ZonePlan

Zoning · Burlington · Mixed use

DC zone, Burlington: Downtown Core Zone

Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1, Table 6.4.1, Diagram 6A) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020.

Burlington's downtown core zone, where shops, restaurants, offices, hotels and apartments are allowed in buildings of 2 to 4 storeys built close to the street with no surface parking.

Is a property in the DC zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.

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What the DC zone permits

  • Department Store
  • Flea Market (temporary use only, max 30 days, once per 12 months - note h)
  • Large Furniture and Appliance Store
  • Supermarket/Grocery Store
  • Convenience/Specialty Foods Store
  • Farmers' Market
  • Other Retail Stores
  • Standard Restaurant (no drive-through; notes a, f)
  • Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (no drive-through; in a building with dwelling units, permitted at grade only where office or residential-accessory uses are on the second storey - notes a, i, f)
  • Fast Food Restaurant (no drive-through; notes a, f)
  • Convenience Restaurant (no drive-through; note a)
  • Funeral Home (not on lands abutting a residential, DRH, DRM or DRL zone - note b)
  • Elevated Parking Facility (ground floor within 15 m of a public street must be retail/service commercial/entertainment/recreation - note d)
  • Veterinary Services (no keeping of animals outside - note c)
  • Other Service Commercial Uses
  • Outdoor Patio (subject to Part 1, Section 2.21(v) - note j)
  • All Office Uses (ground floor within 15 m of a public street limited to retail/service commercial except on listed streets - note g)
  • Community Institution (note g)
  • Hotel (note g)
  • Convention/Conference Centre (note g)
  • Banquet Centre
  • Caterer
  • Recreational Establishment
  • Entertainment Establishment
  • Night Club (not in a building with dwelling units; max 500 persons; not within 45 m of R, DRM, DRH zones - note e)
  • Dwelling Units in a commercial/office building
  • Apartment Building (note g)
  • Retirement Home (note g)

Standards

RequirementBy-law
Minimum lot area (interior lot)No requirement
Minimum lot width (interior lot)7.5 m
Minimum front yardSee noteYard abutting a street, DC zone, floors 1 to 4: minimum as required on Diagram 6A; maximum for first floor is 1 m greater than Diagram 6A. Where Diagram 6A shows no requirement, no minimum yard is required.
Minimum interior side yard1.5 mNone required for lots abutting the streets listed in Table 6.4.1 (Brant, Lakeshore, Old Lakeshore, John, Elizabeth, James, Pearl, Pine, Maria, Martha, Locust south of Elgin, east side of Locust between Elgin and Caroline); 1.5 m for all other lots; 3 m where abutting a residential, DRM or DRL zone; none abutting P and PC zones; 3 m side yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Minimum exterior side yardSee noteTreated as a yard abutting a street: minimum as required on Diagram 6A (floors 1 to 4); maximum for first floor 1 m greater than Diagram 6A.
Minimum rear yard1.5 mNone required for lots abutting Brant St, Lakeshore Rd, Old Lakeshore Rd, John St, Elizabeth St, James St, Pearl St, Pine St, Maria St, Martha St, both sides of Locust St south of Elgin St, and the east side of Locust St between Elgin and Caroline; 1.5 m for all other lots; 3 m where abutting a residential, DRM or DRL zone; none where abutting P and PC zones; 7 m rear yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Maximum building height15 mMaximum 4 storeys and 15 m. Minimum 2 storeys; first and second storeys 4.5 m each. In the block bounded by James, Elizabeth, Pine and John Streets south of the Trans Northern Pipeline, a building with more than 50% of GFA for a public post-secondary institution may be up to 10 storeys.
Maximum floor space index4Floor area ratio 4.0:1 maximum; up to 5.0:1 for a building with more than 50% of GFA devoted to a public post-secondary educational institution within the block bounded by James, Elizabeth, Pine and John Streets south of the Trans Northern Pipeline.
Minimum parkingSee notePer Part 1, Subsection 2.25, except apartment dwelling units: 1.25 spaces per unit (s.4.7(a)).

Other provisions in this section

  • Holding 'H' prefix: uses per Part 11 s.1.1; development deemed premature until 'H' removed per Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1(a)).
  • Lands adjacent to Lake Ontario/Burlington Bay: refer to Part 1 s.2.30; L-shape dwelling side yards, parking spaces/driveways and parking structures: refer to Part 2 s.1 (s.1(b)-(e)).
  • Building setback from a creek block: 7.5 m, or 4.5 m if the block includes a 3 m buffer (Table 6.4.1).
  • No setback required for a below-grade parking structure from a street line or a property line abutting a DC, DW, DL-A or DL-B zone, notwithstanding Part 1 s.2.26(5) (Table 6.4.1).
  • In a building containing more than one storey, the floor area of the second, third and fourth storeys must be at least 50% of the first-storey floor area (s.4.2).
  • Separation distances from a residential or DRL zone: Standard Restaurant 15 m; Fast Food Restaurant 30 m; Night Club 45 m (s.4.4).
  • In buildings containing residential dwelling units, a Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor is only permitted at grade where office uses or uses accessory to residential are located on the second storey (Table 6.2.1 note i).
  • Built form: no parking areas or driveways between a building and a street except access to an elevated/underground parking facility; first-floor street elevation minimum 60% glazing; decorative finish on exterior walls facing a street or residential zone; no overhead doors on elevations facing Brant Street or Lakeshore Road (s.4.5).
  • Landscape area: 3 m abutting a creek block or O3 zone; 3 m abutting a street for a parking lot as principal use; 3 m abutting a PC or P zone. Landscape buffer 3 m abutting a residential or DRL zone (s.4.6).
  • Parking not permitted in a front yard between the street line and the building elevation facing the street; surface parking not permitted (temporary drop-off/delivery excepted); truck/trailer parking prohibited except when loading/unloading, for customer use, belonging to owner/tenant, or for charitable purposes (s.4.7(b)-(d)).
  • Outside storage: only merchandise displayed for retail sale, not stored in a vehicle; perishable waste in refrigerated storage inside or in a below-grade sealed deep-collection container; non-perishable waste outside abutting residential/DRL or visible from street must be in a solid screen enclosure per Part 1 s.2.2.3; waste compactors not permitted in a yard abutting a residential zone and must be screened (s.4.8).
  • Contiguous lots developed under a single comprehensive site plan are deemed one lot for zoning purposes (s.4.9).
  • Amenity area: 20 m2 per unit for apartment dwelling units and retirement homes (s.4.10).
  • Fencing: minimum 1.8 m along common boundary with a residential or DRL zone; solid screen or chain-link plus dense year-round landscape planting (s.4.11).
  • Ground floor within 15 m of a public street for office, community institution, hotel, convention centre, apartment and retirement home uses must be retail or service commercial, except on the six street segments listed in Table 6.2.1 note (g).
  • Outdoor patio entertainment uses permitted only until July 12, 2025 under the temporary use by-law, 12:00 pm-10:00 pm (12:00-6:00 pm Sundays/holidays), one entertainer at a time (Table 6.2.1 note f).
  • Prohibited uses in addition to Part 1 s.2.22: warehouse club, lumber sales, swimming pool sales/service, RV and utility trailer sales/service, boat/motorcycle/snowmobile sales/service, heavy machinery sales/service, car wash, video game/pinball arcade, propane cylinder handling facility, bulk propane storage depot, adult entertainment establishment (s.3).
  • Residential uses in Table 6.2.1 are subject to Part 2, Subsection 2 'Prohibited Uses' (s.3).
  • Subject to Part 1 (General Conditions and Provisions) and Part 14 (Exceptions to Zone Designations) (s.1).

Source: Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1, Table 6.4.1, Diagram 6A), By-law 09-2026 / 2020 (City of Burlington), checked 2026-09-12. General provisions elsewhere in the by-law (parking, driveways, accessory buildings) also apply, and a numbered exception on the parcel can change any value here. Treat this as a pre-check, not a sign-off.

Other mixed use zones in Burlington: DL-A, DL-B, DL-C, DW, MXC, MXE, MXG, MXT, UC, UCR1, UCR2, UCR3, UE, UMXE, UOP