Exterior Screens & Patio Covers in Delta, Ladner & Tsawwassen

Delta's wording is that one accessory building with a floor area less than 10 m2 (107.6 ft2) does not require a permit, unless it contains operating mechanical equipment, and that however, the location must conform to Delta's zoning requirements. Two limits live inside that one sentence. It is a single building, and it buys you nothing at all against the zoning rules set out below.

Delta's permit list includes constructing a new principal building, constructing a new accessory building including a coach house or garden suite, and adding to an existing building. Its not required list covers minor modifications such as cupboards, planters, partial height room dividers, painting, and landscaping, including patios and decks less than 600 mm (1 ft 11 in) above grade. Notice what that second exemption is actually about: height above grade, on a patio or a deck, filed under landscaping. It says nothing about putting a roof over one. In our reading that is why the City runs a separate online application path called Carport or Sundeck Additions and a second called Exterior Addition, and why both ask for a site plan, elevations and a cross section showing footing sizes and depth.

Delta defines an accessory structure as a structure that is customarily used in conjunction with the principal use of a lot and may accommodate an accessory use, is situated on the same lot as the principal use, and does not share a common wall or roof with the principal structure on the lot. Read against that definition, a cover tied into the house roof is not an accessory structure at all, so it takes the principal structure rules. A freestanding cover is an accessory structure and takes a different set. The two sets are nowhere near each other.

Delta's RS1 zone sets minimum setbacks in two columns, principal structure and accessory structure: front 6.5 m against 12 m, interior side 1.5 m against 1 m, exterior side 3.5 m against 6.5 m, and rear 9 m against 1 m. RS2 and RS3 carry the same figures. RS4 through RS7 hold the accessory column at 12 m front and 1 m rear while easing the principal rear setback to 7.5 m where the structure is 1 or 1.5 storeys in height. Those are table readings from sections 11.10.6, 11.20.6, 11.30.5, 11.40.6, 11.50.6, 11.60.6 and 11.70.6 rather than quotations, because the bylaw sets them out as a grid. What we take from them, rather than what the bylaw says about it, is that on a shallow lot a freestanding roof at the back of the garden is often the only version that fits, and on a deep lot the attached version is the only one that is not stranded 12 m off the street line.

Section 11.10.7 caps an accessory structure at a maximum of one storey, 3 m to the top of the roof for flat or mansard type roofs or to the mean level between the eaves and the ridge for sloping roofs, and 3.75 m to the roof ridge for a pitched roof building. Detached garages get their own higher brackets at 3.75 m and 4.6 m, which is a useful reminder that the bylaw brackets by what the structure is rather than by what it looks like. Delta's eApply guide for detached accessory buildings repeats the 3.75 m ridge and 3 m flat figures in its plan requirements, so they are live at counter stage.

For unenclosed balconies, chimneys, porches and sundecks the bylaw allows a projection by no more than 1.2 m and to no closer than 5.5 m for a principal structure from the rear lot line. Separately, the total width of permitted projections measured parallel to the building face shall not exceed 50 per cent of the width of the respective face of the building in the front, rear or exterior side setback areas, and shall not exceed 35 per cent in the interior side setback area. Two tests, and both have to pass. The exception is written for the front only: unenclosed covered porches may extend across the full face of a building in the front or exterior side setback area, and the bylaw does not extend that to the rear.

Section 6.2.16 applies where an accessory structure that is not an accessory dwelling unit is permitted on a lot in an RS or RD Zone, and clause (c) reads that a covered deck or a porch is not permitted for an accessory structure. Delta reproduces the clause inside its own detached accessory building application guide, so it is live at permit stage rather than buried, although that guide's lettering and its description of the scope are behind the current consolidation. Whether the clause reads against a freestanding patio cover as such, or only against a covered deck added onto an existing shed or detached garage, is a question for Delta. The City publishes no interpretation and this page is not going to invent one.

Lot coverage, unless otherwise specified in a particular zone, means the percentage of a lot covered by all buildings and structures that extend more than 0.6 m above the ground surface, excluding certain multi-unit residential, commercial or industrial parking structures up to 3 m in height whose roof is designed and constructed to be used as open space. Maximum lot coverage is 45 per cent in RS1 through RS5, 40 per cent in RS6 and RS7 and 41 per cent in RS8. A roof on posts is inside that definition.

Section 6.2.18 provides that in the RS1 to 7, RSC and RD zones, not more than 60 per cent of the total area of the lot shall be covered by impermeable material, excluding swimming pools, and that the portion of an eave which is deeper than 0.6 m shall be considered to be impermeable material. Delta defines impermeable material as buildings, structures, asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, and wood, grouted pavers and other surfaces that prevent water from penetrating into the ground beneath. The zone list matters and has to be carried with the figure, because this ceiling is written for the single detached and duplex zones and does not reach a commercial, mixed use or agricultural property.

Delta's exterior addition guide lists calculation of the lot area and calculation of the lot area covered by impermeable material as required items, with the note that a maximum of 60 per cent of the total lot area may be covered by impermeable material and that impermeable material restricts water from penetrating into the ground. The same requirement appears on the carport and sundeck guide and on the detached accessory building guide, which also asks for a floor space ratio calculation and a site coverage calculation on the same site plan.

In the RS and RD zones other than RSF, not less than 50 per cent of the front yard shall be occupied by landscaping, and porches and verandas are not considered front yard area for the purpose of determining front yard landscaping. Delta's carport and sundeck guide reproduces the rule together with its exception: it does not apply to lots with a front lot line abutting Georgia Strait or Boundary Bay.

Delta requires a demolition or decommission permit to remove a building or structure larger than 10 m2 in building area and taller than 600 mm, and names a porch, sundeck, carport or garage in the same list. The City publishes the demolition permit fee as 153 dollars. Worth putting in the budget where an existing carport or sundeck is coming off before new work goes on.

Delta's wording is that for low lying or waterfront or adjacent properties there may be a restrictive covenant on the title outlining a minimum building elevation for habitable space or minimum setbacks from bodies of water, that any plans for redevelopment must be consistent with the terms of the covenant, that if there is no restrictive covenant you may be required to enter into one at time of building permit or as part of a development application, and that information about minimum flood elevations across Delta is available on DeltaMap. In our experience that makes the title search part of the site visit here rather than paperwork afterwards. Whether an open, unenclosed cover falls inside wording written about habitable space is a question for Delta, and this research found no published answer.

Delta states in a single line that minimum flood construction levels do not apply to agricultural buildings, and it states it immediately after repeating the covenant rule for new residential buildings and structures on low lying agricultural property. On a farm address the covenant question and the building type question can therefore come back with different answers.

Delta points to the Dike Maintenance Act, which states that changes must not be made to a dike or to the area adjacent to a dike without the prior written approval of the Inspector of Dikes, and says that Delta staff would consult with the provincial Dike Safety Program as part of reviewing a building permit or development application, and that dike improvements or a right-of-way to accommodate future dike improvements may be required as part of your development. Delta reviews, the province decides. On a dike adjacent lot that is an extra party and an extra timeline, and in our experience it is the single thing most likely to move an installation date in this municipality.

Delta states that developments along the Boundary Bay shorefront require an engineered seawall to protect properties and buildings from flooding and wave action of the sea, that seawalls must be designed by a professional structural engineer and conform to good engineering practice, and that developments with existing seawalls will require engineering certification. The dimensions are published separately, in the City's Form U, which states that the crest elevation of the seawall must be 4.1 m GSC, that the crest elevation can be increased by 1.4 m in the future, that the design should include a wave deflector, and that the seawall must have adequate erosion protection at the toe.

The areas are ND1 Fraser River Escarpment and ND10 Cougar Creek Headwaters in North Delta and SD2 English Bluff, the Tsawwassen escarpment. Ladner is on neither list. Inside those areas Delta states that a development permit is required for any building or structure requiring a building permit as per the Delta Building and Plumbing Bylaw, subject to listed exceptions, and that accessory buildings or structures such as garden sheds and gazebos less than 10 m2 in area, that do not require excavation of soil and are associated with single family residential use, will not require a development permit but are subject to all other requirements such as zoning setbacks and flood protection.

Delta's Bylaw 6349 defines a stream to include a ditch, and the City's Form T2 interpretation guide confirms that open water streams, sloughs and ditches are considered streams. In a municipality laid out around agricultural drainage that is a wide net. This page prints no distance, because the documents read for it publish none, and a width invented for a web page is worse than no width at all. Confirm the permit area boundary for your address with Delta.

Form T2 states that accessory buildings such as detached garages and sheds, or structures such as patios or decks, associated with single family residential use will not require a development permit but are subject to all other requirements such as zoning setbacks, flood protection and geotechnical requirements, and that accessory buildings associated with other types of land use will require one. Separately it states that a development permit is not required for any agricultural use regardless of where it occurs, inside or outside the Agricultural Land Reserve, and that one is not required to build or add on to a farmhouse. So houses are exempt and agriculture is exempt. A commercial patio on the identical piece of ground is not, which is the clearest published example in Delta of a rule that bites on one sector and not on the other.

Delta's own diagram puts tool sheds, pools, tennis courts and detached garages into the accessory farm residential facilities category. Delta states that if you are placing or removing any amount of fill or soil to construct or access an accessory farm dwelling unit, accessory farm residential facility or a structure permitted for non-farm use, you require Agricultural Land Commission Notice of Intent approval, and that there are no soil or fill exemptions for these structures. A farm house or farm building gets a 1,000 m2 allowance before a Notice of Intent is needed. Post holes are soil removal, so this is worth settling before a site visit turns into a quote.

Delta states that the soil and fill area is the total area of land requiring fill placement or soil removal to construct the structure or building and its associated infrastructure, and that this may include the building footprint, driveway access, patios, parking, landscaped areas and any site grading. On an acreage that means the whole working area rather than the roof.

The guideline asks that development incorporate weather protection through structures, canopies, awnings and overhangs with understructure lighting where appropriate, that canopies should have a minimum vertical clearance of 2.2 m measured from the sidewalk, and that canopies should preferably extend at least 1.8 m from the building face while maintaining a minimum 0.6 m setback from the outer face of the curb. In our experience that combination is the whole job on a village frontage: the roof, the light underneath it, and the line it holds against the curb.

Delta states that front patios, display areas, seating and other semi-private space in front of businesses are encouraged, and that sidewalk patios are subject to the conditions of a patio permit. It names the permit without publishing a design guideline document behind it, which is a difference worth flagging to any operator who has worked in a city that does publish one. Confirm the conditions with Delta before a drawing is commissioned.

The purpose list for the permit area covers revitalization of an area in which a commercial use is permitted, establishment of objectives for the form and character of commercial, industrial and multiple family residential development, objectives to promote energy conservation, water conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and protection of development from hazardous conditions. The area description refers to the dike system. So a canopy or a patio structure on that frontage is being reviewed on two grounds at the same time.

Section 15.30.5(b) permits railings on rooftop decks that are 1.3 m or less in height, glass panels that are 2 m or less in height, arbors, canopies, sun sails, pergolas and cabanas to project above the zone's maximum height. Those are the only places in the whole bylaw where a sun sail, a cabana or a pergola appears as a regulated product. For an operator that is a short answer to a question that usually takes a meeting.

Section 15.30.4(b)(i) allows canopies, awnings and overhangs intended for weather protection to encroach beyond the property line, subject to approval from the General Manager, Engineering. The same wording appears in at least one Ladner comprehensive development zone. Note that it is an approval rather than a right, and that the approval names a specific officer.

Delta states that approval from the Fraser Health Authority is required for several premise types, including food premises such as restaurants, bars and coffee establishments and food production or processing facilities, and that Fraser Health should be engaged early in the building permit preparation process. On a seasonal opening date that ordering matters considerably more than it sounds.

This research found no City of Delta seasonal patio program document, no patio design guidelines document, no temporary patio bylaw and no published clearance figure for outdoor heating on a commercial patio on delta.ca. The Ladner Village Core canopy figures appear only inside that development permit area and were not found in the Tsawwassen or Scott Road equivalents. If your frontage sits outside Ladner Village Core, the honest answer is that you are asking the City rather than reading a document, and it is better to know that before a designer starts work.

The Zoning Regulation applies to all land, buildings, and structures and the surface of water within the boundaries of Tsawwassen First Nation as defined by the Zoning Map contained in Schedule B, including all Tsawwassen Fee Simple Interest lands, community lands held by Tsawwassen First Nation, and all other interests held on Tsawwassen First Nation lands. If an address sits inside those boundaries then the City of Delta path in the panels above is not the one that applies. The boundary is defined by a map, so confirm which jurisdiction you are in before anyone prices an application.

The TFN Building Regulation does not apply to uncovered decks, patios and terraces not exceeding 0.62 metres above grade, alongside fences, concrete, asphalt or similar surfacing of land, retaining structures less than 1.22 metres in height and portable swimming pools not anchored to the ground. Delta's equivalent exemption is written about patios and decks less than 600 mm above grade and does not use the word uncovered. Read plainly, that means putting a roof over a low deck takes it out of the exemption on Tsawwassen Lands regardless of how low the deck is. It is the sharpest single difference between the two rulebooks that this research found.

Section 4.10 provides that eaves, sunlight control projections and canopies may project no more than 1.2 m into a required front or rear setback and 0.6 m into a required side setback. Sunlight control projections is a category almost no Lower Mainland zoning bylaw uses, and having it named with a figure attached settles an argument before it starts.

Section 4.12 provides that no structure shall be constructed or located within 15 m of any structure for flood protection or seepage control, or any dyke, within 15 m of the high water mark for any parcels fronting on Georgia Strait, within 30 m of the natural boundary of any fish bearing watercourse, or within 15 m of the natural boundary of any non fish bearing watercourse. It may be varied only by a resolution of Executive Council supported by an environmental assessment from a qualified professional.

Section 4.17 provides that no person shall attach an accessory building to a principal building unless the accessory building meets the regulations for the principal building. One sentence, settling in a line what Delta arrives at through a definition. The practical effect is the same on both sides of the boundary: attaching it changes which setbacks and which heights you are working to.

In the RS2 single family zone the accessory building height is 5.0 m, against Delta's 3 m to the top of a flat roof, and maximum parcel coverage in that zone is 40 per cent. Section 4.21 provides that on a parcel in an RS or RM zone no more than three accessory buildings or structures are permitted, which is a limit Delta does not impose in the same form. TFN publishes separate RS1, RS3, RM and SF zones with numbers of their own, so confirm the figures for your parcel rather than carrying these across to it.

Section 4.14 excludes from the coverage of a parcel gutters, cornices, sills, bay windows, chimneys, eaves or other similar building features where they do not touch the ground, exterior open stairs, parking structures where 60 per cent or more of the roof deck is soft landscaping, uncovered balconies, decks under 0.6 m in height, sidewalks, patios and hard surfacing of the ground, and driveways, aisles and parking spaces. So the decision that puts you inside the building permit here also puts you inside the coverage calculation. The two move together.