RDA zone in Richmond: Arterial Road Two-Unit Dwellings

Richmond, British ColumbiaDraft, not yet reviewedBylaw read 2026-11-07

In short

Two-unit housing fronting an arterial road, together with compatible uses.

Zone rules

Purpose	Two-unit housing fronting an arterial road, together with compatible uses.
Main uses	housing, two-unit
Also allowed (secondary uses)	boarding and lodging community care facility, minor home business secondary suite
Minimum lot area	464.5 m²
Minimum lot width	13.4 m; 10.35 m for interior lots sharing a vehicle access on an arterial road; 15.0 m for corner lots flanking an arterial road; 10.35 m for corner lots flanking a local road with vehicle access from the local road; 12.35 m for corner lots flanking a local road and sharing a vehicle access with an adjacent lot on an arterial road
Maximum lot coverage	45% for buildings; no more than 70% of the lot may be buildings, structures and non-porous surfaces
Maximum density	Four dwelling units per lot, or six if the lot is within 400.0 m of a prescribed bus stop, over 281.0 m² and (for six units) an affordable housing contribution or unit is provided; floor area is the lesser of floor area ratio 0.6 or 334.5 m²; a dwelling unit may not exceed 183.9 m²
Maximum height	2 storeys or 9.0 m, whichever is less (within the vertical lot width and depth envelopes); 7.5 m for a flat roof
Front setback	6.0 m
Rear setback	Greater of 6.0 m or 20% of lot depth for up to 60% of the first-storey rear wall, and 25% of lot depth for the rest of the wall and any upper storey, up to 10.7 m; may be reduced to 6.0 m by Development Permit; 1.2 m on a corner lot where the exterior side yard is 6.0 m
Interior side setback	2.0 m (lots 20.0 m or wider); 1.8 m (lots 18.0 m to under 20.0 m wide); 1.2 m (lots under 18.0 m wide)
Street side setback	3.0 m; 6.0 m where the exterior side yard is on an arterial road
Accessory building setbacks	Accessory buildings, carports and garages: front 12.0 m, exterior side 3.0 m (6.0 m on an arterial road), interior side 1.2 m, rear 6.0 m (1.2 m on a corner lot where the exterior side yard is 6.0 m)
Other rules	Landscaping with live plants must cover 20% (lots under 12.0 m wide), 25% (12.0 m to under 15.0 m) or 30% (15.0 m or wider) of the lot; side yards do not count Detached accessory buildings up to 10.0 m² may be in the interior side and rear yard, no closer than 6.0 m to an arterial road and 3.0 m to a local road Subdivision may create a maximum of two strata lots; no air space parcels

Source: Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500 (office consolidation, July 29, 2026), s. 8.16 (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 bylaw as one PDF per zone or group of zones (each zone's source_url; pdf_page counts within that PDF, and lines point into the saved combined text). The City says the office consolidation has no Council sanction, is for convenience of reference only, is not the official version and is not admissible in a court of law; certified copies come from the City Clerk. Zones listed as "in progress" by the City (for example ZR5, ZC30, ZA4) are not part of the consolidation and are not listed here. 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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