Development Potential in Saanich

Saanich amended Zoning Bylaw 8200 through three bylaws in force 30 June 2024, covering definitions, parking and garden suites.

Secondary suites count toward the total. A garden suite and a secondary suite may both be permitted on one property, and owner occupancy requirements have been removed.

This is where most Saanich lots fall out, and it is the part almost nobody checks before writing an offer.

A lot qualifies only if it sits inside all three of the following at once:

The Urban Containment Boundary. The Sewer Service Area. A Primary Growth Area.

On top of that, the lot has to be under 4,050 square metres, and it must not sit inside a designated Transit Oriented Area, because a lot inside one is governed by the transit oriented area rules instead.

Outside the Urban Containment Boundary, the answer is one secondary suite. Not three units, not four.

Check the gates before the lot size. A large, well located lot outside the Sewer Service Area is worth less to a builder than a modest one inside it.

For projects at five and six units, lot coverage caps at 60 percent, open site space at 10 percent and front yard open space at 35 percent. The front setback drops to 4 metres, against 6 metres for a single family home, which is a meaningful gain on a shallow lot.

Parking is eliminated in the Transit Proximity Area, reduced in the Regular Transit Area, and otherwise set at one space per unit.

Five and six unit projects require a form and character development permit, so budget the time as well as the cost.

Tree removal requires exhausting site access alternatives first. On a treed Saanich lot, the trees often decide the site plan rather than the other way around.

The six unit tier needs a qualifying transit stop within 400 metres, meaning a stop served at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays.

Saanich treats Quadra Street routes 6A and 6B as two separate route variants rather than one frequent route. That disqualifies the Quadra corridor for the six unit tier. If a listing or a pro forma is leaning on Quadra frequency to reach six units, check it before you rely on it.

Zoning is only half the answer. The provincial policy manual states that existing section 219 covenants are not affected by the SSMUH legislation, and that a valid statutory building scheme registered on title limiting a property to one dwelling unit takes precedence over the density the zoning permits. The municipality can zone the land for more. The owner's first responsibility is still to uphold the building scheme.

That means a Saanich lot can clear all three gates, sit on the right side of every threshold, and still be capped at one house by a document that no zoning map will ever show you. Order a title search on the PID before you price density into an offer.

There is a full post on what a covenant or building scheme does to your density.