Driveway Widths and Parking Areas

There are rules in the zoning by-law about how wide your driveway can be and how much space it can take up of your total yard area. Check with us before you widen your driveway.

Residential driveways

The City has limits on residential driveway widths and the size of parking areas. Zoning By-law No. 79-200 includes these rules, which set limits for driveways and parking areas in the front, back, and side yards of homes. They apply to properties in zones R1A, R1B, R1C, R1D, R1E, R1F, R2 and R3.

Here are some of the rules:

• Parking area size: Only 30% of your lot area can be used for parking (25% in the R1F zone)
• Driveway width in front yards: The maximum width is 60% of your lot frontage or nine meters (whichever is smaller) for detached, duplex, and semi-detached homes. For townhouses, the limit is 60% of the frontage (55% in R1F zones)
• Rear yard parking: The maximum area of a rear yard that can be used as a parking area is 40 square metres 
• Side yard parking: Parking in the side yard can cover up to 67% of the area, but no more than 50 square meters
• If your property is a corner lot, or near a stop sign or intersection, further approval from Traffic is required

For questions about these rules, contact the Junior Zoning Administrator at 905-356-7521 ext. 4281.

Driveway alteration requirements

Driveway alteration requests must be accompanied by a site plan drawing which outlines the requested alteration. Requested alterations must comply with rules outlined within By-law 79-200, section 4.19.4. If your property is on a corner lot or near an intersection or stop sign, the traffic division must also approve the request in addition to the rules outlined in the by-law.

Requests made over the phone require an alteration plan made with the phone representative. Residents are encouraged to complete the online form with site plans, requesting a call back where necessary.

Site plans must include an aerial image overview of the property, with a markup of the proposed alterations with approximate measurements. 

General parking rules

Visit our Parking section to learn about the rules that regulate parking.