Zoning · Burlington · Mixed use

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

By-law 2020 Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1, Table 6.4.1, Sections 4.1-4.11) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020.

A downtown mixed-use zone on Old Lakeshore Road where shops, restaurants, offices, hotels and apartment buildings can be built up to 6 storeys (19.5 m) with a minimum of 2 storeys, built close to the street with no surface parking.

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What the DL-B zone permits

Convenience/Specialty Foods Store
Other Retail Stores
Standard Restaurant (no drive-through; outdoor patio entertainment per footnote (f))
Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (no drive-through; 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)
Convenience Restaurant (no drive-through)
Veterinary Services (no keeping of animals outside)
Other Service Commercial Uses
Outdoor Patio (subject to Part 1, Section 2.21(v))
All Office Uses (ground floor within 15 m of a public street limited to retail/service commercial, footnote (g))
Community Institution (footnote (g))
Hotel (footnote (g))
Convention/Conference Centre (footnote (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)
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 (DL-B): buildings of 4 floors - minimum as required on Diagram 6A, maximum for first floor only 1 m greater than Diagram 6A; buildings greater than 4 floors - floors 1-2 minimum per Diagram 6A (maximum for 1st and 2nd floors only 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 mSide yard: none 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 or PC zones; 3 m side yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Minimum rear yard	1.5 mRear yard: none 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 east side of Locust St between Elgin St and Caroline St; 1.5 m for all other lots. 3 m where abutting a residential, DRM or DRL zone; none required abutting P or PC zones; 7 m rear yard abutting a pipeline easement.
Maximum building height	19.5 mMaximum 6 storeys and 19.5 metres; minimum 2 storeys; first and second storeys 4.5 m each minimum. Within the block bounded by James, Elizabeth, Pine and John Streets south of the Trans Northern Pipeline, a building with more than 50% of GFA devoted to a public post-secondary educational institution may be 10 storeys.
Maximum floor space index	3.25Floor Area Ratio 3.25:1 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.
Maximum density	See noteDensity for a residential building: 51 units/hectare MINIMUM (no maximum stated).
Minimum parking	See notePer Part 1, Subsection 2.25, except Apartment Dwelling Units: 1.25 spaces per unit (s.4.7(a)).

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-shape dwellings, parking spaces/driveways and parking structures: refer to Part 2 s.1 (s.1).
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 from a property line abutting a DC, DW, DL-A or DL-B zone (Table 6.4.1).
Minimum building height 2 storeys; first and second storeys must be 4.5 m each (s.4.2).
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).
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: parking areas and driveways prohibited between a building and a street except a driveway into an elevated/underground parking facility; first floor elevation facing a street 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 (s.4.5).
Landscape area: 3 m abutting a creek block or O3 zone; 3 m abutting a street for a parking lot as a 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 while loading/unloading, for customer use, belonging to an owner/tenant, or for charitable purposes (s.4.7).
Outside storage: only merchandise displayed for retail sale, not stored in a vehicle; perishable waste must be refrigerated indoors or in a sealed below-grade deep collection container; non-perishable waste outside abutting a residential/DRL zone or visible from a 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 from residential zones and streets (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 on lands abutting a residential or DRL zone: minimum 1.8 m along the common boundary, solid screen or chain-link with dense year-round landscape planting (s.4.11).
Drive-through facilities not permitted with any permitted use (Table 6.2.1 fn (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 the streets listed in fn (g) (e.g. west side of Locust St between Caroline St and 40 m north of Elgin St; east side of Pearl St between Pine St and 60 m north; west side of Martha St between Maria St and James St) (Table 6.2.1 fn (g)).
Outdoor patios may have entertainment uses until July 12, 2025 under the temporary use by-law (12:00 pm-10:00 pm; Sundays/holidays 12:00 pm-6:00 pm; one entertainer at a time); afterwards no entertainment/recreational uses on outdoor patios (Table 6.2.1 fn (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 permitted in Table 6.2.1 are subject to Part 2 s.2 'Prohibited Uses' (s.3).

Source: By-law 2020 Part 6, Sections 1-4 (Table 6.2.1, Table 6.4.1, Sections 4.1-4.11), 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-A, DL-C, DW, MXC, MXE, MXG, MXT, UC, UCR1, UCR2, UCR3, UE, UMXE, UOP