LotSimple Handbook
3127 Vaughn Road, Campbell River
LotSimple Mapping — lot plan from the parcel fabric of record. Side lengths computed, not surveyed.
Context frame, location only · date unpublished.
Mapping and data by LotSimple. Boundaries are indicative, not surveyed.
The short version
- You're in the Strathcona Regional District, Area D, not the City. Your rules come from SRD's zoning bylaw, and Area D is the one electoral area with building inspection.
- Fences to 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) anywhere, a low deck and a poly greenhouse need no permit. A shed of any size probably does.
- Short-term rentals and up to four hens are allowed. Open burning is Oyster River Fire's call, not Campbell River's.
- Lot plan: boundary, side lengths in metres, neighbouring lots by plan number.
- Zone as held by the local government’s map layer: CR-4.
- Designations touching the lot, by share of lot covered: Service areas — 100% of lot.
Existing buildings aren't in the public parcel data, so they aren't drawn. Dimensions are from the parcel polygon, not a survey.
01The everyday rules on this lot
Fences, decks, sheds, trees, vehicles, rentals: applied to this lot, with the bylaw section each one comes from.
The address says Campbell River, but the lot sits about 120 m (393 ft 8 in) outside the city boundary in SRD Electoral Area D. That means SRD's Country Residential rules, SRD building permits, water from SRD's Area D service (bought in bulk from the City), fire protection from Oyster River Fire, and the Ministry of Transportation for anything touching the road. Most of what the City's website says doesn't apply to you.
| What | The rule | On your lot | Permit? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fences, hedges & walls | ||||
| Fence or hedge | 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) | Anywhere on the lot, front included. SRD doesn't set a lower front-yard limit. Not a corner lot, so the 0.6 m (2 ft) sight-triangle rule doesn't apply. verified | No | ZB 1404 · 4.5.2(b) |
| Retaining wall | Free-standing | Walls that don't hold up a building are exempt from a building permit. One that supports a structure is not. verified | Usually no | BB 158 · s.8 |
| Decks, sheds, shops & pools | ||||
| Deck | 0.6 m (2 ft) | A roofless deck 600 mm or less above grade needs no permit. Higher, or with a roof, it does. verified | Over 0.6 m (2 ft) | BB 158 · s.8 |
| Shed, garage or shop | 200 m² (2,153 sq ft) · 7 m (23 ft) | All accessory buildings together can total 200 m² (2,153 sq ft) of floor area, 7 m (23 ft) tall, 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) off the side and rear lines, 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in) off the road. Area D has building inspection and we found no size-based shed exemption, so plan on a permit even for a small one. verified | Yes | ZB 4.6.7(iv)(v) · 4.5.1(b) · BB s.8 |
| Greenhouse | Poly only | A poly-covered greenhouse is exempt from a building permit. A glass or framed one isn't. verified | Poly: no | BB 158 · s.8 |
| Pool or hot tub | Not stated | The building bylaw doesn't single out pools. Treat an in-ground pool as a permit question for SRD Building; a hot tub on a low deck is not. Confirm with SRD planning. unconfirmed | Ask | BB 158 |
| Trees, land & fire | ||||
| Cutting trees | No bylaw | We found no SRD tree-protection bylaw for Area D. Your lot is not in a mapped riparian area, so no provincial stream setback applies. Confirm with SRD planning. unconfirmed | No | SRD bylaw list |
| Fill & grading | No bylaw | No SRD soil deposit or removal bylaw found. Provincial rules still apply near watercourses; none are mapped on this lot. Confirm with SRD planning. unconfirmed | No | SRD bylaw list |
| Open burning | CVRD rules | You're in the Black Creek / Oyster Bay fire area, so burning is regulated by the Comox Valley RD and Oyster River Fire, not Campbell River. Check their burn status before lighting anything. verified | Check | SRD fire services |
| Vehicles & storage | ||||
| Commercial vehicle, trailer, equipment | 1 + 1 + 1 | One commercial vehicle, one trailer and one piece of equipment can be kept on the lot. verified | No | ZB · 4.5.7 |
| Derelict vehicles | 1 max | One unlicensed or derelict vehicle at most; no junkyard use. verified | No | ZB · 4.5.7 |
| Living in an RV | Not found | We couldn't read a rule on RVs as accommodation in the part of the bylaw we could access. Worth one question to SRD planning. unconfirmed | Ask | ZB 1404 |
| Using the property | ||||
| Short-term rental | Allowed | Area D didn't opt in to the provincial principal-residence rule, so a whole-home short-term rental is allowed here. Register with the province; no SRD business licence. One parking space per rental. verified | Registration | BC PRR list · srd.ca/stra · ZB 4.5.10.1 |
| Bed & breakfast | 2 rooms | Up to two guest rooms, one parking space each, up to two outside employees, a sign up to 1.5 m² (16.1 sq ft). Needs SRD and Island Health sign-off. verified | Approval | ZB · 4.5.10 |
| Home business | 20 m² (215 sq ft) | On a lot this size: the lesser of 20 m² (215 sq ft) or a quarter of the house, residents plus one employee, no sign outside. SRD written approval. verified | Approval | ZB · Part A home occupation |
| Secondary suite | 1 | One suite in the house is allowed as of right. See the full report for what else the zone permits. verified | Building permit | ZB · 4.6.7(iii) |
| Chickens | 4 hens | Up to four small fowl, no roosters. Animal buildings must be 75 m (246 ft 1 in) from any lake or stream; none is mapped near you. verified | No | ZB · 4.3.3 · 4.5.5 |
| Dogs | Licence | Licensed yearly through the City of Campbell River, which runs animal control for Area D under contract. verified | Licence | AC Bylaw 1073 |
| Noise | Bylaw 2382 | Area D has its own noise bylaw. We couldn't read the hours from the posted copy. Confirm with SRD planning. unconfirmed | — | Noise Control (Area D) 2382 |
ZB = Campbell River Area Zoning Bylaw 1404 (consolidated to Amendment 78, Oct 2024; later amendments 79, 80, 83 and 84 are site-specific map rezonings) · BB = SRD Building Regulation Bylaw 158 as amended by 501 (2023). "Verified" means we read the record ourselves; "unconfirmed" means we read a summary or couldn't reach it — confirm those with the Strathcona Regional District before relying on them.
Planning to build, add a unit or buy? The full LotSimple report adds what the zone lets you build, your buildable area, the permit areas, a LotSimple score and 12 months of alerts.
Upgrade for $30This handbook is our own compilation of the records of record — if a record is wrong or out of date, this will be too — and our reading of them can contain mistakes. It reflects those records as they stood on 10 Sept 2026, and it's not legal, planning, survey or real estate advice. Confirm anything you'll spend money on with the Strathcona Regional District. If something here is wrong, tell us at hello@lotsimple.ca and we'll correct it free within 48 hours. Our total liability is limited to what you paid for this handbook ($20).
About the measurements. Figures are given in metric first because that is how the bylaws are written, with feet and inches alongside. Where the two disagree by a rounding, the metric figure is the one that governs — a setback of 4.0 m is not satisfied by 13 ft.
About the mapping and dataLotSimple Mapping is our own compilation. We build it from the records of record — the parcel fabric, zoning, land use and environmental designations held by the Province of British Columbia and by the local government with jurisdiction over this property — which we assemble, align, verify against each other and measure ourselves. Where those sources disagree, we say so.
Positions carry the tolerance of the underlying records: generally within a metre or two, and more in rural areas where the parcel fabric is older. Our drawings are not a survey. Coverage figures are measured from the same records and carry the same tolerance.
Where aerial imagery is included, it is for location and context only, and it is left out entirely where the available imagery covers the lot in too few pixels to show honestly. Capture dates are frequently not published, so it may not show what is currently built — and our lot drawings show no buildings at all, because building locations are not carried in the records we compile. The two images fail in opposite directions; neither is evidence of what stands on the ground today.
Use this handbook to understand your property and to know what to ask. Do not use it to place a fence, a building corner, a septic field or a property line — that is the work of a BC land surveyor, and the one thing this handbook cannot replace.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Local government data used under the terms of its publisher. LotSimple is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, any government body.
Records read 10 Sept 2026. Research, not legal, planning or real estate advice; the adopted bylaw as interpreted by the Strathcona Regional District governs. Mapping and data by LotSimple. Made 13 Sept 2026 by the LotSimple team · HANDBOOK LH-0001 · SAMPLE.