R4 zone, Hamilton: Mid Rise Residential (R4) Zone

What the R4 zone permits

• Artist Studio
• Community Garden
• Craftsperson Shop
• Child Care Centre
• Educational Establishment
• Lodging House
• Multiple Dwelling
• Multiple Dwelling Townhouse
• Office
• Personal Service
• Residential Care Facility
• Retirement Home
• Repair Service
• Restaurant
• Retail
• Social Services Establishment
• Tradesperson's Shop
• Urban Farm

Standards

Other provisions in this section

• 15.5.1.1 i) Craftsperson Shop, Child Care Centre, Office, Personal Service, Repair Service, Restaurant, Retail, Social Services Establishment, Studio and Tradesperson's Shop are permitted only as a secondary use to a Lodging House, Multiple Dwelling, Residential Care Facility or Retirement Home and only on the ground floor of the building.
• 15.5.1.1: An Office is limited to a maximum Gross Floor Area of 500.0 m2 per individual building.
• 15.5.1.2 Prohibited even as accessory use: Drive-Through Facility; Educational Establishment consisting of a College or University.
• 15.5.2.1 e) Minimum distance between buildings on a lot (Multiple Dwelling etc.): 6.0 m between exterior walls with no habitable-room windows; where at least one wall has habitable-room windows, 15.0 m for portions up to 14.0 m in height and 20.0 m for portions over 14.0 m.
• 15.5.2.1 f) Built form for new development/additions: rooftop mechanical screened from abutting streets; no parking or aisles between the building facade and a street line; principal entrances face the street with direct access from the public sidewalk; a sidewalk permitted within the Planting Strip for that purpose; minimum 50% of the ground floor facade containing a 15.5.1.1 i) use must be clear glazed windows and doors (frames, transoms, sidelights, doors with at least 50% clear glazing and a sill up to 0.6 m count; signage and opaque/spandrel glazing do not); a walkway minimum 1.5 m wide leading to a street is required within the interior side yard.
• 15.5.2.1 g) Multiple Dwelling on a lot with more than 10 Dwelling Units: minimum Amenity Area 5.0 m2 per Dwelling Unit, of which 3.0 m2 outdoors on or above ground (at least 50% contiguous) and 2.0 m2 indoors, exclusive to the residential use and functionally separated from public areas of any non-residential use.
• 15.5.2.1 h) Planting Strip: minimum 3.0 m wide where a lot line abuts an R1, R1a, R2, I1 or I2 zone; on Figure 46 (Schedule F) lots, minimum 2.0 m wide along any lot line abutting a Residential Zone (except R3, R4, R4a) or Institutional Zone.
• 15.5.2.1 i) Visual barrier required along any lot line abutting a Residential Zone, Institutional Zone or Downtown (D5) Zone, per Section 4.19.
• 15.5.2.1 k) and 15.5.2.2 k) Maximum two access driveways per lot, plus one additional driveway for every 150.0 m of cumulative lot line abutting a street.
• 15.5.2.1 l) and 15.5.2.2 n) Outdoor waste storage must be fully enclosed and not located in the front yard.
• 15.5.2.2 a) Multiple Dwelling Townhouse: not more than 8 Dwelling Units attached in a continuous row.
• 15.5.2.2 e) Townhouse minimum distance between buildings on a lot: 3.0 m (no habitable-room windows), 6.0 m (at least one wall with habitable-room windows), 12.0 m (both walls with habitable-room windows).
• 15.5.2.2 g) Townhouse new development: rooftop mechanical equipment located and/or screened from view of any abutting street.
• 15.5.2.2 i) Townhouse minimum Amenity Area 5.0 m2 per Dwelling Unit (communal, exclusive or combined; outdoor areas unobstructed, at or above grade, may include balconies and patios), plus 4.0 m2 per Dwelling Unit that is stacked above another unit or back-to-back with another unit, provided in communal outdoor at-grade areas each at least 20.0 m2.
• 15.5.2.2 j) Townhouse parking: no parking spaces between a facade and the front lot line or flankage lot line, except on individual driveways leading to garages forming part of a Dwelling Unit.
• 15.5.2.2 l) Townhouse: any Dwelling Unit adjacent to a yard abutting a street must have at least one pedestrian entrance in a facade facing a street.
• 15.5.2.2 m) Townhouse: floor level of any principal pedestrian entrance maximum 1.2 m above Grade.
• 15.5.3 Single Detached, Semi-Detached, Duplex, Triplex, Fourplex and Street Townhouse Dwellings legally existing at October 08, 2025 may be enlarged or altered subject to the R1 Zone regulations (Section 15.1.2), per Section 1.11 d), 4.12 j) and Planning Act s.34(10); an Additional Dwelling Unit is permitted per Section 4.33.
• 15.5.4 Community Gardens (Section 4.27) and Urban Farms (Section 4.26 (c)) as accessory uses are permitted only in the Rear Yard or on the roof-top of the principal building.
• Explanatory note: R4 zones are located along arterial roads as a transition between low density residential areas and denser development.