Coquitlam Unveils New Land Use Plan For Transit-Oriented Areas And Corridors

Earlier this month, the City of Coquitlam began consulting the public on an updated plan for how land is used near transit hubs and busy corridors. The focus is on areas around Burquitlam and Lougheed Town Centre stations, along with nearby shoulder zones and key road corridors. This effort reflects the city’s phased compliance with the provincial transit-oriented areas legislation, known as Bill 47.

In the first phase, Coquitlam marked land within 800 metres of SkyTrain stations as Transit-Oriented Areas (TOAs) and removed minimum parking requirements in those zones. That initial step applied to eight areas in the city, including Burquitlam, Lougheed, Coquitlam Central, and others.

The second phase now under way looks especially at the southwest part of Coquitlam, including Burquitlam and Lougheed TOAs, plus surrounding shoulder and corridor regions. Because the province defined TOAs as perfect circles, some properties didn’t align neatly with property lines or existing plans. To fix that, city planners spent the past year adjusting boundaries to make sure land remains usable and fits local needs.

One major change is that some areas on the outer edge of TOAs, originally set for townhouses, are now slated for medium-density apartments to meet Bill 47 rules. To bring back housing variety and give families space, the city wants to allow townhouse-style homes just outside the TOAs in places like Oakdale, East Burquitlam, and West Austin. As city planner Andrew Merrill noted, townhouses offer a middle ground between space and affordability.

Besides the TOAs and shoulders, planners are looking at key arterial roads such as Austin Avenue and Como Lake Avenue for development. These corridors are mostly set for small-scale homes, but the city proposes mixing in some townhouses, local shops, and mixed-use buildings up to six storeys tall—with first-floor shops and apartments above—to create small walkable neighbourhood hubs.

These updated plans fall under the category of “planned” TOAs—those the city was already preparing before Bill 47 took effect. In contrast, there are “unplanned” areas just outside other stations like Coquitlam Central, Braid, Moody Centre, and Inlet Centre. Those areas are now labeled as “Transit-Oriented Area Reserve,” with final land-use rules to be shared in the third phase of planning. Public feedback is being collected until July 14, and the city hopes to complete the second phase by the end of this year, with the third phase to follow.