Zoning · Burlington · Industrial
GE2 zone, Burlington: General Employment GE2
By-law 2020 Part 3, 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 employment zone for light industry, warehousing, offices and limited service commercial uses on small lots, with tighter rules where the land touches a residential neighbourhood.
Is a property in the GE2 zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.
Check an addressWhat the GE2 zone permits
- Wholesale Trade
- Private Propane Facility per Part 1, 2.7 (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Construction and Trade Contractors (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Wholesale Building and Construction Materials (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Machinery and Equipment (industrial; not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Public Transportation (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Cannabis Production Facility (not within a building where food to be sold is produced, packaged, labelled or stored)
- 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 (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Veterinary Service (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Accessory Dwelling Unit for security or maintenance (within principal building, max 75 m2 floor area)
- All Office Uses
- Car Wash per Part 1, 2.9 (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Motor Vehicle Service Station per Part 1, 2.10
- Motor Vehicle Repair Garage (not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
- Convenience Store (subject to footnote (f) floor area limits)
- Nursery or Garden Centre (footnotes (a),(f))
- Machinery & Equipment retail (footnotes (a),(f))
- Computer Hardware & Software retail (footnote (f))
- Office Furniture & Equipment retail (footnote (f))
- Standard Restaurant (footnotes (a),(f))
- Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (footnotes (a),(f))
- Fast Food Restaurant (footnotes (a),(f))
- Convenience Restaurant (footnote (f))
- Banks, Trust Companies, Credit Unions (footnote (f))
- Retail Brewery (footnotes (a),(f))
- Other Service Commercial Uses (footnote (f))
- Outdoor Patio (subject to Part 1, Section 2.21(v))
- Recreational Establishment (outdoor recreational activities not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone)
Standards
| Requirement | By-law |
|---|---|
| Minimum lot area (interior lot) | 900 m²Table 3.6.1: 900 m2 (a). Text immediately following the table reads 'Lot Width: 30 m / Lot Area: 2500 m2', apparently footnote (a); the condition under which 2500 m2 applies is not legible in the extracted text. |
| Minimum lot width (interior lot) | 15 mTable 3.6.1: lot width 15 m (a). Text immediately following the table reads 'Lot Width: 30 m', apparently footnote (a); the condition under which 30 m applies is not legible in the extracted text. |
| Minimum front yard | 9 mYard abutting a street: 9 m whether the street's deemed width is 26 m or greater or less than 26 m; 15 m abutting Guelph Line or King Road; 6 m abutting Mainway or Enfield Road. Applies to any yard abutting a street. |
| Minimum interior side yard | 3 mSide yard 3 m; 30 m where the yard abuts a residential zone; 7.5 m abutting an O3 zone; 7 m abutting a pipeline easement; 6 m abutting a PC or P zone; none required abutting a railway right-of-way. |
| Minimum exterior side yard | 9 mYard abutting a street: 9 m (both deemed-width classes); 15 m abutting Guelph Line or King Road; 6 m abutting Mainway or Enfield Road. |
| Minimum rear yard | 7.5 mRear yard 7.5 m (table cell shared by GE1 and GE2); 30 m where the yard abuts a residential zone; 7.5 m abutting an O3 zone; 7 m abutting a pipeline easement; 6 m abutting a PC or P zone; none required abutting a railway right-of-way. |
| Maximum building height | See noteSection 6.2: 9 m maximum only on lands abutting a residential zone; no height figure stated for other GE2 lands in this section. |
| Maximum floor space index | 0.5Section 6.3: where the principal use is an Office Use, maximum Floor Area Ratio for all uses on the lot is 0.5:1; no FAR stated otherwise. |
Other provisions in this section
- Holding 'H' prefix: uses per Part 11 s.1.1; development premature until H removed per Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1(a))
- Subject to Part 1 (General Conditions and Provisions) and Part 14 (Exceptions to Zone Designations)
- Prohibited uses (s.3) in addition to Part 1 s.2.22: motor vehicle wrecking yard, bone/blood boiling and rendering, abattoir, fish products processing, animal/fish fertilizer manufacturing and storage, sugar refinery, vegetable oil mills, hide processing, pulp and paper mills, asbestos products, petroleum refining, explosives manufacturing, primary metals, medical waste storage/disposal, animal research, R&D related to any prohibited use, video game/pinball arcade, energy from waste facility
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (a): uses marked (a) not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (d): dwelling unit for security/protection/maintenance person must be within a principal building and not exceed 75 m2 floor area
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (f): retail/service commercial/recreation uses permitted on a lot with total building floor area of 3000 m2; total of such uses not to exceed 15% of the floor area of each building they are in; 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 comprehensive development/site plan deemed one lot
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (g): outdoor recreational activities not permitted on lands abutting a residential zone
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (j): cannabis production facility not permitted in a building where food for sale is produced, packaged, labelled or stored
- Table 3.2.1 footnote (k): outdoor patio subject to Part 1 s.2.21(v)
- 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: separation distance from a railway right-of-way 30 m for land uses sensitive to railway rights-of-way
- Table 3.6.1: yard abutting a residential zone 30 m; abutting an O3 zone 7.5 m; abutting a pipeline easement 7 m; abutting a PC or P zone 6 m; abutting a railway right-of-way none required
- s.6.2 Building height: 9 m maximum on lands abutting a residential zone
- s.6.3 Floor area: where principal use is an Office Use, maximum Floor Area Ratio for all uses on the lot is 0.5:1
- s.6.4(a) 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
- s.6.4(b) Exterior walls facing a residential zone: maximum length 36 m
- s.6.4(c) Mechanical equipment or machinery may not be installed or used within 20 m of a residential zone
- s.6.5 Landscape area: 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
- s.6.5 Landscape buffer: 9 m abutting a residential zone
- s.6.6(a) Parking per Part 1 s.2.25 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements
- s.6.6(b) No parking of trucks/vehicles within 15 m of a residential zone if the vehicle exceeds 3000 kg registered gross vehicle weight, 6 m overall length, or 2.6 m overall height
- s.6.7 Outdoor manufacturing is prohibited in a GE2 zone
- s.6.8(a) Outdoor storage: on lots less than 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 zoned lands
- s.6.8(b) Outdoor storage not permitted within 9 m of a residential zone
- s.6.8(c) Refuse, waste and their containers screened from any street or residential zone
- s.6.8(d) Commercial principal use: outdoor storage of retail merchandise permitted outside required yards and landscaping strips abutting a street; motor vehicle sales/leasing/rental/service: vehicles for sale may be stored in the required yard abutting a street except within the required landscaping area
- s.6.8(e) At a Waste Transfer Station all outdoor storage (except a permitted Waste Container Facility) and outdoor processing/manufacturing prohibited
- s.6.8(f) Outdoor storage for a permitted Recycling Facility: max 6 m high, enclosed by a 3 m high solid screen fence
- s.6.8(g) Perishable waste kept in refrigerated storage within a building, or outside in a deep collection sealed container with lockable lid located primarily below grade
- s.6.9 Loading: docks not permitted in building elevations facing a street; loading activities not permitted in a yard abutting a street; minimum 20 m setback from a residential zone (9 m if fully enclosed by a permanent structure); docks and activities screened from a residential zone
- s.6.10 Retail sales: max 15% total floor area only in conjunction with manufacturing, fabricating, processing, assembling or warehousing; accessory retail/showroom max is the lesser of 15% of the main use or 250 m2; must be in the same premises as the associated use and separated by a permanent solid floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall partition with closed doors
- s.6.11 Restaurant drive-throughs: landscaping to screen 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
- s.6.12 Fencing along common boundary with a residential zone: minimum 1.8 m high, solid screen fence or chain-link plus planting forming a dense year-round screen
- s.6.13 Caretaker/watchman dwelling unit within a principal building, max 75 m2
- s.6.14 Contiguous lots developed under a single comprehensive site plan deemed one lot for zoning regulations; each lot must also comply individually
Source: By-law 2020 Part 3, 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.