Burnaby is set to approve a transit-oriented development bylaw, which the province had required to be passed back in June.
After five months of refusing to comply with provincial housing regulations, Burnaby City Council is now on track to approve the mandated bylaw.
At a meeting on Dec. 2, 2024, councillors unanimously passed three of four major approvals to introduce “transit-oriented areas,” or TOAs, concentric rings drawn around rapid transit stations.
The provincial legislation requires cities to permit between eight- and 20-storey buildings within the designated areas, depending on the proximity to the station.
The province had required the bylaw to be in place by the end of June this year, but Burnaby council twice delayed the matter until after the provincial election in October.
The legislation is supposed to fast-track development and remove “restrictive zoning bylaws,” the province says, which have slowed down the building of much-needed housing.
