Port Alberni, British ColumbiaDraft, not yet reviewedBylaw read 2026-11-07
In short
To establish and maintain compact, vibrant commercial areas with a broad range of pedestrian-scale uses.
Zone rules
Purpose
To establish and maintain compact, vibrant commercial areas with a broad range of pedestrian-scale uses.
Main uses
Amusement establishment
Appliance repair
Artist’s studio
Assembly
Automotive sales, repair and servicing
Bakery
Bank or other financial institution
Cannabis Retail Store (subject to Section 6.2)
Club or lodge
Community care facility
Daycare or other preschool
Gasoline service station
Live-work
Medical service
Multi-residential dwelling
Office
Pawn shop
Personal service
Place of worship
Professional service
Public market
Restaurant, including drive-through
Retail
School
Senior’s housing
Shopping centre
Small appliances and electronics, sales, and repair
Social service centre
Veterinary clinic
Also allowed (secondary uses)
Caretaker's dwelling unit (subject to Section 6.16)
Dwelling unit(s) above or behind a permitted commercial use
Home occupation
Extra uses on specific lots
Liquor, Wine and Beer Store at 3764 10th Avenue (Lot B, District Lot 1, Alberni District, Plan VIP75178)
Liquor, Wine and Beer Store at 2943 10th Ave. (Quality Foods) (Lot A, District Lot 1, Alberni District, Plan VIP13914 Except Plan 50966)
Minimum lot area
800 m² (8,611 ft²)
Minimum lot width
15 m (49 ft)
Maximum lot coverage
75%
Maximum height
9 m (29.5 ft) on lots under 1,120 m²; 18 m on lots 1,120 m² or greater where only residential units are above commercial uses
Front setback
0 m
Rear setback
3 m (10 ft)
Interior side setback
1.5 m (5 ft); 5 m (16.4 ft) for shopping centres abutting a lot in an R, RM or P2 zone
Other rules
Every use must be inside a completely enclosed building except parking, loading, restaurant patios, outdoor display, rental/sales/storage yards, drive-through activities, gas pump activities and temporary garden supply structures.
Dwelling units above or behind commercial uses need a separate ground-level entrance, must be self-contained and need one off-street parking space each.
Multi-residential or seniors housing below the second storey follows the RM3 zone Site Development Regulations.
Rules in the bylaw's general sections (parking, fences, suites, home businesses) also apply, and a lot can have site-specific rules. The City also posts each zone as a separate PDF and keeps a table of amendments at https://www.portalberni.ca/zoning-bylaw-no-5105-table-amendments. The CD6 zone (6123 Russell Place) is listed in section 5.1 but has no section in this PDF, so it is not in the zone list below. 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.