CD-1 Rezoning 320-360 West 2nd Avenue — Alternate Recommendation to Approve in Principle Using Municipal Flexibility Clause (Metro RGS Section 6.2.7) with Ring-Fencing Direction, together with Yellow Memo dated January 12, 2026 — Public Hearing, January 27, 2026
← Public Hearing January 27, 2026
Summary
- The application proposed replacing a previously approved stacked industrial-office building (which had stalled due to a collapsed office market) with a mixed-use building: 2 FSR of light industrial space on lower floors and approximately 200 market rental units above, plus a $5.5 million cash contribution toward off-site affordable housing.
- Supporters argued the site is steps from Olympic Village SkyTrain, the existing hole in the ground delivers nothing for the neighbourhood, the industrial floor space is preserved at the same level as the approved design, and new residents would activate and improve safety on an underutilised street.
- Opponents — including retired planners, industrial business owners, and community advocates — argued the rezoning conflicts with city, Metro Vancouver, and provincial industrial land policies; risks triggering land speculation across the broader Mount Pleasant Industrial Area; and that mixed industrial-residential buildings have a poor track record in other cities, with industrial tenants typically displaced within years.
- Staff recommended referring the application back for further study, noting it does not meet existing policy and that planning work on the five "exceptional sites" (including this one) is already underway, with results expected in early 2027.
- Council ultimately passed an alternate motion, moved by Councillor Kirby-Yung, to approve the application in principle using the Metro Regional Growth Strategy's municipal flexibility clause (Section 6.2.7), bypassing the standard Metro amendment process and saving several months of review time.
- The motion included a ring-fencing direction instructing staff not to recommend further use of the flexibility clause for privately initiated rezonings until the Mount Pleasant industrial planning work (directed by the July 2025 council motion) is reported back to council.
- The motion was carried unanimously, together with the yellow memo dated January 12, 2026.