Zoning By-law 05-200

The City of Hamilton’s Comprehensive Zoning By-law No. 05-200 came into effect on May 25, 2005, and is being implemented in stages.

In July and October 2015, the City passed a series of zoning by-law amendments to add new zones for the rural area. The purpose of the Rural Zones is to implement the policies of the Rural Hamilton Official Plan and to create consistent zoning throughout the rural area.

In October 2016 and February 2018, the City passed a series of zoning by-law amendments to add new Transit Oriented Corridor (TOC) Zones. Furthermore, the City passed a zoning by-law amendment to add new Commercial and Mixed Use Zones (CMU) and an Utility Zone for the urban area in November 2017 but has been appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The purpose of the new TOC and CMU zones is to implement the policies of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan to create consistent zoning within the urban area.

The current phase of Zoning By-law No. 05-200 is focused on Residential Zones.

Unless otherwise noted, Sections 1 to 6 inclusive, and those Schedules A, B, C D, E and F which incorporate boundaries for Downtown Hamilton were passed by City Council and became effective on May 25, 2005.

Comprehensive amendments to Section 6: Downtown Zones were passed by City Council (By-law 18-114).

Section 7 - New Open Space and Parks Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 06-166) and became effective on June 14, 2006. New Conservation/Hazard Land Zones for the rural area passed by City Council (By-law 15-173) and became effective on July 10, 2015.

Section 8 - New Institutional Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 07-101) and became effective on March 28, 2007.

Section 9 - New Industrial Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 10- 128) and became effective on June 28, 2011. New Industrial Zones for the Airport Employment Growth District were passed by City Council (By-law 10-288) and became effective on April 10, 2015. A new Extractive Industrial Zone was passed by City Council (By-law 15-173) and became effective on July 10, 2015.

Section 10 - New Commercial and Mixed Use Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 17-240) and became effective on November 8, 2017.

Section 11 - New Transit Oriented (By-law 16-265) and became effective on October 12, 2016, and Phase 2 passed by City Council (By-law 18-032) and became effective on February 14, 2018.

Section 12 - New Rural Zones for the rural area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 15-173) and became effective on July 10, 2015.

Section 14 - New Waterfront Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 17-095) and became effective on May 24, 2017.

Section 15 - New Residential Zones for the urban area of Hamilton passed by City Council (By-law 22-197) and became effective on August 12, 2022.

You can use our interactive zoning map to search by address to determine the zoning of a specific property. The zone code can be used to find the list of permitted uses, regulations, and any special exceptions.

Here is an example. For this example, let's use Tim Hortons Field:

Look up the zoning for a property: Open the zoning mapping tool, and search the address "75 Balsam Avenue North". The mapping tool will zoom to the property and display the zoning on the map as City Wide Park (P3) Zone, with a Special Exception 42.

View the permitted uses & regulations: This page contains lists for each zone category. To find the permitted uses and regulations for the "P3" zone for Tim Hortons' Field, find the "Section 7: Open Space and Park Zones" and browse the list to find the zoning document titled "7.3 - City Wide (P3) Zone".

View the exceptions, provisions or figures: To find information on the Special Exception "42", find the “Schedules” list and browse for the "Schedule C - Special Exceptions". The Holding Provisions, Temporary Use Provisions, and Special Figures are also located in this section.

Screenshot of how to use the Interactive Zoning Map to find zoning code

Consolidated as of November 2022

Zoning By-law No. 05-200 includes a number of sections, which include: definitions, general provisions, parking regulations as well as the various zones.

The zones are structured to identify permitted and prohibited uses as well as the regulations applicable to a permitted use(s) (i.e. minimum or maximum setbacks, maximum size, etc.)

Definitions, general provisions and parking regulations work in conjunction with the zones and need to be reviewed for all development applications to determine, for example, if a proposed use meets the definition associated with that use and that the minimum number of parking spaces required for a proposed permitted use are being provided.

Full list of By-law amendments passed by The City of Hamilton amending Zoning By-law 05-200(PDF, 743.86 KB)

Introduction of New Zones

By-law	Zones	City Initiated Amendment
05-200	Downtown (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6)	Implementation of D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 Zones
06-166	Open Space and Parks (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5)	Implementing P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5 Zone
07-043	Industrial (M1)	Implementing M1 Site specifics 6, 7
07-101	Institutional (I1, I2, I3)	Implementing I1, I2, I3 Zones
10-128	New Industrial Zones (M2, M3, M4, M5, M6)	Implementation of new Industrial Zones
10-288 (see 15-118)	Many	New Airport Related M7 to M11 Zones
15-118	Airport Employment Growth District	Implementation of M7, M8, M9, M10 and M11 Zones
15-173 (portions still under appeal)	Rural Zones	Implementation of P6, P7, P8, M12, A1, A2, S1, S2, S3, E1 and E2 Zones
16-265 (specific sites still under appeal)	New Transit Oriented Corridor Zones	Introduction of the TOC1, TOC2, TOC3 Zones
17-095 (LPAT)	New Waterfront Zones for Pier 8	Introduction of the WF1, WF2 and EF3 Zones
17-240 (portions still under appeal)	New Commercial and Mixed Use Zones	Introduction of the C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C5a, C6, C7, and U3 Zones
18-032	New TOC 4 Zone, TOC extension to Eastgate	Introduction of TOC4 Zone, additional lands to be added to the LRT Corridor
18-092	New M13 and M14	Introduction of M13 & M14 Zones for the lands owned and operated by the Hamilton Port Authority
18-114	Downtown Zones	Revisions to the Downtown Zones to reflect the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan revisions.
21-071	Secondary Dwelling Units	Add new Secondary Dwelling Unit regulations
22-197	New Residential Zones	Creation of a Low Density Residential (R1) Zone and Low Density Residential - Small Lot (R1a) Zone.
24-051	New Residential R2 Zone	Amend the Low Density Residential (RI) Zone and Low Density Residential - Small Lot (Ria) Zone, Creation of the Low Density Residential - Large Lot (R2) Zone.

Zoning By-law 05-200

Contact Us

For Zoning Questions

Planning Division
City Hall, 5th Floor
Call 905-546-2424 Ext. 2719 or
Email [email protected]

For Building Permit Questions

Building Division
City Hall, 3rd Floor
Call 905-546-2720 or
Email [email protected]

Date modified

May 22, 2025

Zoning By-law 05-200