Land-use bylaw 186
What is a structure on Denman?
Denman has its own land-use bylaw. That book of rules is Bylaw 186. It says what you can put on land here. Other islands have their own books. They do not say the same things.
What counts as a building
On Denman, a building is a thing with a roof. People use it to live in, meet in, keep animals that are not wild, or store things. The bylaw’s own list includes mobile homes, woodsheds, garden sheds, tool sheds, and outhouses.
“includes mobile homes, woodsheds, garden sheds, tool sheds and outhouses”
What counts as a structure
A structure is anything someone built or put up that sits on the land or in the water. Some things do not count: cars, boats, parking lots, sidewalks, and decks that sit on the ground.
“detached ground-level patios and decks”
Tents
If you sleep in a tent on a farm campsite for visitors, Denman’s bylaw calls that tent a sleeping unit. A bedroom in a house is a sleeping unit too. So is an RV on a campsite.
“a tent or recreational vehicle on a campsite used for agri-tourism accommodation”
A second home that can move
A second home on a lot can be a moveable housing unit. That is a kind of extra dwelling the bylaw names.
“secondary dwelling unit means a dwelling unit, which may be a moveable housing unit”
Other islands wrote different words
Gambier’s bylaw says you may not live in a mobile home. Lasqueti’s bylaw says six tent sites count as one house. Mayne’s bylaw says a tiny home on wheels is a camper, not a mobile home.