Municipal
Zoning for your food business
Before you sign a lease, check that the zone for the address allows your use — and in Victoria, ask Permits and Inspections to confirm the space’s legal use too, which can differ. Cities define uses narrowly: a restaurant, a take-out, a drive-through and food processing are often separate uses, and a use a zone doesn’t list is not allowed there. Making food with no counter is usually an industrial use: Langford excludes primary processing of meat, poultry and fish from its light-industrial use, and Nanaimo excludes processing livestock, fish and poultry from its food-processing use. Victoria’s 2018 zoning bylaw bans drive-throughs in every zone it covers.
Changes are coming
- No parking variance to move into an existing Victoria space — proposed, no date set; it may not happen. What changes
- Saanich’s new parking and loading rules — proposed, no date set; it may not happen. What changes
- Who issues it
- Your municipality
- Cost
- Saanich will confirm zoning in a letter for $200, within 10 working days.
- Forms and pages
Who needs it
Restaurants & cafésBefore you sign a leaseBakeriesBefore you sign a leaseCaterers & personal chefsIf you set up your own kitchenDelivery-only & ghost kitchensIf you set up your own kitchenPackaged food makersIf you set up your own kitchenKombucha, juice & coffee makersIf you set up your own kitchenBreweries, wineries, cideries & distilleriesCheck zoning for your production site firstGrocers & specialty food shopsBefore you sign a leaseButchers, delis & fishmongersBefore you sign a lease
The rules behind this page
- Starting a BusinessCity of Victoria · No date shown
- Zoning Bylaw 2018(p. 16 · Food and Beverage Service; Light Industrial)City of Victoria · Cover reads "Consolidated on June 9, 2022 up to Bylaw No. 22-048"; amendment table runs to Bylaw 26-060 (July 30, 2026)
- Zoning Bylaw 2018(p. 19 · drive-throughs prohibited; unlisted uses prohibited)City of Victoria · Cover reads "Consolidated on June 9, 2022 up to Bylaw No. 22-048"; amendment table runs to Bylaw 26-060 (July 30, 2026)
- Zoning Bylaw No. 8200(p. 22 · Restaurant (printed p. 2-12))District of Saanich · Sections 5.5–5.6 marked "B.10138 2025"; latest amendment marker B. 10299 (2026)
- Zoning Bylaw No. 8200(p. 16 · Fast Food Restaurant; Food Processing (printed p. 2-6))District of Saanich · Sections 5.5–5.6 marked "B.10138 2025"; latest amendment marker B. 10299 (2026)
- Zoning Bylaw No. 300 (consolidated)(p. 45 · Industrial use, light)City of Langford · Page footers dated “8 Sep 26”
- Zoning Bylaw No. 4500, Part 5 – Definitions(p. 6 · Food and Beverage Processing)City of Nanaimo · Amendments to 4500.158 (2019-DEC-02) and later; file dated May 2026
- Letter of Zoning ConfirmationDistrict of Saanich · No date shown
- Starting a restaurant in B.C.Government of British Columbia · Last updated on July 29, 2026