Major Transit Station Areas Approved – With Major Implications

On August 15, 2025, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (the “Minister”) approved, with modifications, several City of Toronto official plan amendments, simultaneously bringing into effect a number of major transit station areas (MTSAs) and protected major transit station areas (PMTSAs), new policies providing for minimum density permissions in MTSAs and PMTSAs, inclusionary zoning, and exemptions from parking requirements in PMTSAs and MTSAs.

The official plan amendments, known as OPA 524, 537, 540, 544, 570, and 575 (the “Official Plan Amendments”), delineate 120 MTSAs and PMTSAs. The Minister withheld approval for an additional 12 MTSAs and PMTSAs, which remain under consideration. The Official Plan Amendments, as modified by the Minister, are in force and effect as of August 15, 2025, and are not subject to appeal.

Minimum Density Requirements Established for MTSAs and PMTSAs

The Minister maintained the boundary delineations and minimum density requirements set out in the Official Plan Amendments for the approved MTSAs and PMTSAs, subject to carving out specific “Special Policy Areas” in certain MTSAs and PMTSAs, where the minimum density requirements were reduced to 0 Floor Space Index (FSI).

However, the Minister’s modifications added policies in Chapter 8 of the Official Plan that would apply to development within delineated MTSAs and PMTSAs. In particular:

• General Policies
• The Official Plan Amendments provide that growth shall be directed to delineated MTSAs and PMTSAs, in addition to areas already designated for growth (such as the Downtown, Centres and Employment Areas). In the event of a conflict with Secondary Plans or Site and Area Specific Policies, policies that provide for greater density prevail.
• Policies for Lands Designated as Apartment Neighbourhoods, Mixed Use Areas, and Regeneration Areas
• While the Minister did not increase the minimum densities on individual PMTSA maps, the Official Plan Amendments enable greater density through City-initiated zoning on lands designated as Apartment Neighbourhoods, Mixed Use Areas and Regeneration Areas. A City-initiated zoning must permit densities of eight FSI or more on lands within 200 metres of a transit station, and six FSI or more on lands within 200–500 metres of a transit station. There is no timeline for the City to implement these increased density permissions, although a zoning by-law enacted within a year could be protected from appeal.
• Where a site can accommodate three or more towers, the policies provide that zoning would permit building heights of up to 30 storeys within 200 metres of a transit station, and up to 20 storeys within 200–500 metres of a transit station. Additional height could be achieved without an official plan amendment where a block context plan is provided demonstrating elements such as new public streets, new parks, publicly-accessible open spaces, mid-block connections, public art, and a mix of building types and heights. There is no policy guidance to determine whether a site (or potential consolidation) could accommodate three or more towers.
• Policies for Lands Designated as Neighbourhoods
• The Official Plan Amendments allow greater heights for multiplex and apartment buildings on lands designated as Neighbourhoods in MTSAs and PMTSAs. Heights of up to six storeys are permitted on lands within 200 metres of an existing or planned transit station (regardless if on a major street) and on lands with frontage on a major street shown on Map 3 of the Official Plan, and otherwise up to four storeys. This expands the existing policy permission for six-unit multiplexes to MTSAs and PMTSAs across the City. However, the City will need to make corresponding changes to applicable zoning to create as-of-right permissions.

Inclusionary Zoning Now in Effect in Approved PMTSAs

Under the Planning Act, municipalities are permitted to adopt official plan policies and zoning by-laws to implement inclusionary zoning, a form of zoning that requires affordable housing units to be included in developments containing market-rate units. The Planning Act limits the application of inclusionary zoning to lands within PMTSAs.

In November 2021, the City introduced its inclusionary zoning framework by adopting Official Plan Amendment 557 and zoning amendments enacted through By-law 941-2021 (the “Inclusionary Zoning By-law”). The Inclusionary Zoning By-law applies to developments with 100 or more dwelling units or 8,000 square metres or more of residential gross floor area. The Inclusionary Zoning By-law included transition provisions based on notice of approval by the Minister of a PMTSA. Accordingly, the Minister’s approval of PMTSAs means the Inclusionary Zoning By-law now applies to lands located within these PMTSAs, unless a development meets the transition provisions in the Inclusionary Zoning By-law or the inclusionary zoning regulation under the Planning Act.

Ontario Regulation 54/25, which came into effect on May 12, 2025, introduced limits on what municipalities can require under their inclusionary zoning policies. Specifically, the regulation capped the amount of affordable housing that can be mandated within a PMTSA to no more than 5% of the total number of residential units or 5% of the total gross floor area of residential units and set a maximum affordability period of 25 years. It is expected this regulation will effectively cap the application of the City’s Inclusionary Zoning By-law, which had established an affordability period of 99 years and set-aside rates above 5%.

The potential application of the Inclusionary Zoning By-law will vary depending on the application status for a particular residential development. Both the Inclusionary Zoning By-law and provincial regulation include transition provisions that may exempt some projects from the application of inclusionary zoning.

Prohibition on Parking Minimums Now in Effect for MTSAs and PMTSAs

In 2024, amendments to the Planning Act prohibited official plan policies and zoning provisions that have the effect of requiring the provision and maintenance of vehicular parking facilities on land that is within a PMTSA or a delineated area around a higher-order transit station or stop with policies requiring minimum densities in order to be consistent with provincial policy, which would seem to include MTSAs. The Minister’s approval of the MTSAs and PMTSAs activates these prohibitions. Further, as a result of these approvals, existing policies and by-laws that require vehicular parking facilities in PMTSAs and MTSAs are also now of no effect.

Development Charges

Inclusionary zoning units are not subject to development charges. In addition, the City’s current development charge by-law applies the August 15, 2022 development charge rates, subject to applicable indexing, to an entire building (all residential units other than inclusionary zoning units and non-residential at-grade uses) where inclusionary zoning units are provided in the building. This may benefit condominium projects where the applicable development charge rates may have been higher before the Minister’s approvals and the activation of the Inclusionary Zoning By-law.

For questions about the implications of the newly approved MTSAs and PMTSAs, please contact any member of our Municipal and Land Development Group.