Zoning · Burlington · Industrial
GE1 zone, Burlington: General Employment GE1
By-law 2020 Part 3 (Employment Zones), Sections 1-3 and 6 (Table 3.2.1, Table 3.6.1) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020.
A general industrial zone for factories, warehouses, trucking, recycling, automotive and office uses on large lots, with limited retail and restaurant space allowed only on big sites and extra setbacks where the land touches homes.
Is a property in the GE1 zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.
Check an addressWhat the GE1 zone permits
- Transportation, Communication, and Utilities (note b: transmitting towers set back 1 m per 1 m of height from a street or residential zone)
- Transportation Equipment Industries
- Non-Metallic Mineral Production Industries
- Food Processing and Manufacturing
- Metal Rolling, Casting, and Extruding
- Petro Chemical Laboratories
- Bulk Propane Storage Depot (per Part 1, 2.7)
- Solid Fuel Supply Yard
- Oil Depot
- Waste Transfer Station (note c)
- Recycling Facility
- Truck Depot
- Metal, Wood, Paper, Plastic, Machine, and Chemical Industries
- Wholesale Trade
- Private Propane Facility (per Part 1, 2.7)
- Construction and Trade Contractors
- Wholesale Building and Construction Materials
- Machinery and Equipment
- Public Transportation
- Cannabis Production Facility (note j)
- Leather and Textile Industries
- Furniture and Fixture Industries
- Clothing Industries
- Electrical Products Industries
- Warehouse and Logistics
- Storage Locker Facility
- Training Centre
- Research and Development
- Information and Data Processing
- Knowledge-Based & High Technology
- Pharmaceuticals & Medicines
- Veterinary Service
- Accessory Dwelling Unit for security or maintenance (note d)
- Crematory (note i)
- Other Industrial Operations - general manufacturing, processing, fabricating and/or assembly facility
- All Office Uses
- Convention/Conference Centre
- Banquet Centre
- Caterer
- Car Wash (per Part 1, 2.9)
- Motor Vehicle Sales, Leasing, Rental, and Service
- Motor Vehicle Service Station (per Part 1, 2.10)
- Motor Vehicle Repair Garage
- Convenience Store (note f)
- Nursery or Garden Centre (note f)
- Retail: Machinery & Equipment (note f)
- Retail: Computer Hardware & Software (note f)
- Retail: Office Furniture & Equipment (note f)
- Standard Restaurant (note f)
- Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (note f)
- Fast Food Restaurant (note f)
- Convenience Restaurant (note f)
- Night Club (notes f, h)
- Banks, Trust Companies, Credit Unions (note f)
- Retail Brewery (note f)
- Other Service Commercial Uses (note f)
- Outdoor Patio (note k: subject to Part 1, Section 2.21(v))
- Recreational Establishment
- Body-Rub Parlour (per Part 1, Subsection 2.32)
Standards
| Requirement | By-law |
|---|---|
| Minimum lot area (interior lot) | 4000 m² |
| Minimum lot width (interior lot) | 45 m |
| Minimum front yard | 15 mYard abutting a street: 15 m where the street has a deemed width of 26 m or greater; 9 m where deemed width is less than 26 m; 9 m abutting Heritage Road (Table 3.6.1). Applies to any yard abutting a street, not only the front. |
| Minimum interior side yard | 4.5 m |
| Minimum exterior side yard | 15 mNo separate flankage value; a side yard abutting a street is governed by the 'yard abutting a street' rule: 15 m if deemed street width is 26 m or greater, 9 m if less than 26 m (Table 3.6.1). |
| Minimum rear yard | 7.5 m |
| Maximum building height | See noteSection 6.2 states a height limit only on lands abutting a residential zone: 9 m maximum. No general height limit is stated in the zone text. |
| Maximum floor space index | See noteSection 6.3: where the principal use is an Office Use, the maximum Floor Area Ratio for all uses on the lot is 0.5:1. No FAR stated for other principal uses. |
Other provisions in this section
- Lot area is stated as 0.4 ha in Table 3.6.1 (recorded as 4000 m2).
- Yard abutting a residential zone: 30 m (Table 3.6.1).
- Yard abutting an O3 zone: 7.5 m; yard abutting a PC or P zone: 6 m (Table 3.6.1).
- Yard abutting a pipeline easement: 7 m (Table 3.6.1).
- Building setback abutting a creek block: 7.5 m, or 4.5 m if the block includes a 3 m buffer (Table 3.6.1).
- Yard abutting a railway right-of-way: none required; but a 30 m separation distance from a railway right-of-way applies to land uses sensitive to railway rights-of-way (Table 3.6.1).
- Yards abutting Guelph Line, King Road, Mainway and Enfield Road are marked *** (not applicable) in the GE1 column of Table 3.6.1.
- Text following Table 3.6.1 reads 'Lot Width: 30 m / Lot Area: 2500 m2' with no column label; it appears to belong to footnote (a) of the GE2 column, not GE1 (unclear in the source).
- Building height on lands abutting a residential zone: 9 m maximum (s.6.2).
- Floor area: where the principal use is an Office Use, the maximum Floor Area Ratio for all uses on the lot is 0.5:1 (s.6.3).
- Built form (s.6.4): decorative exterior finish required on elevations facing a street, facing a residential zone, within 7.5 m of a wall facing a street with deemed width 26 m or less, and within 15 m of a wall facing a street with deemed width greater than 26 m; exterior walls facing a residential zone max 36 m long; no mechanical equipment or machinery within 20 m of a residential zone.
- Landscape area (s.6.5): 3 m abutting Heritage Road; 3 m abutting a street with deemed width less than 26 m; 6 m abutting a street with deemed width 26 m or greater; 3 m abutting a creek block or O3 zone; 3 m abutting a PC or P zone. Landscape buffer abutting a residential zone: 9 m.
- Parking per Part 1, Subsection 2.25 (s.6.6(a)); trucks/vehicles exceeding 3000 kg registered gross vehicle weight, 6 m overall length or 2.6 m overall height may not be parked within 15 m of a residential zone (s.6.6(b)).
- Outdoor manufacturing is prohibited in a yard abutting a street in the GE1 zone (s.6.7).
- Outdoor storage (s.6.8): on lots under 4 ha not permitted in a front yard; on lots 4 ha or greater permitted in the front yard but not within the required front yard and must be screened from all streets and residential lands; not within 9 m of a residential zone; refuse/waste and containers screened from any street or residential zone; commercial merchandise storage not within a required yard or landscaping strip abutting a street; motor vehicle sales/leasing/rental stock may be in the required yard abutting a street except within the required landscaping area; all outdoor storage and outdoor processing prohibited at a Waste Transfer Station except a permitted Waste Container Facility; recycling facility outdoor storage max 6 m high and enclosed by a 3 m high solid screen fence; perishable waste refrigerated indoors or in a sealed below-grade deep collection container.
- Loading (s.6.9): no loading docks on building elevations facing a street; no loading activities in a yard abutting a street; minimum 20 m setback from a residential zone, reduced to 9 m if fully enclosed by a permanent structure; docks and activities screened from a residential zone.
- Accessory retail sales (s.6.10): max 15% total floor area only in conjunction with manufacturing, fabricating, processing, assembling or warehousing; accessory retail/showroom limited to the lesser of 15% of the main use or 250 m2; must be within the same premises and separated by a permanent solid floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall partition with closed doors.
- Restaurant drive-throughs (s.6.11): landscaping to screen drive-through elevations facing a street; external conveyor pick-up systems not in a yard abutting a street and set back 15 m from a residential zone; intercom ordering stations set back 15 m from a residential zone.
- Fencing (s.6.12): on lands abutting a residential zone, a fence at least 1.8 m high along the common boundary (solid screen, or chain-link plus dense year-round planting).
- Caretaker/watchman dwelling unit must be within a principal building and not exceed 75 m2 (s.6.13; Table 3.2.1 note d).
- Contiguous lots developed under a single comprehensive site plan are deemed one lot for zoning purposes (s.6.14).
- Table 3.2.1 note (c): a Waste Container Facility is permitted with a Waste Transfer Station only if not on a corner lot, containers at least 30 m from the street line and screened by the building or a 3 m high masonry wall.
- Table 3.2.1 note (f): retail, service commercial and recreation uses so marked are permitted only on a lot with total building floor area of 3000 m2, and may not exceed 15% of the floor area of each building they occupy; a restaurant may occupy up to 100% of a single building if total existing building floor area on the lot is at least 3000 m2 and the lot abuts an arterial, multi-purpose arterial or minor arterial road; contiguous lots under one site plan count as one lot.
- Table 3.2.1 note (h): night club only in conjunction with a standard restaurant, maximum capacity 500 persons.
- Table 3.2.1 note (i): crematory not permitted within 70 m of a Residential, Downtown, Uptown, MXG or MXC zone boundary.
- Table 3.2.1 note (j): cannabis production facility not permitted in a building where food to be sold is produced, packaged, labelled or stored.
- Prohibited uses (s.3), in addition to Part 1 s.2.22: motor vehicle wrecking yard; bone/blood boiling, rendering, tankhouse products; abattoir; fish products processing and oil extraction; animal/fish fertilizer manufacturing; sugar refinery; vegetable oil mills; hide processing; pulp and paper mills; asbestos products; petroleum refining; explosives manufacturing; primary metals industries; medical waste storage/disposal; animal research; R&D related to any prohibited use; video game/pinball arcade; energy from waste facility.
- Holding (H) prefix: uses limited per Part 11 s.1.1 until the H is removed under Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1(a)).
- Part 1 (General Conditions and Provisions) and Part 14 (Exceptions to Zone Designations) also apply.
Source: By-law 2020 Part 3 (Employment Zones), Sections 1-3 and 6 (Table 3.2.1, Table 3.6.1), 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.