Zoning · Burlington · Residential
R3.2 zone, Burlington: Low Density Residential R3.2
Zoning By-law 2020, Part 2 (Residential Zones), Sections 1-4; Table 2.3.1 (permitted uses), Table 2.4.1 (lot width, area, yards), Table 2.4.2 (other yards), Table 2.4.3 (maximum lot coverage) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020, as amended by 2020.374.
A low-density residential zone for detached houses (with additional residential units allowed) on lots at least 15 m wide and 425 m² in area, with a 6 m front yard, 9 m rear yard and lot coverage capped by the number of storeys and whether the house has an attached garage.
Is a property in the R3.2 zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.
Check an addressWhat the R3.2 zone permits
- Detached dwelling
- Additional residential units (Table 2.3.1 footnote (a))
Standards
| Requirement | By-law |
|---|---|
| Minimum lot area (interior lot) | 425 m² |
| Minimum lot width (interior lot) | 15 m |
| Minimum front yard | 6 m |
| Minimum interior side yard | 1.2 mTable 2.4.1 footnote (b). Without attached garage or carport: one or one-and-a-half storey side 1.2 m, 3 m other side; two or more storey side 1.8 m, 3 m other side. With attached garage or carport: one or one-and-a-half storey side 1.2 m; two or more storey side 1.8 m. An 'L'-shaped dwelling without a garage that frames a 4.5 m x 6.5 m parking space is treated as having an attached garage (Part 2 s.1(g)). |
| Minimum exterior side yard | 4.5 m |
| Minimum rear yard | 9 m9 m; on a corner lot the rear yard may be 4.5 m (Table 2.4.1 footnote (c)) |
| Maximum building height | 10 mBy reference to Part 1 s.2.31, Table 2.31.1 A) (R1-R4 zones): peaked roof detached dwelling 1 storey to 7.5 m, 1.5 storey to 8.5 m, 2 storey to 10 m, 2.5 storey not permitted; flat roof 1 storey to 4.5 m, 2 storey to 7 m. Additions alternatively limited to 6 m at peak / 3 m flat (two-storey addition) or 4.5 m peak / 2.25 m flat (one or 1.5 storey addition) measured from the existing 1st floor ceiling. Properties abutting or south of Lakeshore Road / North Shore Boulevard (excluding Indian Point) may go to 2.5 storeys under Table 2.31.1 B). |
| Maximum lot coverage | 35 %Table 2.4.3. With attached garage (including accessory buildings): one storey 40%, one-and-a-half storey 37.5%, two or more storeys 35%. Without attached garage: one storey 32% + 8% for accessory buildings, one-and-a-half storey 29.5% + 8%, two or more storeys 27% + 8%. In Designated Areas (shaded on Part 15 zoning maps): with garage 35% / 30% / 25% including accessory buildings; without garage 27% / 22% / 17% plus 8% for accessory buildings. One accessory building under 10 m² and under 2.5 m high is exempt (footnote (a)). Properties abutting or south of Lakeshore Road / North Shore Boulevard (excluding Indian Point Character Area) are exempt (footnote (c)). |
| Maximum floor space index | See noteSection 4.5: maximum floor area ratio of 0.45:1 applies only to properties in Designated Areas for Lot Coverage; 0.4:1 within the Shoreacres Character Area. No FAR stated for other R3.2 properties. |
Other provisions in this section
- Semi-detached dwellings and cluster homes are not permitted in R3.2 (Table 2.3.1).
- Holding 'H' prefix: uses per Part 11 s.1.1; development deemed premature until the 'H' is removed per Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1(a)).
- Accessory buildings and structures: refer to Part 1 s.2.2; patios and decks Part 1 s.2.3; fencing and privacy screens Part 1 s.2.4; swimming pools Part 1 s.2.5; lands adjacent to Lake Ontario and Burlington Bay Part 1 s.2.30 (s.1(b)-(f)).
- Parking lots must be set back 4.5 m from a street line (s.1(h)).
- Enclosed parking structure more than 1.6 m above finished grade is subject to the same yard requirements as a principal building; one below grade and up to 1.6 m above grade must be set back 3 m from a street line; no encroachment into a required landscape buffer abutting a residential zone (s.1(j)).
- Prohibited (s.2): parking/storing a motor vehicle (other than an RV) over 3000 kg registered gross weight, 6 m length or 2.6 m height; any stake-body vehicle; an RV or utility trailer with load exceeding 3.6 m combined height; and parking/storage of any vehicle, trailer, boat or similar within a landscaped open space area. Part 1 s.2.22 prohibitions also apply.
- Other yards (Table 2.4.2): building setback abutting a creek block 7.5 m (4.5 m if the block includes a 3 m buffer); yard abutting a pipeline easement 7 m; yard abutting a railway right-of-way 30 m.
- Parking per Part 1 s.2.25 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements (s.4.3).
- Maximum dwelling depth 18 m measured from the building wall closest to the front lot line to the wall closest to the rear lot line; properties abutting or south of Lakeshore Road / North Shore Boulevard (excluding Indian Point Character Area) are exempt; for through lots the front building elevation determines the front (s.4.6).
- On elevations facing a street, first-storey columns may not exceed the height of the first-storey ceiling (s.4.7).
- A front-loading attached garage may not exceed 50% of the width of its building elevation (s.4.8(a)).
- An attached garage with a door facing a street may not project beyond the longest street-facing wall containing residential floor area on the first storey (s.4.8(b)); dwellings legally existing on December 19, 2016 (By-law 2020.374) are deemed to conform for the life of the dwelling.
- Character Area maps (Roseland, Indian Point, Shoreacres) in s.4.9 trigger special rules: Shoreacres FAR 0.4:1; footnotes (d)-(g) of Table 2.4.1 apply to R1/R2 zones, not R3.2.
Source: Zoning By-law 2020, Part 2 (Residential Zones), Sections 1-4; Table 2.3.1 (permitted uses), Table 2.4.1 (lot width, area, yards), Table 2.4.2 (other yards), Table 2.4.3 (maximum lot coverage), 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 residential zones in Burlington: DRH, DRL, DRM, HN, LN1, LN2, LN3, LN4, LN5, LN6, LN7, LN8, R1.1, R1.2, R2.1, R2.2, R2.3, R2.4, R3.1, R3.3, R3.4, R4, R5, RAL1, RAL2, RAL3, RAL4, REV1, REV2, REV3, RH1, RH2, RH3, RH4, RH5, RM1, RM2, RM3, RM4, RM5, RNA1, RNA2, RNA3, RO1, RO2, RO3, RO4, SNA, URH, URM