations. The new regulations also permit more diverse housing types to be built at the rear of a lot, including multiple laneway homes, semi-detached (i.e. duplex) laneway homes, and laneway homes with secondary suites. 

Yes. Secondary suites are permitted in many SSMUH housing types, including single-family homes, laneway homes, duplexes, multiplexes and rowhouse dwellings. Secondary suites count towards the total number of dwelling units permitted on a lot and only one is permitted per primary dwelling unit. Secondary suites must remain registered under the same title as the primary dwelling unit within which they're contained and so cannot be stratified, as per the BC Building Code. As with the construction of any new dwelling unit on a lot, a Building Permit is required to add a secondary suite to your property. See the Province's Secondary Suites Bulletin for more information. 

In Burnaby, a rowhouse dwelling is one of at least 2 side-by-side dwelling units, each sharing a party wall with the adjoining unit and each unit being located on a separate fee simple lot. “Fee simple” ownership (also referred to as “freehold” ownership) is the same ownership model that people are familiar with for single-family homes where ownership of the land and any buildings on that land are kept as one real estate entity. This means each rowhouse is on its own separate legal lot where any additional dwelling units, such as a secondary suite, cannot be stratified and sold separately. With the introduction of SSMUH housing types, fee simple rowhousing offers an alternative option to strata ownership. 

Outside of a Frequent Transit Network Area (FTNA) and transit-oriented area (TOA), lots constructing new residential dwellings require a minimum of 0.5 parking spaces per primary dwelling unit (rounded up to the nearest whole parking space) on lots with 3 or more primary dwelling units. No parking space is required for lots with 2 or fewer primary dwelling units given that one parking space can be accommodated on the street in place of where driveway access would otherwise be located. As mandated by the Province, no off-street parking is required for lots within an FTNA or designated TOA. Both within and outside of FTNAs and TOAs, additional off-street parking can be optionally provided if desired.

Parking may be provided using regular or accessible stall standards and to increase flexibility of sitting and design it can be in the form of outdoor parking pads, carports, and/or garages. Parking may also be provided in an underground storey, which would count as one of the 4 permitted number of storeys.

On-site parking spaces must be provided at the rear of a lot and accessed from a secondary street or lane where available. Where this is not possible, they may be provided in the front yard and accessed from the primary street frontage.

Outdoor surface parking is limited to 2 spaces in a front yard and 4 spaces in a rear yard. There is no maximum limit when parking spaces are provided below grade within parking structures.

FTNAs include all lots wholly or partly within 400 m of bus stops with frequent service. The Province defines these bus stops as being served by at least one bus route where a bus is scheduled to stop at least every 15 minutes, on average, between:

• 7 am and 7 pm, Monday to Friday
• 10 am and 6 pm on Saturdays and Sundays

The location of FTNAs can be viewed on BurnabyMap after checking the “Frequent Transit Network Areas” layer under “Planning & Building”.

Within FTNAs in the R1 SSMUH District, up to 6 dwelling units may be constructed on lots 281 square metres or more in area and the provision of off-street parking is optional.

Note: In BurnabyMap, the "Maximum SSMUH Residential Units Per Legal Lot” refers to the total number of all units (primary and secondary) for the lot.

Burnaby’s current floor area ratio (FAR)-based development framework determines the development potential, or permitted density, of a given property. However, FAR is complex for staff to administer, challenging for the public and applicants to navigate, and can result in unpredictable building heights and forms. The proposed height-based framework would replace FAR-based regulations by prioritizing and more directly regulating height and form. This approach seeks to streamline development regulations and processing times, enhance transparency, and improve planning and development outcomes.

Floor area ratio (FAR) is a measurement quantifying the density of development on a given property by calculating the ratio of a building's total floor area (or gross floor area) to the property’s total site area.

For example, an FAR of 1.0 is the equivalent of covering the entire site, from property line to property line, with a one-storey building. An FAR of 1.0 is also the equivalent of covering 25% of a site with a 4-storey building. Similarly, an FAR of 2.0 can result in a two- storey building covering 100% of a site or an eight-storey building covering 25% of a site.
 

The new height-based development framework simplifies the development process by focusing on the physical dimensions and design of buildings, rather than complex density calculations. As a result, it increases transparency and predictability for developers and the community. 

Key to this new framework will be the City’s new Development Permit Area (DPA) guidelines. These will play a crucial role in dictating building form. They provide clear expectations on the aesthetics and functionality of building facades, landscaping, and materiality, ensuring that new developments align well with their surroundings and contribute positively to the urban landscape. This strategic shift not only streamlines regulatory processes but also promotes more intentional urban development that aligns with Burnaby’s broader goals for urban design and community planning.
 

In the new height-based development framework, building height is measured by the number of above-grade storeys, with minor exceptions for rooftop mechanical and amenity areas. The permissible number of storeys is clearly defined for each zoning district, which—along with required building setbacks from property lines—provides straightforward guidance on the development potential of a site. Height increases may be conditionally granted to incentivize design variation, such as through height averaging, as well as to incentivize employment space and community amenities through voluntary commercial and community benefit bonusing provisions.  These increases are carefully regulated to ensure compliance with the overall urban design objectives of the height framework.

The proposed height-based framework will support variation in building height on development sites with multiple buildings using height averaging. This approach will reduce uniformity of building heights in areas with the same zoning, ensuring a more gradual transition between districts with different height permissions.

For example, on a property with a building height limit of 30 storeys, height averaging may be used to permit a 25-storey apartment building, a 30-storey apartment building, and a 35-storey apartment building, provided the height difference contributes positively to the character and urban design of the surrounding area.