Latest news with #Metro2050
Global News
04-08-2025
- Business
- Global News
Vancouver industrial sites under review for possible rezoning to residential
Five industrial sites in Vancouver are under review for possible rezoning to become residential sites in an effort to create more homes. The sites — which include the former Molson site and industrial sites near Main Street and Terminal Avenue, Railtown, Marine Gateway and Mount Pleasant — are part of Metro Vancouver's industrial land reserve. According to the Board of Metro Vancouver, industrial lands represent only four per cent of the region's land base, but accommodate more than 25 per cent of the region's total employment. They also contribute to the region's economic well-being, with important links to transportation, trade and tax dollars. As part of the Metro Vancouver region's Regional Growth Strategy, Metro 2050, the board has approved about 85 per cent of amendments to the existing community plan to manage growth in the area. Story continues below advertisement 'We're in the 21st century here and we need more housing, but we also need to rethink how we do industrial land because we're going through, you know, what you can say is a new industrial revolution,' Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Industry 60 years ago is not the same as it is now, and I think we can actually have the best of both worlds.' Vancouver staff are set to provide the council with options. The Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area also agrees it needs to be re-examined. 'Times have changed, and you know you're going to put some great commercial units on the first floor, but what sort of industry … would you be putting on the second floor?' Neil Wyles with the organization said. 'Days of the buggy whip factory and the candle factory are gone and I think that the neighbourhood has changed and I think that the needs and the requirement of this neighbourhood has changed.' 5:11 Metro Vancouver report highlights Surrey's job growth In a statement, the Board of Metro Vancouver said, 'There is a critical need for more housing in the region, but it is equally important to maintain lands for jobs to support complete communities.' Story continues below advertisement Sim said he envisions more concentration of housing in the region while also maintaining industry. 'We don't necessarily need factories in that area,' he said. 'You know, when you look at data centres, AI, robotics, just to name a few, the world's changed. And so let's adapt with that and let's get the report back and see what it offers.' Staff have until the end of October to report back to council.
CBC
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Metro Vancouver motion proposes reductions in directors' compensation and fewer committees
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West is hoping for support at Metro Vancouver's board meeting on Friday for his motion to reduce meeting compensation for directors and cut the number of committees in half. The motion comes as the regional government is under scrutiny for cost overruns and scope creep. It's part of a nearly 1,500-page meeting package that calls for the Metro Vancouver's meeting stipend to go from $547 for four-hour meetings to $273.50 while also eliminating the additional stipend for meetings longer than four hours. It also calls for a reduction in the total number of Metro Vancouver meetings for which a stipend is paid by at least 50 per cent from 2024 totals. Metro Vancouver can have more than a dozen meetings in one month. It currently has 16 committees, populated by its 41 board members, which represent 21 municipalities. West's motion also calls for a "full-scale, external core service review" of the organization to especially look for duplication or overlap with other levels of government. Since the price tag to build a new waste water treatment on the North Shore ballooned from $700 million to $3.86 million — with all 21 member municipalities having to absorb the cost — criticism of the regional government has been fierce, mostly from within its own ranks. Surrey council, which has six board members on Metro Vancouver, voted this week to withdraw from a regional growth strategy that directs the organization's decisions around utilities and the region's agricultural, conservation and recreation and industrial lands. "The City of Surrey is dedicated to ensuring that our residents have access to the services and resources they rightfully deserve, without facing an unreasonable financial strain," Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner said Tuesday in a statement. Surrey said it's standing up for the interests of its residents because the Metro 2050 strategy "imposes unfair costs and expectations on our community." WATCH: Beleaguered water-and-waste-treatment provider facing questions over finances: Touring the site of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant 29 days ago Duration 2:20 Metro Vancouver chair Mike Hurley, who is the mayor of Burnaby, assumed the role last summer with a promise to review Metro's governance. He has since initiated two reviews — one for governance, the other an independent review of the North Shore Waste Water Treatment plant. As for Surrey, Hurley said the regional government wants dialogue. "Surrey is an important part of our region, and we will be reaching out to them to better understand their concerns," he said in a statement. Metro Vancouver said over the past 30 years, it has never had a member seek to withdraw from a regional growth strategy. Surrey did vote to adopt the strategy in February 2023 despite some initial objections, which Metro said were resolved. The regional government said in addition to speaking with Surrey over its new objections, it would also seek guidance from the province, "which is responsible for the legislation governing regional growth strategies, to better understand how to address the situation."
