One of the Metro Vancouver Regional District's key priorities is to preserve
the supply of industrial land in our region. Industrial land is home to over a
quarter of the jobs in Metro Vancouver. Unfortunately, there is a limited
supply of industrial land in Metro Vancouver, and it is under threat.
While many politicians and municipalities talk about the importance of
preserving industrial land, they
still allow non-industrial uses
within industrially-zoned areas. Some are also rezoning industrial land to
other uses such as retails, offices, and residential.
Metro Vancouver staff completed a detailed map of industrial
uses in 2015. They recently completed a detailed map of
industrial uses in 2020.
Based on the detailed mapping, Metro Vancouver staff found that:
-
The amount of industrial lands used for non-industrial purposes is
increasing
-
There is limited availability of large industrial sites for logistics uses
-
There was an increase in the total size of the industrial land base, but the
goods movement transportation network does not serve the added land well
-
Municipal governments removed land from the industrial land base with
excellent access to the goods movement transportation network
-
Overall, most industrial land remaining is located in the South of Fraser
and Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows.
The following map shows the overall developed industrial land base.
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Maps of detailed industrial land use in Metro Vancouver. Select map to
enlarge.
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This next map shows the remaining industrial land.
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Map of remaining industrial land in Metro Vancouver. Select map to
enlarge.
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The final map shows non-industrial uses such as retail within
industrially-zoned land.
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Map showing non-industrial uses within industrially-zoned land. Select
map to enlarge.
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Regional district staff have been advocating for the following measures to
preserve and enhance our region's industrial land base:
- Create a provincial Industrial Land Reserve
- Strengthening regional industrial land policies
- Create trade-enabling zoning districts
-
Work with municipalities to have region-wide zoning consistency for
industrial lands
- Preform a regional land use assessment
- Encourage intensification of industrial lands
-
Allow mixed-use industrial land with residential/office above industrial
uses
You can
read more about these specific measures in a previous post.