Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is an exciting approach to building a city. It concentrates housing, shopping and employment along a network of walkable and bikeable streets within a five minute walk of transit stations – or 400 metres in any direction. TOD will support the City’s vision of a vibrant, sustainable city with attractive, liveable and more compact communities.

To encourage and guide TOD in neighbourhoods near transit stations over the next 30 years, the City has developed TOD Guidelines in consultation with community and business organizations, transit users, City departments and others. The guidelines set out the City’s expectations for transit-oriented development near current or future transit stations.

TOD Policy and Guidelines

The TOD Policy and the TOD Guidelines were approved by City Council on Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

The TOD Guidelines will help:

  • Residents and community groups understand the nature of development that could occur close to LRT stations and transit centres
  • Property owners assess their development options
  • The City in reviewing rezoning or development applications for lands within 400 metres of a transit station, to ensure they are appropriate for the station and the surrounding areas
  • The City in preparing or updating plans for lands near specific transit stations
  • The City in upgrading infrastructure, including sidewalks, roads, bike facilities, parks, near transit stations

What’s Changed

The approved TOD Guidelines include some additional information and changes from earlier versions of the document. For example, there is new information to clarify:

  • How and where the Guidelines are applied
  • The relationship of the Guidelines to other City plans and policies
  • The role of property owners
  • The transition guidelines for buildings of different heights

There have also been some specific changes in response to feedback received, including:

  • “Half” station types that apply to stations where there is a mix of nearby residential and other development types
  • Lower minimum densities for collector roads in Neighbourhood station areas
  • Including secondary and garden suites as appropriate residential land uses
  • Adding universally accessible design as a supporting principle
  • Encouraging appropriate school building design in station neighbourhoods
  • Adding Civic and Cultural Uses in the Building and Site Design Guidelines
  • Being consistent in the large site size transition requirements for buildings over six storeys in height in the Building and Site Design Guidelines
  • Including a five year review period for the Guidelines
  • Adding a reference to a TOD Implementation Strategy
  • Deleting general information not essential to the Guidelines
  • Inserting more winter photos

Discover how Edmonton’s Transit Oriented Development Guidelines help to guide and integrate development in neighbourhoods around LRT stations and transit centres.