City of Vancouver staff outline regional hurdles to new housing on industrial lands | Daily Hive

City of Vancouver staff outline regional hurdles to new housing on protected industrial lands

Map of five industrial sites in Vancouver deemed to be "exceptional" for other types of development. (City of Vancouver)

Urban planners with the City of Vancouver have begun a complicated and potentially transformative reassessment of some of Vancouver’s most strategically-located industrial lands, opening the door — cautiously — to potential new high-density, mixed-use developments with some residential uses while reaffirming its intention to protect the city’s shrinking industrial base.

In an internal memo sent to Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver City Council in mid-December 2025, Josh White, the City of Vancouver’s General Manager of Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability, outlined his team’s early findings and next steps in response to a July 2025-approved member motion by the mayor, which directed City staff to examine whether housing could be introduced on specific industrial lands without undermining long-term employment and economic goals.

White’s memo makes clear that while housing may eventually be possible on portions of five targeted industrial areas, the rezoning and land-use re-designation process will be very slow, highly regulated, and contingent on extensive area planning, regional approval, and mitigation of economic risks and site-specific challenges.

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The motion focused on five sites that have been identified as “exceptional” because of their location, changing surroundings, and/or proximity to existing and future SkyTrain stations — entailing the sites of the former Molson Brewery site near Burrard Street, Railtown in the Downtown Eastside, the area around Marine Gateway within South Vancouver, Mount Pleasant Industrial Area (MPIA), and former industrial lands near Main Street and Terminal Avenue in the False Creek Flats.

Collectively, these sites span waterfront areas, historic industrial districts, and public transit-oriented employment hubs. Several are already experiencing mounting development pressure as Vancouver struggles with housing supply and affordability.

vancouver five exceptional industrial sites map

Map of five industrial sites in Vancouver deemed to be “exceptional” for other types of development. (City of Vancouver)

However, the memo emphasizes that these lands are not interchangeable. Each area has distinct challenges — from flood risk and freight rail adjacency to cultural heritage considerations and heavy industrial activity — requiring case-by-case tailored planning approaches rather than blanket rezoning and policies.

Although City Council requested that the City staff prepare formal requests to Metro Vancouver Regional District in Fall 2025 to remove the protected industrial land reserve designation from any of these sites, White explains that timeline was never realistic.

Under the regional district’s regional planning framework — called the Metro 2050 plan — industrial and employment lands are strictly protected, and converting them to “General Urban” designation requires a lengthy amendment process. That process includes formal consultation with other municipal governments, First Nations, and other entities, and ultimately a vote by the the regional district’s board of directors — comprised of a makeup of Metro Vancouver’s mayors and city councillors.

For example, the City of Surrey’s previous request to the regional district to expand the region’s urban containment boundary to enable an expanded industrial area known as South Campbell Heights — replacing areas previously deemed rural — was highly contentious and prolonged, culminating in a divisive approval vote by the regional district’s board of directors in early 2022.

According to White, re-designation requests through the regional district typically take about 25 weeks even after City Council approval, making it impossible to include them in Vancouver’s new Official Development Plan (ODP), which must be enacted by June 30, 2026 under provincial legislation.

Instead, City staff propose a phased approach: adopt the ODP without changing regional land-use designations, then pursue future amendments tied to detailed area plans and rezoning applications.

marine gateway phase 2 pci developments 8530 cambie street vancouver 2025

July 2025 concept of Marine Gateway Phase 2 at 8530 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

But at the heart of the memo is a recurring tension: White states that Metro Vancouver’s industrial lands account for just six per cent of the region’s overall land base, but underpin a disproportionately large share of economic activity, including port operations, logistics, manufacturing, food processing, and emerging life-science industries. White warns that even speculation about residential conversion can drive up land values, displace businesses, and erode job space long before any housing is approved.

In recent months, City staff have already seen an increase in developer inquiries about housing on sites originally expected to remain 100 per cent employment-focused.

To counter that risk, White wrote that any consideration of residential uses must be paired with clear limits on which parcels may change use, minimum job-space requirements, protections against speculative land banking, and public benefits, such as affordable housing, childcare, parks, and transportation upgrades.

Rather than a single city-wide policy, White outlined site-specific planning approaches for each of the five sites.

Railtown district, for example, is already undergoing an area planning process initiated earlier in 2025, with initial public consultation launched in November 2025. The district’s proximity to freight rail yards and the Port of Vancouver raises serious livability and safety concerns, including noise, vibration, emissions, and derailment risk. Any housing introduced there would require extensive mitigation and careful urban design.

In South Vancouver’s Marine Gateway area, the situation is different. Portions of the district lie within 200 metres of SkyTrain stations, making them eligible for what White call the “Metro 200-metre clause” clause under the regional district’s Metro 2050 plan. This provision allows housing above job space on employment lands without full regional re-designation. The rezoning application for PCI Developments’ second phase of their Marine Gateway complex is already under this framework.

Railtown district industrial area. (City of Vancouver)

The area around Marine Gateway in South Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

Mount Pleasant Pleasant Industrial Area, one of the city’s most productive employment districts, presents perhaps the most challenging case. Following industrial zoning updates, the area has delivered 1.2 million sq. ft. of new job space since 2022 and is central to Vancouver’s innovation economy. While some sites near SkyTrain stations may eventually support housing, White stresses the need to preserve large areas for 100 per cent commercial use to prevent runaway land-value escalation. Recent policy changes were made to enable certain locations to see hotel development, such as along the periphery of the MPIA’s boundaries and near SkyTrain stations.

The eight-acre former Molson Coors brewery site, meanwhile, stands apart. Located at the south end of the Burrard Street Bridge, its surroundings have changed dramatically over the decades, especially with the adjacent Squamish Nation’s Senakw rental housing towers immediately to the north. As well, just to the south is the federal government’s lands. White notes that City staff are in active discussions with property owner Concord Pacific about a future rezoning application, though no timeline has been set.

Former industrial sites near Main Street and Terminal Avenue (False Creek Flats) are being considered under the framework of the City’s 2017-approved False Creek Flats Plan, where the 2027 opening of the new St. Paul’s Hospital and health campus is expected to accelerate growth in life sciences and related employment. The memo notes the area’s proximity to SkyTrain’s Main Street-Science World and the future Great Northern Way and Emily Carr stations, and identifies three specific properties — 1150 Station St., 1220 Station St., and 339 East 1st Ave. — eligible for the regional district’s “200 m clause,” which can allow housing above job space without full regional re-designation.

Mount Peasant Industrial Area. (City of Vancouver)

The former Molson Coors Vancouver brewery site. (City of Vancouver)

Former Industrial Sites Near Main St. and Terminal Ave.

Former Industrial Sites near Main Street and Terminal Avenue. (City of Vancouver)

At the same time, City staff have flagged major constraints for this False Creek Flats area: several parcels sit near freight rail yards, and the district lies within a floodplain, raising livability, servicing, and geotechnical questions if residential uses are introduced. In late 2027, City staff are expected to create a report outlining updates to the False Creek Flats Plan, while an active rezoning application at 1220 Station St. — a two-tower proposal up to 36 storeys with 470 secured purpose-built rental homes and commercial uses, located immediately east of Main Street-Science World Station — is expected to proceed through the existing process.

The memo also frames the City’s planning work within a broader policy landscape that increasingly emphasizes industrial land protection.

Provincial transit-oriented development rules exempt industrial lands from minimum residential density and height requirements. The provincial government is also developing an inventory and protection strategy for industrial lands across British Columbia. As for the regional district, the Metro 2050 plan solidifies the goal of safeguarding industrial capacity to support trade and economic resilience.

1220 station street vancouver august 2025

August 2025 revised concept for mixed-use rental housing towers at 1220 Station St., Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/GWL Realty Advisors)

At the municipal level, the City amended its own Industrial Lands Policy in 2023, introducing a clear rule: rezonings of industrial land will not be supported unless enabled by an approved area plan or policy.

Over the next two years, the City will advance multiple area plans and policy updates tied to the five exceptional sites, with major City staff reports expected in 2027.

In the meantime, five rezoning applications that qualify under the regional district’s “200 m clause” will continue to move forward to public hearings, generating a combined total of 6,300 homes and 1.5 million sq. ft. of new job space city-wide, including over 700,000 sq. ft. of industrial space. Some of these proposals are expected to enter public hearing in the second quarter of 2026.

The planning work now underway for the industrial lands in the five sites that are not under the “200 m clause” is framed as exploratory rather than determinative, with future decisions tied to detailed area planning, further direction from City Council, and regional approvals.

“It is important to emphasize that without area planning to detail the implications of a proposed re-designation, these applications are unlikely to be supported at the Metro Vancouver Board,” continued White.

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