Building on a lot in the rural Comox Valley.

For anyone buying a rural lot in the Comox Valley outside Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland, on subjects, or planning a second home, a shop or a clearing job: the short version of the rules that decide what you can build. Everything here comes from the Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019 (consolidated to April 17, 2026), its development permit area rules, and the CVRD’s published planning and building requirements, read in September 2026. Where a rule couldn’t be confirmed from the document itself, this page says so rather than guess.

Outside the three municipalities, the rules come from the Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019, adopted October 29, 2019 and consolidated to April 17, 2026. It covers Electoral Areas A, B and C. The residential and rural zones:

• R-1 Residential One, R-RU Residential Rural and CR-1 Country Residential One — the house-lot zones (Part 700).
• MHP Mobile Home Park and RM Residential Multiple.
• RU-8 Rural Eight, RU-20 Rural Twenty and RU-20DB — rural acreage zones (Part 800).
• RU-ALR Rural ALR — land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, where provincial farmland rules sit on top of zoning.
• UR Upland Resource, WS-RA and DWP Drinking Water Protection — resource and watershed land.
• Comprehensive development zones for Mount Washington, Kensington and Saratoga Beach Estates.

Some lots carry a site-specific exception — a suffix like “RU-20-16” — which can change the rules for that lot alone, including capping it at one home. Check the exact zone code on the CVRD map, not the listing.

How many homes a lot can have, and how big a second one can be, is set zone by zone and wasn’t confirmed for this page. Ask the CVRD for the number on your zone, or get a free check.

• Permits come in order. Building permits are required in Areas A (except Denman and Hornby), B and C, and any planning approval — a development permit, for example — has to be finished before you apply for the building permit.
• Trees — there’s no tree bylaw, but clearing inside a development permit area needs a permit first, including near an eagle nest.
• Soil — there’s no CVRD soil deposit or removal bylaw.
• Home business and rentals — there’s no business licence in the electoral areas. Areas A, B and C are exempt from the provincial principal-residence rule for short-term rentals; ask the CVRD whether your zone allows one.
• Fences, decks, sheds, RVs — the numbers for these weren’t confirmed for this page. Ask the CVRD before you build.

This page covers the rules across Electoral Areas A, B and C. 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 the Comox Valley Regional District 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 CVRD 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 CVRD planning department.

Rural lots here are shaped more by permit areas than by zoning. Development permits are triggered by:

• Water. Any development within 30 m of a watercourse — stream, ditch, wetland, lake or pond (Freshwater DPA) — or within 30 m of the sea (Coastal DPA). The provincial riparian regulation can apply on top.
• Eagles and herons. Development within 60–200 m of an eagle nest or 60–300 m of a heron nest, depending on lot size.
• Steep slopes. Within 15 m of the top or bottom of a slope of 30% or more over at least 3 m of height — expect a survey and a geotechnical report.
• Farm edges. Building or renovating within 30 m of Agricultural Land Reserve or agricultural land.

Freshwater, coastal, nest and slope permits are decided by staff; the others go to the Board. There’s no wildfire permit area.

Who approves what. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit runs the roads and is the subdivision approving officer — the CVRD is only a referral. Most lots are on septic; community sewer is limited to a few service areas. Some rural parcels sit outside every fire protection area, which is worth knowing before you buy.