Exterior Shade Screens, Patio Covers & Awnings in Richmond

The Building Approvals FAQ states that one accessory building with a floor area less than 10 square metres, or 107.6 square feet, does not require a permit unless it contains operating mechanical equipment, and that the location must still conform to the Zoning Bylaw. That is one building, tied to floor area, and it releases you from nothing else.

Zoning Bylaw 8500 defines a building as a temporary or permanent structure having a roof supported by columns or walls, for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, materials, chattels or equipment. Read against that, a freestanding cover with a solid roof looks more like an accessory building than like the accessory structures the bylaw lists, which are things such as flagpoles, swimming pools and tennis courts. The two categories carry different height and siting rules, an open slat pergola may sit differently again, and because the City names none of these products, which category a specific structure falls into is a question for Richmond rather than something to assume from a drawing.

In residential zones permitting single detached, two-unit, three-unit and town housing, the bylaw caps detached accessory building height at 3.0 metres pitched and 2.5 metres flat under 10 square metres, and 4.0 metres pitched and 3.0 metres flat above it. Where these brackets apply, a flat roofed accessory building over 10 square metres is held to 3.0 metres rather than to the height of the house. The section opens with exceptions and the phrase unless otherwise specified in a zone, so the governing number for a given lot has to be confirmed with the City.

The bylaw allows detached accessory buildings up to 70.0 square metres in the rear yard provided the area of all detached accessory buildings located entirely or partially in the rear yard covers no more than 40 per cent of the rear yard. On a lot that already carries a shed or a detached garage, that ceiling is often the binding number rather than the setback.

Awnings, sunshades and canopies may project into a required yard for 2.0 metres or for 50 per cent of the length of the required yard, whichever is less. Separately, the bylaw states that cantilevered roofs, eaves and gutters may not touch or encroach over a property line.

The bylaw allows awnings, sunshades and canopies to project up to the lot line only where greater projection is required for weather protection purposes and the lot projection is approved by the City through the development permit or development variance permit process. Both conditions, not either.

The Building Approvals FAQ lists among the things not requiring permits minor modifications such as landscaping, including patios and decks less than 600 mm, or 2.0 feet, above grade. Richmond's InfoCentre answer states that a building permit is required for all deck structures. Because a raised deck is usually what a cover lands on, settle this one with Building Approvals before anyone orders steel.

Bylaw 8204 states that all lands within the boundaries of the City are designated as floodplain as shown in Schedule A. Not the low lying parts, the whole municipality. That is why flood protection comes up in Richmond conversations that would never raise it elsewhere.

The same bylaw states that no landfill or structural support required to support a floor system or pad shall be constructed, reconstructed, moved, extended or located within 7.5 metres of a dike right of way where a standard dike exists, within 30 metres where a standard dike does not exist, or within 30 metres of the natural boundary where no dike right of way exists and the land sits within the dike alignment.

The flood plain construction level provision is written about the finished concrete floor, the underside of any floor system damageable by flood waters, or the top of any pad supporting any space or room, where the building or structure is used or could be used for dwelling, business or the storage of goods susceptible to damage by flood water. Whether an open, unenclosed cover falls inside or outside that wording is a question for Building Approvals, and the answer may differ for a commercial patio and a residential one. This page does not state an answer because the City does not publish one.

Bylaw 8204 defines the flood plain construction level by reference to Schedule B, which is a map. There is no figure anyone can quote for your address from the published document. Ask the City for the site specific number.

Bulletin BUILDING-12, revised 2 July 2025, states that lots of clay composition with undisturbed soils, less than 15 cm of sandfill and firm bearing generally will not require geotechnical input, and that existing lots of clay composition where the soil has been disturbed, has questionable bearing capacity or has been backfilled will require an evaluation report by a geotechnical engineer. Where peat is present the City requires a geotechnical report, confirmation of compaction, foundation design by a registered professional engineer and Letters of Assurance. The bulletin is addressed to single and two family dwellings and does not speak to accessory structures.

The homeowner guide PC-32 states that it is the responsibility of the owner or agent to ascertain whether there are any easements or restrictive covenants registered against the property, giving as examples a minimum flood plain Building Elevation Restriction, a noise covenant and restricted access. Any of those can sit on a Richmond property with nothing visible on site to suggest it.

The design guidelines state that patios must not have structural adaptations such as attachments, canopies, roof coverings or extensions that connect to existing buildings, and that patios developed as dining spaces under existing building canopies and awnings are acceptable. Trading under a canopy the building already has is a different thing from adding one.

The guidelines require any partial enclosures or weather protection to have adequate ventilation and at least 50 per cent of the total area of the patio's perimeter walls open to the outdoors in a manner that provides cross ventilation, and state that fully enclosed patios are not permitted.

The guidelines state that the patio shall be designed in such a way that it can be removed within a 24 hour period. That is a design requirement rather than a fallback, and it is what rules out anchored posts and cast footings for anything running under the program. Separately, the City states on its Patio Program page that applicants are not required to secure a structural engineer for patio designs.

Overhead structures on a program patio carry a published clear, unobstructed height of 2.13 metres measured from sidewalk grade, and the guidelines give umbrellas as their example of an overhead structure. Other height caps exist but are narrow: planters are held to 0.91 metres and plants including the planter to 2.4 metres under the general guidelines, a 0.9 metre cap on patio structure elements with required safety measures excepted applies to patios on a sidewalk inside the Steveston Village Heritage Conservation Area, and a 1.1 metre figure applies to large public space patios in on-street parking spaces. Check which of these your patio type attracts.

The guidelines state that open-air fires and ground heaters are prohibited, that standing radiant heaters are permitted, that the heater must be approved for use in Canada with a ULC, CSA, Intertek, QAI or other approved mark in accordance with the Standards Council of Canada, and that standing radiant heaters must be placed in a clear, open space with a minimum 1.0 metre from any combustible material including NFPA 701 rated tent structures. All patios and heating equipment are subject to inspection by Richmond Fire-Rescue personnel.

For patios where approved propane heating devices are used, the guidelines require coverings or walls to be made of registered NFPA 701 flame retardant materials, with the label visible. That is decided at quoting stage, not at inspection.

Bulletin INFO-52 states that permanent patios are not managed by the Richmond Patio Program and are subject to their own fees and review times, where the operator is seeking additional occupant load and, or, making changes to the building structure. That is also where a genuinely permanent cover or enclosure would be assessed.

INFO-52 describes private property patios as located adjacent to a food service or neighbourhood public house establishment, operating seasonally between April 1 and October 31, while large public space patios and sidewalk patios can operate year-round. That changes what weather protection is worth specifying for each type.

INFO-52 states that a Heritage Alteration Permit is required for all patio structures located in the Steveston Village Heritage Conservation Area, regardless of construction value and location. Some can be issued by the Director of Development and others require City Council approval.

The Official Community Plan designates as development permit areas all multiple family sites throughout the City, all commercial sites throughout the City, and all mixed-use developments where residential and non-residential uses are combined on a site. So on a strata building or a retail frontage the starting position is that exterior work sits inside a development permit area until an exemption applies.

The OCP exempts exterior renovations of all buildings, except neighbourhood public houses, which cost less than $150,000, and separately new buildings or building additions of 100 square metres, or 1,076.4 square feet, or less. Those are the published thresholds rather than a determination about a particular project, and the City confirms which one applies.

The OCP carves pubs out of the general exemption, exempting exterior renovations of neighbourhood public houses only where the exterior renovations cost less than $5,000. For a pub patio cover in Richmond that effectively means a development permit conversation from the start.

Inside its Multiple Family Guidelines the OCP asks that private open space such as patios and decks in aircraft noise sensitive development mitigate the impact of aircraft noise by appropriate siting and, or, by using appropriate noise mitigation techniques and architectural treatment such as canopies, fences and landscaping that do not result in the area being indoor living space. The same limit follows enclosed balconies. These are guidelines for multi-family development permit applications, so they shape a strata terrace or a townhouse patio going through a development permit rather than a cover added to an existing detached house.

Where a development permit application falls inside the City's Aircraft Noise Sensitive Development Map the OCP requires an acoustic report, and asks that a trained professional assist in the design of the private patios and balconies to minimize the noise levels with recommendations for building material selection and space planning. Separately, PC-32 tells owners to check title for a registered noise covenant.

For a commercial patio on strata property the City states that an application fee is required along with a site plan and permission from the property owner, strata, and, or, property management company. The strata approval is not a separate private matter to sort out afterwards.

The OCP also designates as development permit areas the Environmentally Sensitive Areas shown in its Attachment 2, all marinas, and all sites abutting to the edge of the Agricultural Land Reserve. None of these apply broadly, the City maps the ESAs, and City staff verify whether a property is affected, so this is a check on the map rather than an assumption.

The OCP exempts installation of fencing, small shed or other structures not requiring building permits and landscaping of lawns on privately-owned lands designated ESA, as long as such works do not require extensive disturbance of existing vegetation or soil cover. The City may still ask for a Qualified Environmental Professional to review it.