Official Plan
Phase 1b: Major Transit Station Areas
Contact Us
Lauren Vraets
Senior Planner
City Hall, 4th Floor
71 Main St W, Hamilton
Call 905-546-2424 ext 2634 or
Email [email protected]
What are Major Transit Station Areas?
The areas surrounding existing and planned higher order transit corridors are a major focus of future growth, intensification and redevelopment in the Province of Ontario. Higher population and employment densities are planned within these areas to support transit. Increased densities and a mix of uses along transit corridors contribute to a complete community with easy access to housing, jobs and local amenities.
Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) are generally defined as the area within a 500 to 800 metre radius of a higher order transit station representing about a 10-minute walk. The City of Hamilton is currently planning for MTSAs in the lower city, including seventeen (17) LRT stations and three (3) GO stations.
The Provincial Growth Plan has established minimum density targets for MTSAs. In Hamilton, these densities are 160 people and jobs per hectare (pjh) for areas serviced by the LRT and 150 people and jobs per hectare for areas serviced by the GO transit rail network.
Urban Hamilton Official Plan
As part of the City’s current Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR), a new policy framework for MTSAs was added to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan (UHOP) through OPA 167 and supported by the Province on November 4, 2022. The current policies direct that the City will delineate MTSAs through a future Amendment to the UHOP.
The City is currently completing a detailed review of the MTSAs shown on Volume 1, Appendix B to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan, to identify areas of intensification and development / redevelopment potential. Potential future estimates for population and job densities will be determined to see if the Growth Plan density targets (160 pjh and 150 pjh) can be achieved for each of the MTSAs. The results of this study will help guide more detailed policies for growth with these areas and will assist in determining the potential for certain MTSAs to become Protected Major Transit Station Areas.
Protected Major Transit Station Areas
A Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA) is a sub-set of MTSAs where Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) may be applied. The City will determine which MTSAs should be PMTSAs. PMTSAs must be approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The City must update the UHOP to include policies to specify uses, identify minimum residents and jobs per hectare, and identify minimum densities within PMTSAs. View more information on Inclusionary Zoning.
Learn More About Phase 1b
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