EM2 zone, Vaughan: General Employment Zone
Part 11, Section 11.2, Table 11-2 and Table 11-3 of the City of Vaughan Zoning By-law 001-2021.
A general industrial zone for manufacturing, warehousing, trucking, vehicle repair and similar heavier employment uses, with large minimum lots and deep buffers from any nearby homes or parks.
Is a property in the EM2 zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.
Check an addressWhat the EM2 zone permits
- Automotive detailing
- Commercial school
- Contractor's establishment
- Heavy equipment sales, rental and service establishment
- Intermodal facility
- Manufacturing or processing facility
- Motor vehicle body repair
- Motor vehicle repair
- Research and development
- Transportation terminal
- Vertical farming
- Warehousing and distribution facility
- Banquet hall
- Car wash
- Emergency service
- Night club
- Temporary sales office
- Accessory office (subject to Part 5 specific use provisions)
- Accessory retail (subject to Part 5 specific use provisions)
- Intermodal container (accessory; subject to Part 5 specific use provisions)
- Outside storage (accessory; subject to Part 5 specific use provisions)
Standards
| Requirement | By-law |
|---|---|
| Minimum lot area (interior lot) | 1800 m² |
| Minimum lot width (interior lot) | 30 m |
| Minimum front yard | 6 m |
| Minimum interior side yard | 6 m6.0 m; must be increased by 0.3 m for every 0.6 m of building height above 15.0 m (Table 11-3 note 1) |
| Minimum exterior side yard | 6 m |
| Minimum rear yard | 12 m |
| Maximum building height | 15 m15.0 m; may exceed 15.0 m if the minimum interior side yard is increased by 0.3 m for every 0.6 m of height above 15.0 m, to an absolute maximum of 25.0 m (Table 11-3 note 1) |
| Maximum lot coverage | No requirement |
| Minimum landscaped open space | 5 % |
Other provisions in this section
- Minimum setback of any building, structure or outside storage to any Residential Zone or Open Space Zone: 30 m (Table 11-3)
- Required landscape strip abutting a street line: 3 m wide (Table 11-3)
- Required landscape strip on any interior side lot line or rear lot line abutting a Residential Zone or the Open Space Zone: 4.5 m wide (Table 11-3)
- Building height may exceed 15.0 m only if the minimum interior side yard is increased by 0.3 m for every 0.6 m of height over 15.0 m; absolute maximum height 25.0 m (Table 11-3 note 1)
- Accessory office, accessory retail, intermodal container and outside storage are permitted only as accessory uses and are subject to the specific use provisions of Part 5 (Table 11-2 note 1)
- Not permitted in EM2: mineral aggregate operation, motor vehicle rental, motor vehicle sales, office (as a principal use), day care centre, ancillary retail (Table 11-2)
Source: Part 11, Section 11.2, Table 11-2 and Table 11-3, By-law 001-2021 (City of Vaughan), 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.