Six-unit bus stop lots and transit-oriented areas

The six-unit rule near frequent buses

Section 481.3 (5) of the Local Government Act raises the minimum to 6 units for a parcel in a restricted zone that is wholly or partly within a set distance of a qualifying bus stop and at least a set size. B.C. Reg. 262/2023 sets the distance at 400 metres and the size at 281 square metres. The words "wholly or partly" matter: a lot that touches the 400 metre circle counts, even if most of it sits outside.

A stop qualifies if at least one route is scheduled to stop there at least every 15 minutes on average, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The city decides which stops meet the test. The province's policy manual suggests cities get frequency data from the transit operator, which in Metro Vancouver means Coast Mountain Bus Company and West Vancouver Transit, and says the lowest level of service may be used where service changes by season.

The result differs from city to city. Surrey identified its frequent stops with TransLink and maps the areas in Schedule F of its zoning bylaw. Delta's six-unit area runs along Scott Road. Richmond's online map has a layer for lots within 400 metres of a prescribed stop. Coquitlam's page says it currently has no bus stops that meet the provincial criteria, so the six-unit rule does not apply there at this time.

Bus routes change, and the list of qualifying stops can change with them. The policy manual says cities could update their zoning for new qualifying stops in line with the five-year planning cycle, with the next update in 2030, while noting that some cases may need earlier changes.

Parking, and the one unit that may carry conditions

Section 525.2 (1) says a council must not, on or after 30 June 2024, require off-street parking or loading spaces for the residential use of a unit required under section 481.3 (5). On a qualifying six-unit lot, parking is the owner's choice. Surrey's bylaw reflects this with no minimum parking on eligible lots in a Frequent Bus Stop Area.

Section 481.5 (3) gives cities one lever on these lots. A zoning bylaw may set conditional density rules for only one of the six required units, which means the sixth unit can depend on a condition such as affordable or special needs housing, or a housing agreement. Richmond uses it: its bulletin says a six-unit development needs a contribution to the affordable housing reserve or at least one affordable housing unit.

The province's site standards package for six-unit lots shows what it recommends cities allow: a 2 metre front setback, 1.5 metres at the rear, 0 to 1.2 metres at the sides, 11 metres of height, 3 storeys, 60 percent lot coverage and no parking. It notes that four storeys may be needed on small lots to fit six livable units. These are recommendations. Each city's own zone sets the rules that apply.

Transit-oriented areas under Bill 47

Section 455 of the Local Government Act defines a transit-oriented area as an area within a prescribed distance from a transit station, and a transit station as a prescribed bus stop, bus exchange, passenger rail station or other transit facility, including planned ones. B.C. Reg. 263/2023 sets the distances: 800 metres from a passenger rail station such as a SkyTrain station, and 400 metres from a bus exchange or a West Coast Express station. Its schedule lists each station by name and map coordinates. If a boundary cuts through a parcel, the whole parcel is treated as inside.

The regulation divides each area into tiers by distance and sets a density and height for each tier. Section 481.01 then says a city must not use its zoning powers to prohibit or restrict that density or height on land in the area that is zoned for residential use. The table below shows the figures for the Metro Vancouver cities named in the regulation's tables. Vancouver has its own regulation, B.C. Reg. 265/2023, with the same tier figures.

Every city must designate its transit-oriented areas by bylaw, with a map, under section 585.52. The province's FAQ says there is no provision to exclude eligible parcels, even where geography makes transit hard to reach, and that the regulations do not allow boundaries to be changed. The regulation lists one site-specific exception: eleven parcels on Lancaster Crescent near Aberdeen Station in Richmond.

What a transit-oriented area means for a landowner

The province's FAQ for Bill 47 opens with how rezoning works. There is no requirement for a city to pre-zone land to the prescribed heights and densities, and the existing rezoning process stays in place. Within that process, a project within the provincial limits cannot be refused on the ground that its density is too high. The FAQ also says developers are not required to build to the minimum allowable density.

The city keeps other controls. The FAQ lists use, tenure, minimum lot frontage, site coverage, setbacks, design guidelines and improvements to streets and public spaces as matters a city can still regulate. Other laws can lower the limits: where federal airport zoning restricts an area to 14 storeys, the FAQ says 14 storeys becomes the limit there. For designated heritage property, it says provincial heritage law may limit or override the density rules, and advises cities to get legal advice.

Parking is the clearest change. Section 525.1 says a city must not require off-street parking for residential use in a transit-oriented area, other than spaces for people with disabilities. An owner who builds parking anyway must meet the city's design standards for it. The FAQ adds that cities cannot set parking maximums for residential uses in these areas. Burnaby's October 2025 release says this limits its ability to enforce parking minimums on R1 lots in transit-oriented areas, which the City puts at 57 percent of its R1 lots.

And the small-scale rules step aside. Section 3 (2) of B.C. Reg. 262/2023 exempts land in a transit-oriented area from the 3 to 6 unit minimums. Surrey's zones cap such lots at 2 homes, Port Moody's page says transit-oriented areas are exempt from small-scale housing, and Richmond lists them among its exemptions. In Surrey, a lot 300 metres from a SkyTrain station can therefore have a lower unit limit under its current zone than a lot 900 metres away, while having far more room through a rezoning.