What is BC's TOD Areas Act?

Direct answer

The Transit-Oriented Areas Act (formally Bill 47, 2023, paired with the SSMUH Bill 44) is BC legislation that requires municipalities to designate "Transit-Oriented Areas" (TOAs) within 800m of rapid-transit stations and within 400m of bus-exchange-class transit, and to permit higher-density residential development within those zones. Effective dates: municipalities had to adopt TOA bylaws by June 30, 2024. Within a TOA, minimum allowable density falls away in tiers as you move further from the hub. Measured from a SkyTrain station: tier 1 is within 200m — minimum 5.0 floor-area-ratio (FAR) and 20-storey allowable height; tier 2 is 200-400m — 4.0 FAR / 12 storeys; tier 3 is 400-800m — 3.0 FAR / 8 storeys. Around a designated bus exchange the ladder starts one rung lower and stops sooner: within 200m and again from 200-400m, with no third tier. The regulation numbers these bands tier 4 and tier 5, and unlike the SkyTrain ladder the bus-side minimums are set per jurisdiction — Metro Vancouver, the rest of BC and smaller municipalities each get different figures — so check the ones that apply to the municipality rather than assuming the station numbers. Municipalities cannot impose minimum off-street parking requirements within designated TOAs. The Act overrides local zoning where municipal bylaws are more restrictive than the provincial minimums. For BC: the Act sets provincial minimums that municipalities cannot zone below, which is a departure from leaving density to local plans. For buyers/investors: a single-family lot near a SkyTrain station that was zoned RS-1 in 2023 may now be required to permit up to a 20-storey residential building. The Act is conceptually paired with Bill 44 (SSMUH) which densifies the rest of the residential land base.