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Zoning · Vaughan · Mixed use

EMU zone, Vaughan: Employment Commercial Mixed-Use Zone

Part 8, Section 8.2, Table 8-2 and Table 8-3 of the City of Vaughan Zoning By-law 001-2021.

A commercial mixed-use zone in employment areas that allows offices, shops, restaurants, hotels and community uses in mid-rise buildings (11 to 32 m tall) but does not allow any residential dwellings.

Is a property in the EMU zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.

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What the EMU zone permits

  • Art studio
  • Business service (max 30% of GFA as part of mixed-use development, note 2; max 10,000 m² GFA per lot, note 5)
  • Automotive detailing
  • Clinic (max 30% of GFA as part of mixed-use development, note 2)
  • Commercial school
  • Financial institution (note 2; note 5)
  • Fueling station (only if legally existing on the effective date; Part 5 use provisions)
  • Funeral services (note 5; not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Health and fitness centre (note 2; note 5)
  • Hotel (note 5; not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Hotel (small scale) (note 5; not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Micro-manufacturing (Part 5 use provisions)
  • Office
  • Personal service (note 2; note 5)
  • Pet care establishment (note 2; note 5)
  • Pet services establishment (note 2; note 5)
  • Place of assembly (not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Place of entertainment (note 5)
  • Restaurant (note 2; note 5)
  • Restaurant, take-out (note 2; note 5)
  • Retail (note 2; note 5)
  • Retail, convenience (note 2; note 5)
  • Service or repair shop (note 2; note 5)
  • Supermarket (note 2; note 5)
  • Theatre (note 5)
  • Veterinary clinic (note 2)
  • Community facility (not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Community garden (Part 5 use provisions)
  • Day care centre (not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Emergency service
  • Place of worship (Part 5 use provisions; not permitted abutting a freight rail facility)
  • Public parking
  • Urban square
  • Outdoor display area (accessory; Part 5; note 2)
  • Outdoor patio (accessory; Part 5; note 2)
  • Seasonal outdoor display area (accessory; Part 5)
  • Temporary sales office (Part 5 use provisions)

Standards

RequirementBy-law
Minimum lot area (interior lot)1800 m²
Minimum lot width (interior lot)30 m
Minimum front yard7 mMinimum front yard 7 m; a required build-to zone of 5-10 m applies to a minimum of 50% of the street frontage (55% on a corner lot); elsewhere only the minimum setback applies (Table 8-3 note 5)
Minimum interior side yard1.5 m
Minimum exterior side yard5 m
Minimum rear yard7.5 m
Maximum building height32 mMaximum height 32 m; minimum height 11.0 m; podium and tower requirements apply to any building taller than 20.0 m; 45-degree angular plane from rear and interior side lot lines where abutting a Residential Zone other than RM2/RM3 (note 6)
Minimum landscaped open space10 %

Other provisions in this section

  • No residential uses (apartment, townhouse, live-work, retirement residence, etc.) are permitted in the EMU Zone (Table 8-2).
  • Not permitted: car wash, commercial storage, motor vehicle body repair/rental/repair/sales, shopping centre, drive-through, home occupation, secondary suite, short-term rental, long term care facility, school, post-secondary school (Table 8-2).
  • Table 8-2 note 2: uses marked (2) are permitted only as part of a mixed-use development and together are limited to a maximum of 30% of the gross floor area of all uses on the lot.
  • Table 8-2 note 5: the maximum gross floor area on each lot for all uses marked (5) is 10,000.0 m².
  • Table 8-2 note 6: uses marked (6) are not permitted abutting a freight rail facility.
  • Table 8-2 note 1: uses marked (1) are subject to specific use provisions in Part 5.
  • Fueling station permitted only if legally existing and used on the lot on the effective date of the By-law ('E').
  • Minimum building height 11.0 m (Table 8-3).
  • Required build-to zone 5-10 m from the street line, applying to a minimum of 50% of the street frontage (55% on a corner lot); only the minimum setback applies on other portions of the lot (Table 8-3 note 5).
  • Minimum ground floor height 6 m; minimum street wall: no requirement (Table 8-3).
  • 45-degree angular plane applies from the rear lot line and interior side lot line where the EMU Zone abuts any Residential Zone except RM2 and RM3 (Table 8-3 note 6).
  • Podium and tower requirements apply to any building with a height greater than 20.0 m: minimum podium height 10.5 m, maximum podium height 20 m, minimum tower separation 15 m, minimum tower setback from any rear lot line and interior side lot line 7.5 m; tower step-back and tower floor plate: no requirement (Table 8-3).
  • Parking: surface parking lot permitted (but prohibited in the front yard and exterior side yard, driveways excepted, note 7); above-grade parking structure not permitted; below-grade parking structure permitted (Table 8-3).
  • Minimum landscape strip abutting a street line 5 m wide; minimum 3 m landscape strip on any interior side or rear lot line abutting a Residential Zone or Open Space Zone (Table 8-3).
  • Minimum landscape area 10% of the lot (Table 8-3).
  • Table 8-3 note 1 (where referenced): requirement does not apply to existing buildings and structures.

Source: Part 8, Section 8.2, Table 8-2 and Table 8-3, 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.

Other mixed use zones in Vaughan: CMU, GMU, HMU, KMS, LMU, MMS, MMU, V1, V2, V3, V4, WMS