Zoning Bylaw No. 12375

Section 13 - Multi-Dwelling Zones

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Last Updated: 
January 22, 2024
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Section 13 - Multi-Dwelling Zones
13.1 Zone Purposes
Section 13.1 Zone Purposes
ZonesPurposes
MF1 – Infill HousingThe purpose is to provide a zone for infill development within the core area of the City limiting development to ground-oriented housing of 2 storeys.
MF2 – Townhouse HousingThe purpose is to provide a zone for ground-oriented multiple housing (typically townhouse developments) up to 3 storeys on serviced urban lots.
MF3 –Apartment HousingThe purpose is to provide a zone primarily for apartments ranging up to 6 storeys on serviced urban lots with various commercial uses permitted on transit supportive corridors.
13.2 Sub-Zones
Section 13.2 Sub-Zone Purposes
ZonesSub-ZonesPurpose
MF1 – Infill HousingMF1r – Infill Housing Rental OnlyThe purpose is to provide a sub-zone that restricts the dwelling units to a rental only tenure and to prohibit any building or bareland stratification.
MF2 – Townhouse HousingMF2r – Townhouse Housing Rental OnlyThe purpose is to provide a sub-zone that restricts the dwelling units to a rental only tenure and to prohibit any building or bareland stratification.
MF3 – Apartment HousingMF3r – Apartment Housing Rental OnlyThe purpose is to provide a sub-zone that restricts the dwelling units to a rental only tenure and to prohibit any building or bareland stratification.
13.3 Permitted Land Uses
Section 13.3 Permitted Land Uses
UsesZones
('P' = Principal Use, 'S' = Secondary Use, '-' = Not Permitted)
MF1MF2MF3
Accessory Buildings or StructuresSSS
Agriculture, UrbanSSS
Apartment Housing--P
Child Care Centre, MajorSSS.7
Child Care Centre, MinorSSS.7
Cultural and Recreation Services--S .2
Duplex HousingPP-
Emergency and Protective Services  P.8
Food Primary Establishment--S .2
Group HomeP .1P .1-.8
Health Services--S.2
Home-Based Business, MajorS .5S .6S .6
Home-Based Business, MinorSSS
Professional Services--S .2
Participant Recreation Services, Indoor--S
Personal Service Establishments--S .2
Retail--S .2
Secondary SuiteS .3--.3
Semi-Detached HousingPP-
Single Detached HousingPP-.3
Stacked Townhouses-PP .4
TownhousesPPP .4

FOOTNOTES (Section 13.3):
.1 Group homes are only permitted within a single detached housing, semi-detached housing, or a duplex housing form.
.2 These land uses are only permitted on transit supportive corridors and these land uses are not permitted above the first storey. Except, Health Services is permitted as a principal use without any floor area or storey restriction when the lot exists within the C-HTH – Core Area – Health District OCP future land use designation.
.3 
Secondary suites are only permitted within single detached housing and a maximum of one secondary suite is permitted per lot. Single detached housing are permitted as a principal use and secondary suites are a permitted as secondary use only when the lot exists within the C-HTH – Core Area – Health District OCP future land use designation.
.4 Townhouses and/or stacked townhouses are only permitted if the majority of the residential dwelling units are in the form of apartment housing.
.5 Home-based business, major is only permitted when the lot has two (2) or less principal dwelling units.
.6 Home-based business, major is only permitted within ground-oriented dwelling units fronting transit supportive corridors, ground-oriented dwelling units within urban centres, or ground-oriented dwelling units within village centres.
.7 Child care centre, major and child care centre, minor is permitted as a principal use when the lot exists within the C-HTH – Core Area – Health District OCP future land use designation.
.8 Emergency and protective services and group homes are permitted as a principal use only when the lot exists within the C-HTH – Core Area – Health District OCP future land use designation.

13.4 Subdivision Regulations
Section 13.4 Subdivision Regulations
m = metres / m2 = square metres
 Zones
MF1MF2MF3
Min. Lot WidthRegular Lots7.5 m20.0 m .130.0 m
Corner lots9.5 m
Min. Lot AreaRegular Lots277.5 m2900 m2.11,400 m2
Corner Lots350 m2
Min. Lot Depth30.0 m30.0 m .130.0 m
FOOTNOTES (Section 13.4):
.1 Townhouse developments may be subdivided into smaller lots than the regulations listed above provided the site is comprehensively developed under a single development permit and a party wall agreement is registered on title.
13.5 Development Regulations
Section 13.5 Development Regulations
m = metres / m2 = square metres
CriteriaZones
MF1MF2MF3
Max. Height
Max. Density
Section 13.6 – Density and Height Development Regulations
Max. Site Coverage of all Buildings55%.1055%65%
Max. Site Coverage of all Buildings, Structures, and Impermeable Surfaces75%.1080%85%
Min. Front Yard and Flanking Side Yard Setback for all portions of a building that are not Ground-Oriented including Accessory Buildings / Structures4.0 m.53.0 m .54.5 m.5 
Min. Front Yard and Flanking Side Yard Setback for Ground-Oriented, Residential4.0 m .53.0 m .3,.53.0 m .3,.5
Min. Front Yard and Flanking Side Yard Setback for Ground-Oriented, Commercialn/an/a2.0m
Min. Building Stepback from Front Yard and Flanking Side Yardn/an/a3.0 m .6
Min. Side Yard Setback1.2 m .1 , .23.0 m except 1.2 m from a lane .23.0 m .7
Min. Rear Yard Setback3.0 m except 0.9 m from a rear lane4.5 m except 0.9 m from a rear lane4.5 m except 3.0 m from a rear lane .4
Min. Rear Yard Setback for Accessory Buildings or Structures1.5 m except 0.9 m from a lane1.5 m except 0.9 m from a lane1.5 m except 0.9 m from a lane .7
Min. Separation between Detached Principal Buildings2.0 m3.0 mn/a
Min. Common and Private Amenity SpaceFor Developments with 1 to 10 Dwelling Unitsn/an/a

7.5 m2 per bachelor dwelling unit

15.0 m2 per 1-bedroom dwelling unit

25 m2 per dwelling unit with more than 1-bedroom .8 , .9

For Developments with 11 to 20 Dwelling Units

6.0 m2 per bachelor dwelling unit

10.0 m2 per 1-bedroom dwelling unit

15 m2 per dwelling unit with more than 1-bedroom .8 , .9

For Developments with greater than 20 Dwelling Units

7.5 m2 per bachelor dwelling unit

15.0 m2 per 1-bedroom dwelling unit

25 m2 per dwelling unit with more than 1-bedroom .8 , .9

Max. Building FrontageA continuous building frontage shall not exceed 100 m in length.
FOOTNOTES (Section 13.5):
.1 For lots 17.0 m or wider, the minimum side yard setback is increased to 2.1 m.
.2 Side yards are not required for semi-detached housing or townhouses on a lot line that has a party wall agreement.
.3The minimum setback for ground-oriented residential units can be reduced to 2.0 metres if both criteria are met:

                    a) The maximum height of the first storey floor above the adjacent curb level for ground-oriented residential units are 1.2 m. Height is                                       measured from the grade at the sidewalk directly from a fronting publicly accessible street, walkway, open space, or applicable lot line.                                 See example diagram Figure 5.12.
                    b) The minimum net floor area for ground-oriented residential units on the first floor is 11 m2. See example diagram Figure 5.13.

.4 For portions of a parkade with lane access which do not project more than 2.3 m above finished grade, the rear yard setback for the parkade is 1.5 m.
.5 The setback for a garage, a carport, or a parkade door that has direct access to the street shall have a 6 m setback measured from back-of-curb or edge of road pavement, or edge of sidewalk or 4.5 m from lot line (whichever is greater). 
.6 Minimum building stepbacks apply only to buildings 5 storeys and taller. The stepback can occur on any floor above the second storey.
.7 If the property is abutting a Rural – Agricultural and Resource, Rural – Residential, or Suburban – Residential future land use designation as defined in the Official Community Plan then a 1.5 m additional setback needs to be added to the minimums.
.8 Common and Private Amenity Space can be devoted to child care centres as long as the child care spaces have direct access to open space and play areas within the lot. The amount of Common and Private Amenity Space dedicated to child care spaces cannot be more than 50% of the total space required. 
.9 A minimum of 4.0 m2 per dwelling unit of the common and private amenity space shall be configured as common area that is accessible to all residents and must not be located within the required setback areas. Common amenity space is not required for fee simple townhouses.
.10 In the MF1 zone, the garage footprint area shall not be considered building site coverage but does count towards the overall impermeable surface maximum site coverage.

13.6 Density and Height Development Regulations
Section 13.6 Density and Height Development Regulations
m = metres / m2 = square metres / FAR = floor area ratio / GFA = gross floor area
 Zones
MF1MF2MF3
Min. Density for Lots fronting onto a Transit Supportive Corridorn/aFor lots with a lane = 4.75 units per 1,000 m2 and a min. 1,050 m2  lot area .5
For lots without a lane = 3.1 units per 1,000 m2 and a min. 1,600 m2  lot area .5
Max. Base Density

0.8 FAR for double fronting lots and lots with a lane or

0.6 FAR for lots without a lane

1.0 FAR
See Underground Parking Base FAR Adjustments .6
For 4 storeys and below max. FAR = 1.3 .2
For 5 storeys and above max. FAR = 1.8 .2 
See Underground Parking Base FAR Adjustments .6
Max. Bonus Density for Public Amenity & Streetscape Bonusn/aAn additional 0.15 FAR .3An additional 0.25 FAR .3
Max. Bonus Density for Rental or Affordable Housing Bonusn/aAn additional 0.3 FAR  .3An additional 0.3 FAR .3
Max. Base Height8.0 m & 2 storeys11.0 m & 3 storeys18.0 m & 4 storeys
or
22.0 m / 6 storeys .1
Max. Base Height for Buildings with Walkout BasementsFront or Flanking Building Elevationn/a10.0 m & 3 storeysn/a
Rear Building Elevationn/a12.6 m & 3 storeysn/a
Max. Bonus Heightn/an/a22.0 m & 6 storeys .3
or
44.0 m & 12 storeys .4
FOOTNOTES (Section 13.6):
.1 If a parkade entrance / exit has a lower finished grade than the surrounding area then this portion of the parkade can be excluded from height calculations. The base height is 18.0 m & 4 storeys except the maximum height may be increased to 22.0 m / 6 storeys if:
• The subject property is fronting onto a Transit Supportive Corridor; or
• The subject property does not abut a RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4, or RU5 zoned lot.
.2 The base FARs are derived from the base height regulation. Therefore, the base FARs remain constant even if an owner successfully applies for a Development Variance Permit to the base heights.
.3 These bonuses only apply to lots within the Core Area or within a village centre. The bonus density and bonus height provisions occur if the provisions of Section 6.8 Density Bonus are secured.
.4 The increase in height to 44.0 m and 12 storeys only applies in situations where: 
(a) lots are fronting a Provincial Highway; and
(b) lots are within 400 m of a transit stop and that transit stop must be located fronting onto a Provincial Highway or a major arterial road; and
(c) the abutting lots cannot be zoned A1, A2, RR1, RR2, RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4, or RU5; and
(d) lots are within the Core Area Neighbourhood Future Land Use Designations as outlined in the OCP.
(e) The bonus density and bonus height provisions occur if the provisions of Section 6.8 Density Bonus are secured.
.5 For the purpose of calculating minimum densities the amount of commercial area considered as a unit will be measured at one (1) unit per 125 m2 of commercial GFA.
.6 If eighty percent (80%) of the parking provided on-site is located underground (below finished grade) then the base FAR is increased by 0.25 FAR.
13.7 Site Specific Regulations
Section 13.7 Site Specific Regulations
Uses and regulations apply on a site-specific basis as follows:
 Legal DescriptionCivic AddressRegulation
1.Lot A, District Lot 140, ODYD, Plan KAP581841915-1925 Enterprise WayThis property is permitted to have hotels as principal land use.
2.ODYD, Plan KAS33991132-1160 Bernard AveThis property is permitted to have 16 storeys in height.
3.Lot 1, Section 32, Township 26, ODYD, Plan KAP 91641530 Caramillo CrtThis property is permitted to have Apartment housing limited to 4 storeys.
4.Strata Plan of Lot 3 & Remainder Lot 3, Section 28, Township 26, ODYD, PLAN KAP74074 (See Posting Plan EPP 104511)777 Denali DriveThis property is permitted to have 3 storey apartment building on top of a two storey townhouse.
5.Lot B, Section 24, Township 28, Land District 54, Plan KAP30848, EXC EPT Plan KAP79047, EPP23768530 Quartz CrescentThis property is permitted to have Apartment housing limited to 3 storeys.
6.Lot 20 Section 32 Township 26 ODYD Plan KAP60008 Except Plans KAP77707, KAP87078 and KAP916411691 Cara Glen WayThe MF2 – Townhouse Housing portion of this property is permitted to have Apartment housing limited to 4 storeys.