Zoning and land use document library

What you need to know

Development in Vancouver is guided by a collection of regulations and other related documents that set out the rules and expectations for what is possible.

Rules generally vary depending on where a property is located, and the type of project that is being proposed.

Find documents related to your property

To determine what can be built on a property, find the regulations and policies that apply for an address.

When you are ready to design a project in preparation for a permit application, review the applicable guidelines and bulletins.

Find the zoning district

Helpful resources

Looking for other regulations or development-related resources not included in this document library? Other resources that may be helpful:

What's changed?

Find out what’s changed recently with our by-laws, policies, guidelines, and bulletins. Review amendments

 Search tips

  1. Select 'Show all' at the top of a category.
  2. Press CTRL+F on your keyboard (or Command+F on a Mac) to open the search bar.
  3. Enter a search term to find documents within the category.

 Zoning and Development By-law

The use and development of land in Vancouver is regulated by the Zoning and Development By-law and the official development plan by-laws.

If this document format is not accessible to you, contact 3-1-1 to request the document in an alternative format.

Zoning district schedules

The city is divided into zoning districts, which are organized into five broad categories (limited agriculture, residential, commercial, industrial, and heritage), and comprehensive development districts, which are either area specific or site specific.

Consolidated by-law

All sections, zoning district schedules, and general schedules in one document for convenience only.


 Policies

A policy is a set of statements of intent. Policies provide a context for decision-making.

Rezoning policies

Rezoning policies provide guidance for developing or using a property in ways that existing rules or zoning do not allow.


 Guidelines

Guidelines are statements that provide guidance on how discretion in the Zoning and Development By-law is applied, or how policies are interpreted.

The guidelines below are organized by location and project type.


 Bulletins

Bulletins are documents that explain how a regulation is applied and how discretionary decisions under the regulation are made by the Director of Planning. They can include background information and summaries of related regulations or policies, and may include procedural information.