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Transit Oriented Development Areas

Overview

In late 2023, the Provincial government passed legislation that required municipalities to designate Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Areas near transit hubs, to encourage additional housing to be created in well-connected places.

TOD Areas are defined as land within 800 meters of a SkyTrain station. There are five areas in New Westminster:

  • 22nd Street Station (new area vision complete)

  • New Westminster Station

  • Columbia Station

  • Sapperton Station

  • Braid Station

In TOD Areas, the Province has required the City to consider applications with the forms (building height) and densities (calculated with a floor space ratio) shown in the table below. However, local governments retain the ability to turn down applications for reasons other than height or density.

Minimum allowable height and density

TOD Area Tier

Distance from SkyTrain Station (Metres)

Allowable Building Height (Storeys)

Allowable Density

(Floor-Space Ratio)

1

200 or less

Up to 20

Up to 5.0

2

200 – 400

Up to 12

Up to 4.0

3

400 – 800

Up to 8

Up to 3.0

The City has planned for and enabled development for many years around its SkyTrain stations. However, the introduction of the Provincial housing legislation has enabled more dispersed housing than previously planned. Updates to land use designations were needed, to align with the Provincial framework.

Transit Oriented Development Land Use Designations

As part of updates to the Official Community Plan to implement new Provincial housing legislation, land use designations have been updated around four of the five SkyTrain stations in New Westminster, to align with the minimum height and densities referenced above. More information on the new Mid Rise and Limited Mid Rise land use designations within TOD Areas can be found here.

Land use designations around 22nd Street SkyTrain will be updated through implementation of reGENERATE vision for that area.

Development Opportunities 

For detailed information on making a development application in one of New Westminster’s TOD areas see:

A land use designation in the Official Community Plan does not mean that (re)development is allowed outright or that the site is ‘pre-zoned’ for construction. For many properties, a rezoning application will still be required. The new legislation does not change the existing rezoning process such as application fees or staff review. It also does not remove the City’s ability to establish some conditions of approval for applications, such as protection for existing tenants and infrastructure and servicing upgrades.