Zoning · Burlington · Mixed use

UCR1 zone, Burlington: Uptown Commercial/Residential 1

Part 7, Sections 1-4 (Table 7.2.1, Table 7.4.1, Table 7.4.2) of the City of Burlington Zoning By-law 09-2026 / 2020, as amended by 2020.205.

A mixed-use zone in Burlington's Uptown centre (around Appleby Line and Upper Middle Road) that allows shops, restaurants, offices, hotels and entertainment uses together with townhouses, apartments and retirement homes in mid-rise buildings of at least 2 storeys and up to 35 m.

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What the UCR1 zone permits

Convenience/Specialty Foods Store
Other Retail Uses
Standard Restaurant
Standard Restaurant with Dance Floor (k: in buildings with dwelling units, only at grade where office or residential-accessory uses are on the second storey)
Fast Food Restaurant
Convenience Restaurant
Funeral Home (d: not on a lot abutting a residential or URM zone)
Veterinary Services (e: no outdoor animal-keeping facilities)
Other Service Commercial Uses
Outdoor Patio (m: subject to Part 1, s.2.21(v))
All Office Uses (f: not permitted on the ground floor; max 30% of ground floor area for ancillary office facilities)
Community Institution
Hotel
Convention/Conference Centre
Banquet Centre
Caterer
Recreational Establishment
Entertainment Establishment
Night Club (c: not in a building containing dwelling units; j: max capacity 500 persons)
Townhouse (g)
Street Townhouse (g)
Stacked Townhouse (g)
Apartment Building (g)
Retirement Home (g)
Additional Residential Units (l: subject to Part 1, s.2.21(u))

Standards

Requirement	By-law
Minimum lot area (interior lot)	225 m²
Minimum lot width (interior lot)	7.5 m
Minimum interior side yard	No requirement
Minimum rear yard	No requirement
Maximum building height	35 mMaximum 35 m; minimum 2 storeys (second storey floor area must be at least 50% of first storey). Footnote (d): townhouse, street townhouse and stacked townhouse height per Part 1, s.2.31 Residential Building Height. Buildings under 2 storeys legally existing on April 28, 2008 (By-law 2020.205) deemed to conform.
Minimum landscaped open space	5 %Section 4.3: Landscape Area 5% for zones other than UOP (Street Townhouses excepted); plus 3 m landscape area abutting an O2/O3 zone and 3 m abutting a PC or P zone (Street Townhouses excepted); 4.5 m landscape buffer abutting a URM zone (Street Townhouses excepted).
Maximum floor space index	2.5Floor Area Ratio maximum 2.5:1; minimum 0.5:1.
Maximum density	185Density 50 units/ha minimum to 185 units/ha maximum.
Minimum parking	See noteSection 4.5(a): per Part 1, s.2.25 except dwelling units: 1.25 occupant spaces per 1-bedroom unit, 1.50 per 2-bedroom, 1.75 per 3+ bedroom, no visitor parking required; exempt: properties in the Appleby Line Corridor Residential Parking Exemption Area (Diagram 1D) and apartment buildings in a Primary/Secondary Growth Area (Official Plan Schedule B-1). (b) Enclosed occupant parking 1.25 spaces/unit where density exceeds 100 units/ha.

Other provisions in this section

Front yard and street side yard are MAXIMUM setbacks (Table 7.4.1 footnote (a)): yard abutting Appleby Line - 4 m max for buildings up to 4 storeys and within 45 m of Upper Middle Road, 10 m max for buildings over 4 storeys within 45 m of Upper Middle Road, with a driveway between Appleby Line and the building; yard abutting Upper Middle Road and Ontario Hydro Corridor - 4 m max up to 4 storeys within 30 m of Appleby Line, 10 m max over 4 storeys within 30 m of Appleby Line, with a driveway between Upper Middle Road and the building; all other streets - 16 m max for 75% of the building elevation abutting a street, 22 m max thereafter.
Separation distance of 30 m from a railway right-of-way for land uses sensitive to railways (Table 7.4.1).
Yard abutting a PC or P zone: 6 m; yard abutting a pipeline easement: 7 m; building setback abutting a creek block: 3 m (Table 7.4.1).
Residential footnote (g): dwelling units not permitted on the ground floor within 100 m of Appleby Line; max 30% of ground floor area may be used for facilities ancillary to a residential use.
Prohibited uses (s.3), in addition to Part 1 s.2.22: propane cylinder handling facility, bulk propane storage depot, parking structures and parking lots as a principal use, video game/pinball arcade, adult entertainment establishment; residential uses subject to Part 2 s.2 Prohibited Uses.
Holding 'H' prefix: uses per Part 11 s.1.1; development premature until H removed per Part 11 s.1.2 (s.1(a)).
Accessory buildings per Part 1 s.2.2; patios/decks Part 1 s.2.3; fencing Part 1 s.2.4; swimming pools Part 1 s.2.5; general parking Part 1 s.2.26; parking spaces, driveways and parking structures Part 2 s.1 (s.1).
Lots abutting Sheldon Creek may include abutting O2 land above top-of-bank in density, lot coverage and landscape area calculations, but not to increase maximum retail floor area (s.4.4).
Apartment buildings: driveways and parking spaces set back 2 m from a habitable-room window of ground floor or below-grade units; driveways and parking spaces set back at least 6 m from URM zones (s.4.5(c)).
Parking of trucks and trailers prohibited except while loading/unloading, for customer use, belonging to owner/tenant, or for charitable purposes (s.4.5(d)).
Parking lots (Table 7.4.2): divided into areas of max 150 spaces separated by a 3 m landscape area (may contain a 2.0 m walkway if landscape area is at least 4.5 m wide); set back min 3 m from any street line, reducible to 1 m with a decorative wall/fence not over 1.2 m high; on lands abutting Appleby Line, parking lots between a building and a lot line intersecting Appleby Line limited to 40 m width within 20 m of Appleby Line; no parking lot or driveway within 3 m of a habitable-room window of a basement or ground floor unit (2 m for apartment buildings).
Outside storage: only merchandise displayed for retail sale, not in a vehicle; perishable waste refrigerated inside or in a below-grade sealed deep collection system; non-perishable waste on lands abutting URM in a solid screen enclosure per Part 1 s.2.2.3 (s.4.6).
Loading/unloading not within 7.5 m of a URM zone; loading docks screened from adjoining URM zone (s.4.7).
Drive-throughs: landscaping to screen elevations facing a street; restaurant external conveyor pick-up not in a yard abutting a street and 15 m from URM; intercom stations 15 m from URM; other freestanding drive-through facilities 15 m from URM (s.4.8).
Industrial use retail sales: max 15% of total floor area for display/sale of products made on premises, 25% if total floor area under 1000 m2 (s.4.9).
Amenity area: 20 m2 per unit for apartment dwelling units and retirement homes (s.4.10).
Balconies not permitted on building elevations facing Corporate Drive (s.4.11).
Fencing on lands abutting a URM zone: min 1.8 m along the common boundary, solid screen or chain-link with dense year-round planting (s.4.12).
Contiguous lots developed under one comprehensive site plan are deemed one lot for zoning regulations (s.4.14).

Source: Part 7, Sections 1-4 (Table 7.2.1, Table 7.4.1, Table 7.4.2), 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-B, DL-C, DW, MXC, MXE, MXG, MXT, UC, UCR2, UCR3, UE, UMXE, UOP