Industrial zoning in Vancouver
Creators: name: Holmes, Robert J
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: Reports published recently by the Planning Departments of both the City of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Regional District have referred to the suburbanization of industry and the need for an industrial land use policy for both the City and the Region. The City of Vancouver has expressed concern about the negative consequences of suburbanization of industry and adopted a policy favouring industrial development in the City. In considering the factors which influence the supply and location of industrial land, the impact of planning legislation warrants investigation. Planning legislation is the major implementation tool of urban planning. The relationship between planning legislation and residential development has received considerable attention in the literature. Significantly less interest has been expressed in the impact of legislation on industrial land. The evolution of industrial zoning in Vancouver and its impact on the supply and location of industrial land in the city are the focus of this thesis. Early zoning by-laws were established to protect residential and commercial areas from the encroachment of industry. Planning legislation in more recent times has reflected a policy toward industry in urban areas that has ranged from restrictive control to neglect. Vancouver's planning legislation as it applies to industrial areas allows office commercial uses to be developed in industrial areas. The impact of this practice on the pattern of industrial land use in Vancouver is examined. Data from the City of Vancouver's Development Permit Records was obtained and showed a concentration of applications for office and office/retail developments in the city's inner city industrial areas. Data from the city's assessment records also confirmed a concentration of office and office/retail buildings in the city's inner city industrial areas. An examination of time series land use information showed that the supply of inner city industrial land was declining significantly. The data examined therefore, supported a conclusion that Vancouver's industrial zoning regulations permitted a process of land use succession to occur by allowing industrial land to be developed for commercial use. The principal impact of this permissive feature of the legislation was found to be in the city's inner city industrial areas. The implications of the study's findings for public policy were then discussed. The arguments in favour of retaining the existing industrial zoning regulations were examined. These arguments focused on the growing importance of the service sector of the urban economy and the need to make land available for service related functions which typically are office and retail in nature. The arguments in favour of adopting legislation that is more protective of industry were also examined by exploring the unique role that Vancouver's inner city industrial areas play in providing "incubator" space for new and smaller industries. The findings of the study strongly suggest that a significant research effort needs to be undertaken to provide insight into the long term economic and social consequences for the City of Vancouver of a process of land use succession in the city's industrial areas. Planning policies for the city's industrial areas should then be established followed by changes to planning legislation.