“Since TOAs are also ideal location for other employment-generating uses, such as office and hotels, proposals for 100% commercial space can also be considered in Tier 1 (i.e., within 200 m of a SkyTrain station), up to 20 storeys or 5.5 FAR. This will help address the lack of hotel capacity in Vancouver, which if left unaddressed could cost the city billions in lost economic impact and thousands of unrealized full-time jobs.”dThe increased FAR density “better reflect the expected form of development based on typical lot sizes and assemblies in the Vancouver context,” reads a City staff report.
AdditionCity staff recommend that for the Tier 1 inner radius of the 27 TOAs emanating from SkyTrain stations across Vancouver, the minimum allowable density be increased from the legislation’s baseline of 5.0 FAR to 5.5 FAR.
For example, a 30,000 sq ft development site with a density of 5.0 FAR would theoretically be able to pursue a total building floor area of 150,000 sq ft, while the increased density of 5.5 FAR would enable 165,000 sq ft on the same site.
But there is much more to Vancouver’s TOA framework. City staff recommend that this expanded Tier 1 allowance be expanded to not just residential uses, but also proposals with 100% commercial space, such as office and hotel towers.ally, ground-level retail/restaurant uses will be required for new developments in TOAs without a recent area plan (i.e. Broadway Plan, Cambie Plan, and Grandview-Woodland Plan), specifically for sites on arterial roads within 400 metres of a SkyTrain station or 200 metres of a bus exchange.
“Since TOAs are also ideal location for other employment-generating uses, such as office and hotels, proposals for 100% commercial space can also be considered in Tier 1 (i.e., within 200 m of a SkyTrain station), up to 20 storeys or 5.5 FAR. This will help address the lack of hotel capacity in Vancouver, which if left unaddressed could cost the city billions in lost economic impact and thousands of unrealized full-time jobs.”er provincial legislation, TOAs emanating from SkyTrain stations have an 800-metre radius, with the Tier 1 inner radius of 200 metres enabling residential building heights of at least 20 storeys and a floor area ratio (FAR) density of a floor area that is 5.0 times larger than the size of the lot. The Tier 2 middle radius of 400 metres enables residential building heights of at least 12 storeys and a density of 4.0 FAR, while the Tier 3 outer radius of 800 metres enables residential building heights of at least eight storeys and a density of 3.0 FAR.Greater impacts can potentially be expected for TOAs emanating from the Canada Line stations within the Cambie Plan, Nanaimo and 29th Avenue stations on the Expo Line, Renfrew and Rupert stations on the Millennium Line, and the regional hub of Commercial-Broadway Station within the Grandview-Woodland Plan.
It should be noted that the Renfrew and Rupert stations are currently going through an area planning process akin to the Broadway Plan, and the resulting Rupert and Renfrew Station Area Plan outlining densification strategies is expected to be finalized in 2025.
