Ryder Lake: the upland the City is holding in reserve

Ryder Lake sits above the city, on the slopes that rise toward Elk Mountain. The facts below come from provincial place-name records and the City’s own plans.

01

On the south-east edge of Chilliwack

BC Geographical Names places the community west of Lookout Ridge on the east side of Chilliwack. It adopted the community name in 1983 and the lake name in 1950. The City’s Eastern Hillsides plan describes the neighbouring hillside area as roughly 8 km from downtown and bounded on the west by the Ryder Lake uplands.

02

A farming and logging settlement

The Encyclopedia of BC describes Ryder Lake as a farming and logging settlement on the slopes of Elk Mountain. It is named for John Ryder, who homesteaded at Cheam in 1868 and later planted an orchard at Ryder Lake.

03

Distances by road

From Fire Hall 5 at 49285 Elkview Road, without traffic: about 12 km and 18 minutes to Fire Hall 4 in Sardis (45433 South Sumas Road), and about 13.5 km and 19 minutes to Chilliwack City Hall (8550 Young Road).

Drive times use OpenStreetMap road routing with no traffic. For the other side of Chilliwack, see the Columbia Valley guide.

The City’s 2025 community plan treats Ryder Lake as land to hold, not land to grow. Anyone buying or selling there is working inside that policy.

01

The City’s policy: a development reserve

Policy 1.6 of the Official Community Plan says to maintain Ryder Lake as a medium to long-term development reserve. It lists three aims. Preserve the upland for development beyond the life of the plan by keeping the current rural estate density. Limit development to what existing zoning permits. Support appropriate farming on Reserve properties.

02

The land-use label: Rural Reserve

The plan applies its Rural Reserve designation to non-agricultural parcels in Ryder Lake and to rural-upland parcels in the Eastern Hillsides. The stated purpose is to keep density at its current level to protect steep slopes and geologically sensitive areas, with the lowest density and most rural lifestyle. The limit is up to 0.25 units per hectare. That is one home per 4 hectares (about 10 acres), up to three storeys. The plan describes the typical building as a single house with accessory dwelling units on very large parcels, or a hobby-farm building.

03

Outside the growth area

The plan’s urban structure shows Ryder Lake as rural land outside the Development Area. It says the City can grow for the next 20 years without expanding the Urban Growth Boundary or the Development Area. It adds that an expansion will not be considered in the life of the plan. The City adopted the plan on 16 December 2025.

Ryder Lake is split. Some parcels are inside the Agricultural Land Reserve and some are outside it, and the line decides much of what a parcel can do. Check any parcel on the Land Commission’s free ALR map.

01

Reserve land and its limits

The City’s Agricultural Area Plan says 67% of Chilliwack (17,322 ha) is in the Reserve. It names two areas of best farmland: the Fraser Valley bottom, about 14,000 ha, and Ryder Ridge in the Cascade foothills, with about 950 ha of agricultural land.

02

More unused land than the valley floor

The same plan, using the provincial land use inventory, estimated that 32% of the Ryder Lake area’s farmland was unused in 2004. The figure for the valley bottom was 4%. The data are old, but they show a different pattern of use from the lowland farms.

03

Some parcels are not in the Reserve

The community plan treats Ryder Lake’s non-agricultural parcels as their own land-use type. Reserve status differs from parcel to parcel, and a parcel’s Reserve status changes the rules for a second home, events and subdivision. Check for your parcel: the Land Commission’s free ALR map.

04

A second home on Reserve land

The Land Commission allows a principal residence of up to 500 m² (5,382 sq ft) and one additional residence of up to 90 m² (969 sq ft) on a parcel of 40 ha or less, if one home exists when construction starts. A secondary suite has to be inside the principal residence. The City’s zone can be stricter.

05

Events and farm class

On Reserve land, weddings and events are allowed without an application if the land is assessed as farm and the event meets the ALC’s limits: 150 people, under 24 hours, 10 events a year, no permanent facilities. BC Assessment classes land as farm when the operation earns a minimum gross income: $2,500 a year for 0.8 to 4 ha, $2,500 plus 5% of farm value above 4 ha for larger operations, and $10,000 below 0.8 ha. The Columbia Valley guide sets these rules out in full.

The City’s Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 uses five agricultural and rural zones for large parcels: Agricultural Upland (AU), Agricultural Residential (AR), Rural (R), Rural Hillside (RH) and Rural Residential (RR). The smallest lot a zone allows is the first thing to read, because it sets whether a parcel can be split.

01

One house, plus one accessory home

Each of these zones allows one principal dwelling per lot. In the AU, AR and R zones an accessory dwelling unit can be a secondary suite, coach house, garden suite, manufactured home or park model trailer. A detached unit is held to 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) of floor area within a 230 m² (2,476 sq ft) limit for rural ancillary buildings, and to 6.5 m in height. Houses can be 10 m high.

02

The Reserve overlay

On Reserve land the Land Commission’s 90 m² (969 sq ft) cap applies on top of the zone. Where the two differ, the smaller number is what can be built.

03

Which zone is yours

The City’s online zoning map shows each parcel’s zone. This guide lists the City’s agricultural and rural zones but does not match zones to roads, because the published sources do not. Check for your parcel: the City’s zoning map, then the bylaw’s section for that zone.

01

Steep ground next door

The Eastern Hillsides plan covers about 1,340 ha beside Ryder Lake. It says about 45% of that area has slopes over 30%, the generally accepted limit for urban development, with five main watercourses, ravines and heavy forest cover. It adds that hazard areas have been identified and that knowledge of the area is incomplete. That is the terrain next to Ryder Lake, not Ryder Lake itself.

02

What the City maps

The community plan includes maps of the water system (Map 10), the sewer system (Map 12), geological hazard areas (Map 14), the Hillside Environment development permit area (Map 15), floodplain hazard areas (Map 16), watercourses (Map 17) and the Reserve (Map 18). A parcel inside a development permit area needs a permit before building or altering land. Check for your parcel: which of those maps a parcel appears on.

03

Water and septic

The City’s 2022 water report says residents the City’s water utility does not serve use private wells or other water providers. The zoning bylaw lets Agricultural Residential and Rural Residential lots go down to 0.2 ha only with a community water system. Without one, the minimum is 1 ha. The sources found do not list which Ryder Lake roads are on City water or sewer. Check for your parcel: the City’s water and sewer maps, and a filed record of any septic system.

04

Fire and schools

The City’s Fire Hall 5 is the Ryder Lake hall, at 49285 Elkview Road. School District 33 assigns schools by address, and catchments change, so confirm a parcel’s schools with the district.

The published sources do not say which zone sits on which Ryder Lake road, which roads are on City water or sewer, or what a given hillside parcel can carry. Those answers live in the City’s zoning, water and hazard maps, and in each parcel’s title. Sale prices are not in this guide.