CW-3 zone in New Westminster: Community Commercial Waterfront Districts (Low Rise)

New Westminster, British ColumbiaDraft, not yet reviewedBylaw read 2026-11-07

In short

Allow pedestrian-oriented commercial and residential uses adjacent to the waterfront, at 50 units per acre (123.55 units per hectare) or 15% of the site area.

Zone rules

Purpose	Allow pedestrian-oriented commercial and residential uses adjacent to the waterfront, at 50 units per acre (123.55 units per hectare) or 15% of the site area.
Main uses	Banks Restaurants, excluding drive-in restaurants and drive-through restaurants Clubs (private) Home based businesses Housing units in a building with and in addition to permitted non-residential uses (nothing above the street or parking deck level, whichever is higher, may be non-residential) Personal service establishments being barber shops, beauty parlours, dry cleaning shops (automatic self-service only), optical or watch repair shops, florist shops, launderettes (automatic self-service only), shoe repair shops, tailor or dressmaker shops, doctors' and dentists' offices Public assembly and entertainment uses Retail stores
Also allowed (secondary uses)	Accessory buildings and uses
Maximum lot coverage	Residential portion of a building: 40% of the site area
Maximum density	Residential: 50 units per net acre (.40 hectares), with increases for roof-landscaped enclosed parking and for coverage under 40%; non-residential portion: 15% of site area
Maximum height	45 feet (13.72 metres)
Front setback	25 feet (7.62 metres)
Rear setback	Not less than 20% of site depth to a maximum of 25 feet (7.62 metres), nor less than 20% of building height, whichever is greater
Interior side setback	Not adjoining a street: 8 feet (2.44 metres) plus 50% of the height up to 30 feet (9.14 metres) plus 20% of the height over 30 feet, less 8 feet (2.44 metres)
Street side setback	Adjoining a street: not less than 8 feet (2.44 metres) plus 50% of the height up to 30 feet (9.14 metres) plus 20% of the height over 30 feet
Other rules	Where the height exceeds 40 feet (12.19 metres), building width above that height is limited to 15% of the site perimeter length Single detached dwellings and duplexes follow the RS-1 and RT-1 district rules Usable open space of at least 10% of the gross residential floor area

Source: Zoning Bylaw No. 6680, 2001 (consolidated as of June 8, 2026), s. 572 (read 2026-11-07)

Rules in the bylaw's general sections (parking, fences, suites, home businesses) also apply, and a lot can have site-specific rules. The City publishes the complete bylaw as a single PDF, consolidated as of June 8, 2026; it also publishes each part separately. The saved text includes the list of amendments and appendices. Zone pages are taken from the bylaw text by a research agent and have not yet been reviewed by a person: confirm with the bylaw before you rely on them. How answers are checked.

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