Georgian Bluffs zoning for small homes

Township of Georgian Bluffs, in the County of Grey. Population 11,100 (2021 census).

Backyard suite

A separate home in the yard of a house: garden suite, laneway suite or coach house, including prefab, modular or container units used this way.

Allowed with limits · Georgian Bluffs’s term: “secondary dwelling unit (in an ancillary building)”

Secondary dwelling units are permitted only in the Agricultural, Shoreline Residential and Rural zones; other zones need a zoning by-law amendment. A unit in an ancillary building also requires a lot of at least 0.4 ha and must meet the main building's yard requirements. Ontario's Planning Act (s. 35.1) overrides zoning provisions that would prohibit one unit in a building ancillary to a house on serviced urban land. [1][2]

Where allowed: Agricultural, Shoreline Residential and Rural zones; zoning by-law amendment required in all other zones (s. 5.26) [3]
Minimum lot size: 0.4 ha for a secondary dwelling unit in an ancillary building (s. 5.26 b iii) [3]
Setbacks: Ancillary building in interior side or rear yard and meeting the minimum yard requirements for the principal building of the zone (s. 5.26 b i, ii) [3]
Maximum height: Accessory buildings 5.0 m in R1, RM1, RMH, SR zones and AG/RU lots of 0.8 ha or less (Table 5.1) [3]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law stops municipalities from banning one residential unit in a building ancillary to a detached house, semi-detached house or rowhouse on a parcel of urban residential land, as long as the lot has no more than three units in total. Municipalities still set most other zoning rules, but provincial law limits parking requirements, minimum unit size, lot coverage and separation distances. These units are also exempt from development charges and parkland dedication. [2][4][5]

Tiny home on a foundation

A small house as the main home on its own lot. The key rule is any minimum dwelling size.

Allowed · Georgian Bluffs’s term: “detached dwelling”

The AG, RU, R1 and SR zone requirement tables set lot area, frontage, yards, coverage and height but no minimum dwelling floor area.

Minimum dwelling size: None stated in Tables 8.2 (AG/RU), 9.2-9.4 (R1) or 10.2-10.3 (SR) [3]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law sets no minimum total size for a house that is the main dwelling. The Building Code sets minimum room areas, so the smallest compliant dwelling is roughly 17.5 m² by the Province's own estimate. Municipalities may still set minimum floor areas for main dwellings in their zoning by-laws. The provincial ban on minimum sizes covers only additional residential units. [2][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Tiny home on wheels or park model

Living full-time in a tiny home on wheels or a park model home.

Allowed with limits · Georgian Bluffs’s term: “mobile home dwelling / travel trailer”

Mobile home dwellings are permitted only in the Residential Mobile Home (RMH) zone, which recognizes existing mobile home parks, and new trailer or mobile home parks are prohibited unless specifically permitted. Mobile homes and trailers are otherwise prohibited, and travel trailers may be occupied on a vacant lot only under a municipal trailer licence.

Where allowed: Mobile Home Dwelling permitted only in RMH zone (Table 9.1); mobile homes and trailers prohibited except where specifically permitted (s. 5.23 g); trailer parks and mobile home parks prohibited unless specifically permitted (s. 5.37) [3]
Maximum height: Mobile home unit max 4 m; minimum mobile home site 350 m² in RMH (Tables 9.3, 9.4) [3]
Approvals: Occupation of travel trailers, truck campers or tent trailers on a vacant lot only with a Municipal Trailer Licence or applicable licence/permit (s. 5.38.2) [3]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario has no single rule for living full-time in a tiny home on wheels. A unit on wheels can count as a 'building' that needs a permit and must meet the Building Code once it stays in one place, is hooked up to services or is anchored. Park model trailers are recognized only as seasonal recreational buildings. Municipalities may allow a portable garden suite under a temporary-use by-law for up to 20 years, with extensions of up to 3 years each. [11][6][2][8][7]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

A small sleeping building with no kitchen, usually beside a cottage or house.

Allowed with limits · Georgian Bluffs’s term: “sleeping cabin”

Sleeping cabins without cooking facilities are permitted in all Shoreline Residential, Agricultural and Rural zones on lots of at least 0.4 ha, with the number allowed depending on lot area. A sleeping cabin may contain a washroom.

Where allowed: All Shoreline Residential, Agricultural and Rural zones (s. 5.1.5) [3]
Minimum lot size: No sleeping cabins on lots under 0.4 ha (s. 5.1.5 a) [3]
Number allowed: 1 on lots 0.4-0.8 ha; 2 on lots over 0.8 ha (s. 5.1.5 b, c) [3]
Maximum size: 28 m² floor area (s. 5.1.5 d) [3]
Maximum height: 4.5 m, one storey, no loft, basement or cellar (s. 5.1.5 g-i) [3]
Kitchen: No kitchen or cooking facilities or appliances; a washroom is allowed (s. 5.1.5 e; s. 4 definition) [3]
Setbacks: In the Shoreline Residential zone: front yard setback of the principal use and accessory yard requirements for other yards (s. 5.1.5 f) [3]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law has no rule written specifically for bunkies or sleeping cabins. Whether one needs a building permit depends on the Building Code Act's definition of 'building' and the Code's shed exemption. That exemption covers only storage-use sheds, so it does not cover a structure used for sleeping. Municipal zoning rules for accessory buildings still apply. [8][6][2][12]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

The only by-law document on the Township zoning page is the January 22, 2020 council-approved PDF (file modified Feb 2023), with no consolidation date and no amendments after 2020 incorporated. One web search found no Township ARU amendment, but site-specific ZBAs to 2020-020 continue (e.g. Z03-26). The 2020 secondary-unit rules predate the 2022 Planning Act changes (s. 35.1, additional units on serviced urban residential lots), which may permit units in R1 zones that the by-law text does not; this was not confirmed from a municipal source. A site-specific temporary garden suite exists (R1-35-t), but no general temporary garden suite provision was found.

Sources

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