Zoning · Burlington · Mixed use

DL-A zone, Burlington: Downtown Old Lakeshore Road Zone DL-A

Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1 Permitted Uses; Table 6.4.1 Lot Width, Area and Yards; Sections 4.2-4.11) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020.

A downtown mixed-use zone along Old Lakeshore Road allowing shops, restaurants, offices, hotels and apartments in mid-rise buildings of 2 to 10 storeys built close to the street.

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What the DL-A zone permits

Convenience/Specialty Foods Store
Other Retail Stores
Standard Restaurant (no drive-through; outdoor patio entertainment only per temporary use by-law, footnotes (a)(f))
Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (footnotes (a)(i)(f): in buildings with dwelling units only at grade where offices or residential-accessory uses are on the second storey)
Fast Food Restaurant (no drive-through, footnotes (a)(f))
Convenience Restaurant (no drive-through, footnote (a))
Veterinary Services (no keeping of animals outside, footnote (c))
Other Service Commercial Uses
Outdoor Patio (subject to Part 1, Section 2.21(v), footnote (j))
All Office Uses (footnote (g) ground-floor retail/service commercial rule)
Community Institution (footnote (g))
Hotel (footnote (g))
Convention/Conference Centre (footnote (g))
Banquet Centre
Caterer
Recreational Establishment
Entertainment Establishment
Night Club (footnote (e): not in a building with dwelling units, max 500 persons, not within 45 m of R, DRM and DRH zones)
Dwelling Units in a commercial/office building
Apartment Building (footnote (g))
Retirement Home (footnote (g))

Standards

Requirement	By-law
Minimum lot area (interior lot)	No requirement
Minimum lot width (interior lot)	7.5 m
Minimum front yard	See noteYard abutting a street (Table 6.4.1, DW/DL-A/DL-B): buildings of 4 floors: minimum as shown on Diagram 6A, maximum for first floor only 1 m greater than Diagram 6A; buildings over 4 floors: floors 1-2 minimum per Diagram 6A (maximum for 1st and 2nd floors 1 m greater than Diagram 6A), floors 3-8 minimum per Diagram 6A plus 2 m. Where Diagram 6A shows no requirement, no minimum yard is required.
Minimum interior side yard	1.5 mNone required for lots abutting Brant St, Lakeshore Rd, Old Lakeshore Rd, John, Elizabeth, James, Pearl, Pine, Maria, Martha Streets, both sides of Locust St south of Elgin St, and 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 required abutting P and PC zones; 3 m side yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Minimum exterior side yard	See noteTreated as a yard abutting a street: same Diagram 6A rules as the front yard (Table 6.4.1). Where Diagram 6A shows no requirement, no minimum yard is required.
Minimum rear yard	1.5 mNone required for lots abutting Brant St, Lakeshore Rd, Old Lakeshore Rd, John, Elizabeth, James, Pearl, Pine, Maria, Martha Streets, both sides of Locust St south of Elgin St, and 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 required abutting P and PC zones; 7 m rear yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Maximum building height	31.5 mMaximum 10 storeys and 31.5 m (s.4.2). Minimum 2 storeys; first and second storeys 4.5 m each. Within the block bounded by James, Elizabeth, Pine and John Streets south of the Trans Northern Pipeline, a building with over 50% of GFA devoted to a public post-secondary institution may be 10 storeys (s.4.3).
Maximum floor space index	4.5Floor Area Ratio 4.5:1 maximum (s.4.3). Within the block bounded by James, Elizabeth, Pine and John Streets south of the Trans Northern Pipeline, a building with over 50% of GFA devoted to a public post-secondary educational institution may have a maximum FAR of 5.0:1.
Minimum parking	1.25Apartment dwelling units: 1.25 spaces per unit (s.4.7(a)); all other uses per Part 1, Subsection 2.25 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements.

Other provisions in this section

Subject to Part 1 (General Conditions and Provisions) and Part 14 (Exceptions to Zone Designations); 'H' holding prefix: uses per Part 11 s.1.1, development premature until removed per Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1).
Lands adjacent to Lake Ontario/Burlington Bay: refer to Part 1 s.2.30; side yard for L-shaped dwellings, parking spaces/driveways and parking structures: refer to Part 2 s.1 (s.1).
Drive-through facilities are not permitted with any permitted use (Table 6.2.1 note (a)).
Ground floor of any building within 15 m of a public street must be used only for retail or service commercial uses, except on listed street frontages (Brant St west side Baldwin-Caroline; Locust St west side Caroline to 40 m north of Elgin; Pearl St east side Pine to 60 m north; Martha St west side Maria-James; Emerald Cres west side north of Caroline; Victoria Ave south side 30-110 m east of Brant) (note (g)).
Night Club: not in a building containing dwelling units; maximum capacity 500 persons; not within 45 m of R, DRM and DRH zones (note (e)).
Outdoor patio entertainment uses permitted only until July 12, 2025 under the temporary use by-law, 12:00 pm-10:00 pm (Sundays/holidays 12:00-6:00 pm), one entertainer entity at a time (note (f)).
Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor in a building with dwelling units only permitted at grade where offices or residential-accessory uses are on the second storey (note (i)).
Prohibited uses (s.3), 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. Residential uses are subject to Part 2 s.2 Prohibited Uses.
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).
Yard abutting a pipeline easement: 7 m rear yard, 3 m side yard (Table 6.4.1).
Notwithstanding Part 1 s.2.26(5), no setback is 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 (Table 6.4.1).
Floor area of the second, third and fourth storeys of a multi-storey building must be at least 50% of the first storey floor area (s.4.2).
Minimum density for a residential building: 51 units per hectare (s.4.3).
Separation distances from a residential or DRL zone: Standard Restaurant 15 m; Fast Food Restaurant 30 m; Night Club 45 m (s.4.4).
Built form (s.4.5): no parking areas or driveways between a building and a street except a driveway into an elevated/underground parking facility; first-floor street-facing elevation minimum 60% glazing; decorative finish on all exterior walls facing a street or residential zone; no overhead doors on elevations facing Brant Street or Lakeshore Road.
Landscape area (s.4.6): 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.
Parking (s.4.7): not permitted in a front yard between the street line and the street-facing building elevation; surface parking not permitted except temporary drop-off/delivery; truck/trailer parking prohibited except when loading/unloading, for customer use, belonging to owner/tenant, or used for charitable purposes.
Outside storage (s.4.8): only merchandise displayed for retail sale, not in a vehicle; perishable waste in refrigerated storage inside or in a below-grade deep collection system; non-perishable waste abutting residential/DRL or visible from street 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.
Contiguous lots developed under one comprehensive site plan are deemed one lot (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 with dense year-round landscape planting (s.4.11).

Source: Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1 Permitted Uses; Table 6.4.1 Lot Width, Area and Yards; Sections 4.2-4.11), 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: DC, DL-B, DL-C, DW, MXC, MXE, MXG, MXT, UC, UCR1, UCR2, UCR3, UE, UMXE, UOP