Port Moody folded the new rules into its existing zones. Here is what that means for your lot.

Port Moody's small-scale housing rules are among the more straightforward in the region to read, and there are two sentences in them worth slowing down for.

Which properties are covered

The city states that small-scale housing applies in all single detached residential RS zones, and in specific properties within multi-residential RT and RM zones.

The first half is broad and simple. If a property is in an RS zone, it is covered.

The second half carries a qualifier that changes its meaning entirely. Specific properties within RT and RM zones, not those zones generally. An owner of RT or RM land cannot conclude from the zone designation that their property is included, because inclusion was determined property by property.

All RS zones is a rule you can apply yourself. Specific properties within RT and RM is a question you have to ask the city.

The unit thresholds

Clean and conventional, matching the pattern most of the region uses.

• Lots under 280 square metres: a maximum of three dwelling units.
• Lots from 280 to 4,050 square metres: a maximum of four dwelling units.
• Lots in that same range within 400 metres of bus stops with frequent service of 15 minutes or less: a maximum of six dwelling units.

Port Moody uses 280 square metres, matching most of the region and differing from Maple Ridge's 281, covered in Maple Ridge Urban Infill Residential. The 4,050 square metre upper limit is about an acre and sits well above a standard residential parcel, so it binds only at the larger end.

The parking gap

Here is the second sentence worth attention, and it is notable for what it omits.

For the six-unit near-transit case, the city states it will eliminate minimum parking requirements. Clear enough.

What the city's small-scale housing page does not state is the parking requirement for the three and four unit cases away from transit. That is the situation most Port Moody lots are actually in.

We are not going to fill that in from a neighbouring municipality's rate. The region's figures range from none to 1.5 spaces per unit, as set out in parking requirements by city, so borrowing a number would be a guess dressed up as information. A Port Moody landowner outside a transit area should get the applicable rate from the city, and should treat it as a material input rather than a detail, because parking frequently decides whether the top unit fits.

How the rules were made

The sequence is worth knowing, mainly because it tells you which documents are current.

Port Moody completed its zoning bylaw updates on June 25 2024. Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3506 received first, second and third readings on April 8 2025. The city adopted a guide to small-scale housing on July 22 2025, and has noted work on updating its development approval procedures and fees bylaw.

That last item is a reminder that the approvals process around a project can change separately from the zoning that permits it. A landowner who confirmed the process a year ago should re-confirm it, since procedures and fees bylaws govern how an application is actually handled.

Different from Coquitlam, next door

Port Moody and Coquitlam share a boundary and diverge on both structure and transit.

Coquitlam rebuilt its residential zoning into four purpose-made small-scale zones, R-1 through R-4, one of which sets a minimum rather than a maximum unit count. It also states that it currently has no bus stops meeting the provincial criteria for frequent service, so its six-unit provision does not apply at this time. We cover that in Coquitlam's four small-scale zones.

Port Moody folded the rules into zones it already had, and does describe a six-unit case tied to frequent-service stops. Two adjacent municipalities, two different answers on both how the rules are structured and whether the transit provision is live.

For anyone comparing lots across the Tri-Cities, that is the practical lesson: proximity is not similarity. The rules stop at the municipal boundary.

What to confirm

• If the property is RT or RM, whether it is one of the specific properties included.
• The parking requirement that applies to your unit count and location, since the published position covers only the near-transit case.
• Whether the nearest stop meets the frequent service test, confirmed with the city.
• Whether a development permit or any additional approval applies, and what the current procedures bylaw requires.

Frequently asked