Building on a lot in Campbell River.

For anyone buying a lot in Campbell River, on subjects, or planning a suite, a fourplex, a shop or a shed: the short version of the rules that decide what you can build. Everything here comes from Campbell River’s Zoning Bylaw No. 3250, 2006 (consolidated to Bylaw 4011, 2026), Bylaw 3958 (the 2024 housing amendment), the Building Bylaw, and the City’s environmental, nuisance and animal bylaws, read in September 2026. Where a rule couldn’t be confirmed from the document itself, this page says so rather than guess.

Campbell River’s zoning bylaw is Zoning Bylaw No. 3250, 2006, consolidated to Bylaw 4011 (adopted April 16, 2026). In June 2024, Bylaw 3958 folded the old single-family zones — R-1, R-1A, R-1B, R-1C, R-2, R-2A, R-3, RE-1 and RSD — into one: R-I Residential Infill. If a listing still says “R-1”, it’s out of date.

• R-I Residential Infill — inside the urban containment boundary, 3 homes on a lot under 280 m², 4 on a lot over 280 m². They can be a house, duplex, triplex, fourplex, secondary suite or a “rear residential building” — the unit closest to the rear lot line (s.5.24.4).
• RM-1 and RM-2 — multi-family zones that also allow 3–4 units as of right, with suites.
• LS-R Lakeshore Residential and RU-1, RU-2, RU-3 Rural — a house plus a secondary suite or one additional dwelling unit.

Parking on a lot with one to four units is 1 stall per unit. Sheds, garages and other ancillary buildings are capped at 80 m² in total and 5 m high in most zones, 160 m² on rural and lakeshore lots (s.4.12) — and variances to go bigger are regularly applied for.

• Fences — up to 1.8 m, but 1.2 m within 5.0 m of the front lot line (s.4.17). No building permit needed on a single- or two-family lot.
• Decks — no permit if the surface is under 600 mm above the ground and it isn’t attached to the house and has no walls or roof (Building Bylaw s.4.3(e)). Attached decks need one.
• Sheds — no permit under 10 m²; anything bigger needs one, and zoning caps still apply.
• Retaining walls — no permit under 1.2 m; over 1.2 m needs an engineer’s drawings. Zoning caps a wall at 1.5 m, with tiers 1.5 m apart.
• Pools — anything deeper than 0.6 m needs a permit and a fence or barrier around it.
• Trees — no general permit to cut a tree on private land. Bald eagle and great blue heron nest trees are protected, and work within 60 m of one needs a development permit.
• Secondary suites and ADUs — allowed in R-I, RM-1, RM-2, LS-R and the rural zones, with a building permit. The building-permit fee for one ADU per lot is waived until December 31, 2027.
• Short-term rentals — not permitted in Campbell River, and the provincial principal-residence rule applies as well.
• Home business — allowed in every residential zone, run from the main home, with a $150 business licence.
• Hens — up to 6, no roosters, in all residential zones.
• Burning and noise — in the urban area, recreational fires only, no yard-waste burning. Construction noise not before 7 a.m. Monday to Saturday (8 a.m. Sundays and holidays) or after 10 p.m.

This page covers the rules across Campbell River. A report reads them against one lot. The free check gives you the lot’s size, its zone, the units the provincial housing rules allow, and flags for floodplain, farmland, streams and wildfire.

A LotSimple report ($50) adds setbacks and buildable area sketched on your lot, the permit areas on it and what each triggers, a LotSimple score, and 12 months of alerts if the rules change. See a sample of every tier.

Buying in Campbell River with a subject to remove? Answer these first:

• Which zone is the lot actually in? Check the zoning map, not the listing.
• Is it in a permit area, floodplain or stream setback? Each adds steps and cost.
• Is it on City water and sewer, or a well and septic? That decides what you can add.
• What’s on title? Covenants and rights-of-way can limit a lot more than zoning does.
• Anything you’ll spend money on: confirm it with the City of Campbell River planning department.

• Streams and ditches. Building within 50 m of a stream, or 30 m of an identified ditch outside a City right-of-way, needs a Streamside development permit and a qualified professional’s visit. Soil can’t be deposited within 30 m of a natural watercourse.
• Three or more units. The City’s form-and-character guidelines apply at three or more homes on one lot, so ask whether a triplex or fourplex on your R-I lot needs a development permit as well as a building permit.
• Floodplain and wildfire. In the 200-year floodplain, a qualified professional sets the flood construction level. In high-risk wildfire interface areas, the City asks for a qualified professional’s wildfire hazard assessment with new development.
• Eagles and herons. Nest trees are mapped across the city; check yours before you clear.
• Farmland. Parts of the city are in the Agricultural Land Reserve.