HomeMy WebLinkAboutGPRA Commercial & Industrial Strategy Report
C O M M E R C I A L & I N D U S T R I A L
S T R A T E G Y : 2012-2042
D I S T R I C T O F M A P L E R I D G E
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 2
(U P D A T E D A U G U S T , 2 0 1 4 )
Prepared by:
G . P . R o l l o & A s s o c i a t e s , L a n d E c o n o m i s t s
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
G.P. Rollo & Associates (GPRA) was commissioned by the District of Maple
Ridge to undertake a District-wide commercial and industrial strategy. This
strategy is an important component of Maple Ridge’s long-term planning
in the context of shifting regional economic conditions, new transportation
infrastructure, rising land costs, shrinking availability of employment lands,
and a host of regulatory and market issues. With this report, GPRA’s intent
is to provide the District with a road map to help it navigate the industrial
and commercial landscape, positioning the District for future growth and
prosperity.
GPRA’s work includes detailed employment analysis – both baseline
development and projections – as well as land demand forecasting for
industrial and commercial uses.
Employment
Metro Vancouver has targeted 48,000 total jobs in Maple Ridge by 2041.
GPRA has adopted this as a ‘high’ growth forecast and supplemented it
with a more conservative forecast of 42,500 jobs based on an updated
assessment of the competitive landscape and employment trends.
As the table below indicates, Maple Ridge is already doing relatively well in
terms of providing jobs for its residents, compared to neighbouring and
nearby municipalities.1
The sectors with the most growth potential in Maple Ridge include:
Business Services, Manufacturing, Retail, Education, as well as Health &
Welfare / Public Administration.
Key sectors the Economic Development Office should focus on include
Manufacturing, Tourism, Business & Commercial Services, as well as
1 With their large regional employment hubs Vancouver, Burnaby, and
Richmond were left off the list.
Population Employed in Municipality of Residence
Total Employed % Employed Total Employed % Employed
in Municipality in Municipality in Municipality in Municipality
of Residence of Residence of Residence of Residence
Surrey 63,895 38.1%76,495 38.5%
Maple Ridge 11,385 36.4%12,715 35.4%
Langley (DM)16,405 35.8%18,110 35.4%
Delta 14,770 29.5%16,225 32.0%
Coquitlam 13,990 24.9%16,590 27.9%
Langley (CY)2,465 21.2%2,790 22.9%
Port Coquitlam 6,075 22.6%6,455 22.3%
New Westminster 6,320 22.2%6,530 20.2%
Pitt Meadows 1,305 17.0%1,525 17.8%
Port Moody 1,800 14.0%2,485 16.0%
2001 2006
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE). Maple Ridge is below regional
averages for employment in these sectors, except for Manufacturing.
Land Demand
Metro and GPRA employment projections (high and low scenarios) are
translated into land demand as follows:
Land areas in this table are the total projected land areas required for each
use, and could be supplied by development on vacant lands or
redevelopment of underutilized lands.
Retail & Service Commercial
Based on detailed demand forecasting by sub-region, taking into account
regional competition and the potential for outflow spending recapture,
GPRA finds that District-wide demand will call for 1.3 million square feet,
121,000 square metres, of net new retail and service commercial floor area
by 2042. Using conservative density assumptions, this will require between
73 and 114 acres of land to accommodate (30 to 46 hectares). Maple Ridge
largely has sufficient OCP-designated land supply to accommodate
projected growth.
Space demand (square feet) by sub region – as depicted in Figure 3 on page
32, will be:
637,000 square feet in the Town Centre
443,000 square feet in the West
90,000 square feet in the ‘Core East’ area
27,000 square feet in the East
84,000 square feet in the North
Land demand by sub-region will be:
33 to 55 acres (13 to 22 hectares) in the Town Centre
23 to 38 acres (9 to 15 hectares) in the West
6 to 8 acres (2 to 3 hectares) in the Core East area
2 to 3 acres (1 hectare) in the East
6 to 8 acres (2 to 3 hectares) in the North/Silver Valley
Land Demand for Forcasted Jobs by 2041
Metro Vancouver Metro Vancouver Lower Employment Lower Employment
Forecast Forecast Growth Scenario Growth Scenario
Acres Hectares Acres Hectares
Retail 110 45 100 40
Insitutional 80 32 70 28
Industrial 230 93 170 69
Office 50 20 30 12
Source: GPRA, HBLG Forecast
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Regarding the potential for a waterfront comprehensive development site,
the current log-sort site to the east of 224th Street would provide a good
location for this type of use given its proximity to Town Centre amenities.
Office
Employment-based office demand projections indicate that between 4,300
and 6,300 additional employees will require office space over the next 30
years. It is anticipated that 25% of these office-based jobs will be directed
to industrial/business park environments, with the balance going to the
Town Centre, the Dewdney/Lougheed corridor in the west, and to small
office clusters in the North. To accommodate this net new office space
demand, the District will need between 30 and 50 acres (12-20 hectares)
of land. This office space could be developed on vacant or currently
underutilized lands.
As currently designated, there will be sufficient land area in the Town
Centre to accommodate projected office requirements, provided that
much of it is housed in mixed-use environments. There is also sufficient
land in the Lougheed/Dewdney corridor.
Industrial
Industrial land demand forecasts based on employment growth and space
utilization metrics indicate that Maple Ridge will require between 170 and
230 acres (69 to 93 hectares) of additional industrial lands by 2040. Finding
vacant, developable industrial land that is appealing to major potential
tenants will be an issue in the medium to long term.
Even though there is plenty of vacant and underutilized industrial land
supply in north Maple Ridge (calculated at a combined 290 acres). These
lands are likely to mostly attract resource-based companies due to their
distance from arterial roads. Additional lands with full servicing and
proximity to transportation routes is required to remain competitive with
other municipalities.
Assuming that the rezoning application for 40 acres south of Maple
Meadows Business Park at 11055 Hazelwood Street is approved and the
site becomes M-3, Maple Ridge will still require additional industrial lands
with servicing and highway access to accommodate projected demand.
Maintaining the status quo on industrial land supply is an option (following
rezoning of the Hazelwood Street site), but long-term result would be
Maple Ridge losing out on development and jobs. Planning for additional
industrial supply should therefore begin now with an eye to the future.
Options for providing additional land supply could include some
combination of: (1) the Albion Flats, (2) the lands at 232nd Street and 128th
Avenue, (3) Ministry of Transportation lands between the Haney Bypass
and Lougheed Highway, (4) and/or lands adjacent to the Kwantlen First
Nations’ lands along the Lougheed Highway east of 240th Street.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Further ALR exclusion applications could be put forward as a strategy to
source new lands, but GPRA believes this should be an option of last resort.
Recent exclusion applications have not been successful (e.g. Pelton Lands),
and the ALC has toughened their stance on exclusions since 2010.
Another last resort option for additional industrial lands beyond applying
for ALR exclusions could include utilization of lands within the urban area
boundary but currently designated for residential use.
Infrastructure issues must also be dealt with to promote industrial
development, including either improving the dykes or raising the lands at
the Albion Industrial Park, along with improving access to this area. As well,
improved access to the lands at 256th Street would also be beneficial.
Development incentives to promote consolidation and redevelopment in
the Albion Industrial Area should be considered. These incentives, along
with infrastructure improvements could be a catalyst to attract
development which is not expected for over 10 years.
SUMMARY OF STRATEGIES:
(More detailed recommendations are found within the body of the report).
Employment Strategies
Continue to support the Economic Development office, and its focus on business attraction and
retention, as well as promotion of the Tourism sector, and the development of educational facilities.
Maple Ridge can expect job growth in many sectors. Those not tied to population growth should get
additional attention, including Manufacturing and Information / Culture.
Extend the Town Centre incentive program beyond 2013. Encourage office and hotel development in
the Town Centre.
Continue to promote home-based businesses as well as an ‘executive business centre’.
Use jobs estimate in this report to track changes in employment by sector.
Promote northern industrial sites to those looking for affordable industrial land.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Retail Strategies
Town Center
Analysis indicates there is no need to designate additional commercial lands in the Town Centre. It is
recommended that applications for additional ground floor commercial in areas not designated for
commercial use be considered on a case-by-case basis. Ensure that future retail space is concentrated
in viable, well-anchored and themed commercial precincts.
Support the long-term redevelopment of Haney Place Mall into a mixed-use residential / commercial
project.
Focus on differentiating the Town Centre, making it the District’s centre for specialty retail,
entertainment / culture, civic uses, and destination restaurants.
Animate the public space around Memorial Peace Park. Restaurant space should be encouraged at 224th
and McIntosh Avenue. Food carts could be another good active use for the area.
West Maple
Ridge
Encourage densification and ‘urbanization’ of retail plazas over time. Encourage new retail to be built
close to the street.
Large format retail uses going to the west should be clustered along the Lougheed Highway at existing
shopping centres. Lands designated for industrial use should not allow large-format retail.
Core East
If retail is developed on the Albion Flats it would likely redirect some of the spending and square footage
potential allocated to the Town Centre and to the West.
Examine potential to expand designated retail space on the east side of 240th street north of 112th.
Consider the potential for the southwest corner of Dewdney Trunk Road and 240th Street for a
neighbourhood serving retail node.
Silver Valley /
North / East
While commercial development in Silver Valley will likely remain slow, all of the commercial space
should be retained and not converted into residential, as this is an important ‘land bank’ for the future.
Within each Hamlet, it is recommended that the designated 560 square feet of commercial space is
retained.
The east has sufficient commercial land area to evolve organically as demand allows.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Industrial Strategies
Strategy #1 Status Quo
Meet demand with existing industrial lands, including 46 acres about to be rezoned in Southwest Maple
Ridge. Weakness with this scenario is the lack of prime industrial lands, and the likelihood that Maple
Ridge will lose out on job growth to other municipalities.
Strategy #2 Redevelopment of Albion Industrial Park
The District could provide incentives to promote the redevelopment of the Albion Industrial Park.
Significant development in this area is not expected for 10 years or more. There are major infrastructure
costs needed before significant redevelopment occurs, including improving the dyke, dealing with
potential site contamination issues, as well as improving vehicular access to the area.
Strategy #3 Albion Flats
The ALC has recommended that the District come forward with one application to remove lands south
of 105th from the ALR. It is recommended that employment uses be a major component of any
development on the Albion Flats, including light industrial and office uses.
Strategy #4 232nd Street / 128th Avenue
The approximately 50 to 60 acres of land at this intersection is designated for urban development. These
lands could be developed with light industrial and office park uses. While not an ideal location, it is
closer to arterial roads than industrial lands in the north, or the lands in Ruskin or Whonnock.
Strategy #5 Development of Transportation Lands
The Department of Transportation owns 38 acres of land to the west of the eastern intersection of the
Lougheed Highway and the Haney Bypass. Although these lands have slope issues and a number of
streams running through the site potentially 50% of the site could be developable. Redesignating these
lands for industrial use is recommended.
Strategy #6 Lands Adjacent to Kwantlen First Nation
There are lands to the east and west of the Kwantlen First Nations land along the Lougheed Highway
that could be redesignated for industrial use if demand is outstripping supply in the future. Both sites
have slope issues. Currently both sites are outside of the Urban Area Boundary and zoned R-3. Metro
Vancouver’s regional growth strategy will be impacted by any redesignation of the site. Before pursuing
redesignation it is recommended a study be done to confirm the feasibility of industrial development
on these lands.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................ i
Table of Contents ......................................................................................vii
1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
2.0 ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................ 2
3.0 POPULATION & EMPLOYMENT BASELINE & FORECASTS ........................ 5
3.1 Population & Employment Issues / Stakeholder Comments ................... 5
3.2 Population Forecast ................................................................................. 6
3.3 Employment in Maple Ridge / Metro Vancouver .................................... 7
3.4 Maple Ridge Employment Forecast ....................................................... 13
3.5 Employment Trends by Sector .............................................................. 16
3.6 Land Required for New Employment .................................................... 23
3.7 Strategies for Maximizing Future Employment .................................... 24
3.8 Recommended Strategies to Promote Employment Growth ................ 25
4.0 COMMERCIAL LANDS: ISSUES AND INVENTORY ................................. 28
4.1 Commercial Issues / Stakeholder Comments ........................................ 28
4.2 Commercial Floor Area & Land Inventory.............................................. 30
5.0 DISTRICT-WIDE RETAIL & SERVICE COMMECIAL DEMAND ................... 39
5.1 Demand Factors .................................................................................... 39
5.2 Current and Anticipated Commercial Development ............................ 40
5.3 District-Wide Commercial Demand Projections ................................... 41
6.0 SUB-REGION RETAIL AND SERVICE COMMERCIAL DEMAND, STRATEGIES,
OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................................. 44
6.1 Town Centre Commercial Demand ....................................................... 44
6.2 Town Centre Commercial Strategies & Recommendations .................. 49
6.3 West Maple Ridge Commercial Demand and Strategies ....................... 52
6.4 Core East Commercial Demand and Strategies ..................................... 54
6.5 East, North / Silver Valley Demand & Strategies ................................... 56
6.6 Retail, Service Commercial at Albion Flats............................................. 59
6.7 Synopsis of Commercial Demand and Strategies ................................. 60
7.0 OFFICE SPACE DEMAND & RECOMMENDATIONS ............................... 62
7.1 Issues ..................................................................................................... 62
7.2 Stakeholder Comments ......................................................................... 63
7.3 Office Inventory .................................................................................... 63
7.4 Office Demand ...................................................................................... 63
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
7.5 Recommendations ................................................................................ 65
8.0 INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY, DEMAND & STRATEGY ....................................... 66
8.1 Issues ..................................................................................................... 66
8.2 Regional Industrial Market Trends ......................................................... 68
8.3 Maple Ridge Industrial Trends ............................................................... 71
8.4 Industrial Land & Employment Inventory .............................................. 72
8.5 Competitive Supply ................................................................................ 79
8.6 Projected Demand ................................................................................. 80
8.7 Meeting Industrial Demand in maple Ridge .......................................... 81
8.8 Strategies for Promoting Industrial Land Development ........................ 86
9.0 CONCLUDING REMARKS ..................................................................... 89
APPENDIX A: Recommendations ………………………………………………………..91
APPENDIX B: Land Use Map with Traffic Zones .................................... 95
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Figure 1: Geographic Distribution of Employment by Sector (2012)............. 11
Figure 2: Employment Breakdown by Area ....................................................... 12
Figure 3: Maple Ridge Geographic Sub-Areas + Boundaries of Town Centre and
Albion Area Plans ................................................................................................... 31
Figure 4: West Maple Ridge Commercial Precincts ........................................... 33
Figure 5: East Maple Ridge Commercial Areas .................................................. 35
Figure 6: North Maple Ridge Commercial Nodes .............................................. 36
Figure 7: Aerial View of Morgan Crossing, Surrey ............................................. 59
Figure 8: Metro Vancouver Industrial Space (sq.ft.), 1999 to 2012 ................... 72
Figure 9: Industrial Square Feet by Municipality: 1996, 2006, 2012 ................. 72
Figure 10: Maple Ridge Industrial Areas ......................................................... 74
Figure 11: Designated Industrial Land by Type and Region ............................ 75
Figure 12: Industrial Land Uitlization .............................................................. 75
Table 1: Metro Vancouver Municipalities’ Comparative Population Growth,
2001 - 2011_______________________________________________________6
Table 2: Employment by Sector, Metro Vancouver 2001 & 2006 ___________7
Table 3: Maple Ridge Resident Employment by Sector, 2001 & 2006 ________8
Table 4: Residents Employed in Home Municipality, 2001 & 2006 __________9
Table 5: Maple Ridge Employment ___________________________________9
Table 6: Maple Ridge Employment by Sector, 2012 ____________________ 10
Table 7: Metro Vancouver Employment Forecast by Municipality: 2006, 2021,
2041 ______________________________________________________13
Table 8: Sector Specific Employment Forecast for Maple Ridge to 2041 ____ 16
Table 9: New Jobs by Estimated Building Typology ____________________ 23
Table 10: Maple Ridge Land Required for Projected Jobs ______________ 23
Table 11: Comparative Tax Rates by Municipality ____________________ 25
Table 12: Zoned Commercial Lands _______________________________ 31
Table 13: West Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory __________________ 32
Table 14: Core East Commercial Inventory _________________________ 34
Table 15: East Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory ___________________ 35
Table 16: North/Silver Valley Commercial Inventory __________________ 36
Table 17: Town Centre Commercial Inventory _______________________ 37
Table 18: Population Growth Projections by Sub-Region, 2012 to 2042 __ 39
Table 19: Current and Near-Term Commercial Projects _______________ 41
Table 20: Commercial Expenditure and Outflow Projections ___________ 42
Table 21: Net New Commercial Floor Area Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042 ___ 43
Table 22: Town Centre Commercial Demand Projections ______________ 44
Table 23: West Maple Ridge Commercial Demand Projections _________ 52
Table 24: Core East Commercial Demand Projections _________________ 54
Table 25: East Commercial Demand Projections _____________________ 56
Table 26: North/Silver Valley Commercial Demand Projections _________ 57
Table 27: Commercial Lands Required by 2042 and Designated Today ___ 60
Table 28: Employment by Sector on Industrial Lands _________________ 78
Table 29: Industrial Land Demand Forecast _________________________ 80
Table 30: Available Industrial Lands in Maple Ridge (acres) ____________ 81
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
G.P. Rollo & Associates (GPRA) has been commissioned by the District of
Maple Ridge to produce a commercial and industrial strategy in order to
meet the District’s future employment demands and ensure the District
remains competitive within the region. Maple Ridge is projected to be one
of the leading municipalities in Metro Vancouver for growth over the next
30 years, and strategies on how to accommodate and attract this growth
need to be created.
Maple Ridge has already been growing faster than the regional average and
the rate of population and employment growth in Maple Ridge is expected
to increase.
In order to accommodate projected growth, Maple Ridge must ensure it
has the land supply for industrial, commercial and office users. Beyond
pure land supply, the regulatory environment, including zoning by-laws and
development incentives will dictate the District’s ability to attract
businesses.
As a community that is already recognized for providing an attractive
lifestyle, it is the intention of the District to grow in such a way that
maintains resident lifestyle, while increasing the opportunity for residents
to work in Maple Ridge.
With a Council and population that are both ready to embrace growth done
properly, it is excellent foresight that the District is taking this time to
ensure it has the proper plans in place to accommodate and take
advantage of future growth potential.
In order to understand how Maple Ridge should plan for future growth to
2040, this report has been prepared to look at employment growth as well
as industrial and commercial land supply and demand.
This report includes four major topics:
Review and forecast employment in Maple Ridge
Recommendations to promote employment in Maple Ridge
Forecast of commercial lands – including retail and office uses
Forecast for industrial lands
Stakeholder engagement has been a key part of this report’s preparation;
workshops were held early in the process to glean important insights from
key groups, and the public will be engaged shortly following report
submission to discuss findings and implications.
The ultimate goal of this report is to produce actionable recommendations
that the District of Maple Ridge can use to craft a long-term industrial and
commercial land base strategy.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
2.0 ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
While Maple Ridge is expected to see exceptional growth over the next 30+
years, and while there are a number of interesting opportunities for Maple
Ridge to create new high value jobs, there are important issues that the
District must address.
As part of this process two Stakeholder Workshops were organized where
members of the Maple Ridge community, and people who work and do
business in Maple Ridge, were brought together to share their visions for
the future of District and discuss issues and changes they believed are
needed to meet the demands for growth.
The main stakeholder comments revolved around the following themes:
The need for improved transportation
o Abernethy connector
o Improved Transit
o Need for an overpass to the Albion Industrial Park
Improved development conditions
o More assembled sites along the Lougheed Hwy
Lack of contiguous industrial sites ready for development
o Lack of amenities near existing industrial lands
Demand for more commercial space in east Maple Ridge
Issues and Opportunities
Population:
Opportunities: Issues:
Create a more vibrant Town Centre Ensure services and amenities can serve growing
population.
Development of Silver Valley Maintain plans for rural hamlets. Slow growth will lead
to pressure to alter plans.
Potential for development in the
Albion area.
Both Albion Flats and Albion Industrial Park should be
considered for employment land-use development. .
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Employment:
Opportunities: Issues:
To create more jobs so Maple Ridge
residents can commute less.
Maple Ridge residents currently have the second longest
average commute in Metro Vancouver.
With a growing population, Maple
Ridge can create more jobs at home.
Maple Ridge must ensure it has enough employment
lands to meet potential growth
Maple Ridge has a good base of
manufacturing jobs, which are
forecasted to increase.
Many of the District’s manufacturing jobs are in wood
manufacturing companies located in aging facilities.
New educational facilities will create
direct and spin-off jobs.
Without the development of new post-secondary
educational facilities, jobs in the education sector will
likely only grow with population growth.
Maple Ridge can capitalize on its
lifestyle to attract more businesses.
Region must adapt to tolls on the Golden Ears Bridge.
Tolls on the new Port Mann Bridge should help Maple
Ridge.
Over the next 30 years there will be
changes to the way we work.
Regulations and by-laws should be flexible to allow for
changes in working and business styles. By-laws
regarding home-based businesses could be relaxed, as
could by-laws restricting office space in industrial zones
or by-laws restricting industrial space in the CS-1 zone.
Commercial:
Opportunities: Issues:
New residential density in the Town
Centre will create new commercial
demand.
Commercial development on Kwantlen lands creates
uncertainty regarding demand to develop in other areas.
Potential exists to develop mixed-use
communities in the Albion area.
District must balance support for the Town Centre along
with the consideration for mixed-use developments in
the Albion area.
Improved anchors in the Town Centre
(Target, Thrifty’s, Gaming Centre,
etc.).
Additional retail anchors in the food & beverage category
are still needed in the Town Centre.
Potential to develop new commercial
space in East and North Maple Ridge.
Rural hamlets in the Silver Valley will require patience.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Increasing employment growth will
lead to demand for office space in
Maple Ridge.
Office lease rates in Maple make it difficult to warrant a
standalone building. New office space will likely need to
be built in mixed-use developments.
Industrial:
Opportunities: Issues:
Industrial demand is moving
eastward in Metro Vancouver,
looking for more affordable lands.
Maple Ridge lacks industrial lands in desirable locations.
The northern industrial lands are too far away for most
companies.
Potential to create an employment
hub with a redeveloped Albion
Industrial Park, with additional jobs
and services located on the Albion
Flats.
Redevelopment of the Albion Industrial Park faces many
constraints including infrastructure costs, and landowner
expectations which are slowing both slowing
consolidation. An employment hub in Albion would also
impact office development in the Town Centre.
Application to rezone 40 acres of land
south of Maple Meadows will add
much needed developable land in a
desirable location.
These lands will be the best available vacant industrial
lands in Maple Ridge. Big box retail is not suggested at
this site. It is recommended that the M-3 zone is
amended to not include big box retail.
Given that Pitt Meadows has 200
acres of lands to be absorbed, Maple
Ridge has time to decide where it will
find additional industrial lands.
Locating attractive industrial lands in Maple Ridge is
complicated. Options include Albion Industrial Park /
Albion Flats, lands at the intersection of 232nd and 128th,
or potentially ALR lands such as the Pelton lands.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
3.0 POPULATION & EMPLOYMENT BASELINE &
FORECASTS
In this section GPRA establishes both baseline and projected population
and employment figures for the District of Maple Ridge, and identifies key
employment trends. The projections are a crucial input for long-range land
use requirement forecasting and associated policy direction, as detailed in
sections 5 through 8 of this report. In undertaking this projection exercise,
GPRA has made use of the best compiled information available at the time
of writing.
3.1 POPULATION & EMPLOYMENT ISSUES / STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS
3.1.1 Population Issues
The District of Maple Ridge is expected to grow from a population of
approximately 78,000 in 2012 to over 132,000 by 2042.2 This growth will
have a number of significant impacts on Maple Ridge and create many
possibilities for new commercial space, new jobs, and improved urban form.
This study focuses on what this growth will mean in terms of employment
growth and retail/service commercial space demand, and where this
growth can logically be located.
3.1.2 Employment Issues
The key issue is whether Maple Ridge can accommodate the additional
employees forecast by Metro Vancouver, and where those jobs will be
located. This creates issues for Economic Development regarding business
recruitment to generate job growth in Maple Ridge, and real estate issues
regarding the supply of employment lands. Employment lands will be
discussed in later sections of this report, while this section addresses
Economic Development.
3.1.3 Stakeholder Feedback
In June 2012, GPRA conducted focus groups with recognized community
leaders and stakeholders in order to gain their perspectives on retail, office
industrial and other issues and trend they deem important within the
context of an industrial and commercial strategies study. Stakeholder
comments will be discussed throughout this report; here we provide their
feedback as it pertains to general employment issues.
Regarding employment growth, stakeholders recommended extending the
downtown incentive program, promoting educational facility growth in
Maple Ridge, and encouraging the development of a new hotel with
2 Metro Vancouver, Regional Growth Strategy Projections Population,
Housing and Employment, December 2011
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G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
conference facilities downtown. Sectors that stakeholders felt had the
“most potential” for employment growth were:
Tourism
Manufacturing
Agro-industrial
Film
Sawmill infrastructure
High Tech
Port related sectors
3.2 POPULATION FORECAST
Statistics Canada’s 2011 national census recorded 76,052 residents in
Maple Ridge. The District has been one of the fastest growing
municipalities in Metro Vancouver over the past 10 years. Maple Ridge has
added almost 13,000 new residents since 2001, which amounts to
population growth of over 20%. Only Port Moody, Surrey, Pitt Meadows,
and New Westminster have seen their municipalities grow at a faster rate
since 2001.
Table 1: Metro Vancouver Municipalities’ Comparative Population Growth, 2001-2011
With this rapid rate of growth, Maple Ridge has faced the pressures that
come from population growth. Difficult land-use decisions, such as those
regarding the future of the Albion Flats, are a result of a fast growing
community.
Comparative Population Growth, 2001 to 2011 2001 - 2006 2006 - 2011 Change
2001 2006 2011 % Growth % Growth 2001 - 2011
Port Moody 23,644 27,512 32,975 16.4%19.9%9,331
Surrey 347,821 394,976 468,251 13.6%18.6%120,430
Pitt Meadows 14,671 15,623 17,736 6.5%13.5%3,065
Langley (DM)86,897 93,726 104,177 7.9%11.2%17,280
New Westminster 54,657 58,549 65,976 7.1%12.7%11,319
Coquitlam 112,891 114,565 126,456 1.5%10.4%13,565
Maple Ridge 63,170 68,949 76,052 9.1%10.3%12,882
Burnaby 193,955 202,799 223,218 4.6%10.1%29,263
Metro Vancouver 1,986,966 2,116,581 2,313,328 6.5%9.3%326,362
Richmond 164,346 174,461 190,473 6.2%9.2%26,127
Province of B.C.3,907,739 4,113,487 4,400,057 5.3%7.0%492,318
P. Coquitlam 51,258 52,687 56,342 2.8%6.9%5,084
N. Van (city)44,093 45,165 48,196 2.4%6.7%4,103
Langley (city)23,644 23,606 25,081 -0.2%6.2%1,437
Vancouver 545,671 578,041 603,502 5.9%4.4%57,831
Delta 96,951 96,723 99,863 -0.2%3.2%2,912
White Rock 18,251 18,755 19,339 2.8%3.1%1,088
N. Van (DM)82,311 82,562 84,412 0.3%2.2%2,101
W.Van 41,422 42,131 42,694 1.7%1.3%1,272
2006, 2011 Census of Canada
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Issues regarding growth are expected to continue as Maple Ridge is
expected to see strong population growth in the years to come. According
to the most recent population projections from Metro Vancouver, the
District can expect to reach 132,000 residents by 2042.
3.3 EMPLOYMENT IN MAPLE RIDGE / METRO VANCOUVER
Employment trends in Maple Ridge are dictated by regional trends in
population growth, employment and development. Employment growth
in Maple Ridge will be influenced by the economy of Metro Vancouver and
the employment sectors that are growing regionally.
In December of 2011, Metro Vancouver released a study forecasting
population, housing and employment for the region as a whole, and by
municipality. 3 The findings of this study provide an indication of the
population and employment growth expected in each community,
providing growth targets that each municipality should be prepared to
achieve.
3.3.1 Employment Trends in Metro Vancouver
The following table highlights the job growth by sector for Metro
Vancouver as a whole from 2001 to 2006. As 2011 employment census
data has not been released, 2006 is the most recent accurate data set
available. 4
Table 2: Employment by Sector, Metro Vancouver 2001 & 2006
3 Regional Growth Strategy Projections: Population, Housing, and Employment 2006 -
2041; Metro Vancouver; December 2011
4 These sectors are based on Statistics Canada data, and are the sectors used by
Metro Vancouver. ‘Technology’ jobs could be either in manufacturing (software
development), business services, or information sectors.
Proportion of Metro Vancouver Employment by Sector
Change in
Jobs % Jobs %Jobs
Business Commercial Services 212,930 20%241,665 21%28,735
Retail 116,520 11%124,960 11%8,440
Health and Welfare 99,350 9%107,065 9%7,715
Manufacturing 99,055 9%97,800 8%-1,255
Construction 53,800 5%73,385 6%19,585
Education 74,480 7%83,200 7%8,720
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 78,845 7%85,215 7%6,370
Accomodation Food 81,555 8%91,580 8%10,025
Tranportation, Communication, Utilities 71,900 7%71,305 6%-595
Wholesale Trade 56,020 5%61,650 5%5,630
Information, Cultural, Arts & Recreation 68,405 6%69,495 6%1,090
Public Administration 44,630 4%44,120 4%-510
Primary 15,525 1%18,270 2%2,745
2001 2006
Metro Vancouver
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Business Commercial Services is the employment sector that provides the
most jobs in Metro Vancouver. It is also the sector with the highest growth
rate from 2001 to 2006.
In terms of growth rates, the other employment sectors that round out the
‘top 5’ growth rates from 2001 to 2006 are: Construction, Accommodation
and Food, Education, Retail, as well as Health & Welfare.
Metro Vancouver saw overall job losses in Manufacturing, Transportation
/ Communication / Utilities, and Public Administration.
According to the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, 34% of the Metro Vancouver
labour force worked in their home municipality, and 8% of the labour
force worked from home. Interestingly, 39% of females worked in their
home municipality versus only 29% of males.
3.3.2 Maple Ridge Labour Force
According to Census data, the Maple Ridge labour force grew by almost
13% from 2001 to 2006, implying that over 4,000 Maple Ridge residents
have found employment over that time.
The table below shows Maple Ridge resident employment by category
based on Statistics Canada Census data. These numbers indicate the types
of jobs that Maple Ridge residents have, and not jobs that are located
within Maple Ridge.
Table 3: Maple Ridge Resident Employment by Sector, 2001 & 2006
Since 2001, the sectors that saw the largest increase in resident
employment in Maple Ridge were:
Construction with 980 new jobs
Retail with 700 new jobs
Transportation & Utilities with 615 jobs
Maple Ridge Resident Employment by Sector
Change in
Jobs
Business Commercial Services 5,260 16%5,740 15%480
Retail 3,850 12%4,550 12%700
Health and Welfare 3,740 11%3,975 11%235
Manufacturing 3,610 11%3,920 10%310
Construction 2,580 8%3,560 9%980
Education 2,315 7%2,555 7%240
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 2,300 7%2,190 6%-110
Accomodation Food 2,065 6%2,410 6%345
Tranportation, Communication, Utilities 1,790 5%2,405 6%615
Wholesale Trade 1,750 5%2,205 6%455
Information, Cultural, Arts & Recreation 1,675 5%1,655 4%-20
Public Administration 1,665 5%1,655 4%-10
Primary 775 2%830 2%55
Total 33,375 37,650
2001 2006
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Business Commercial Services with 480 new jobs
Wholesale Trade with 455 new jobs
It is interesting to note that while manufacturing jobs decreased in Metro
Vancouver as a whole, they increased in Maple Ridge.
3.3.3 Residents Working in Maple Ridge
Of an estimated Maple Ridge labour force of almost 38,000 in 2006, 35.4%
or 12,700 work in the District. According to Statistics Canada, the
percentage of Maple Ridge residents that work in their home municipality
has slightly decreased since the 2001 Census.
Table 4: Residents Employed in Home Municipality, 2001 & 2006
While the percentage of the Maple Ridge labour force that works in Maple
Ridge decreased slightly from 2001 to 2006, the absolute number of
residents that work in Maple Ridge increased by almost 1,500 during that
time. The only Metro Vancouver suburban municipality to have more of its
own resident labour force working within its borders was Surrey, at 38.5%
in 2006.
The 2006 totals of Maple Ridge’s labour force and the number of residents
that work in Maple Ridge, and the estimated number of jobs in Maple Ridge
are displayed below.
Table 5: Maple Ridge Employment
Population Employed in Municipality of Residence
Total Employed % Employed Total Employed % Employed
in Municipality in Municipality in Municipality in Municipality
of Residence of Residence of Residence of Residence
Surrey 63,895 38.1%76,495 38.5%
Maple Ridge 11,385 36.4%12,715 35.4%
Langley (DM)16,405 35.8%18,110 35.4%
Delta 14,770 29.5%16,225 32.0%
Coquitlam 13,990 24.9%16,590 27.9%
Langley (CY)2,465 21.2%2,790 22.9%
Port Coquitlam 6,075 22.6%6,455 22.3%
New Westminster 6,320 22.2%6,530 20.2%
Pitt Meadows 1,305 17.0%1,525 17.8%
Port Moody 1,800 14.0%2,485 16.0%
2001 2006
Employment in Maple Ridge 2006
Maple Ridge Estimated Total
Labour Force Residents working Jobs in Maple
In Maple Ridge in Maple Ridge Ridge in 2006 *
38,000 12,700 23,000
Source: Statistics Canada / Metro Vancouver *
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3.3.4 Estimates of Employment by Type and Location, 2012
To estimate employment by type and location across the District, GPRA
conducted a GIS analysis where Daytime Working Population by
Dissemination Block data was merged with District-sourced geographically-
coded business license data and BC Assessment’s ‘actual use’ codes by
address. Using this method, GPRA has identified a working population of
over 26,000 spread across nearly 2,900 active businesses. The top three
leading sectors of employment are: Manufacturing, Accommodation &
Food, and Health & Welfare / Public Administration. Rounding out the top
five employment categories are Business Commercial Services and Retail.
Sectors such as Agriculture and Forestry would be included in the Primary
sector. Given the way Statistics Canada compiles the data, based on
geocoded business data, it is possible that employment numbers for the
agricultural sector are underestimated. 5
Table 6: Maple Ridge Employment by Sector, 2012
The maps below (Figures 1 and 2) highlight primary employment locations
across the District, delimited by sector. As expected, the Town Centre,
Southwest Maple Ridge (specifically in the Maple Meadows Industrial Park)
and the Lougheed Highway corridor are prominent. Additional density of
industrial jobs can be seen in the Albion and Ruskin industrial areas.
The significant number of home based jobs – as evidenced by the
distribution of data points in Figure 2 – is also notable.
5 The 2009 Maple Ridge Agricultural Plan estimated that farming in Maple Ridge
during 2008 paid for 9,400 weeks of agricultural labour, which would equal
approximately 180 full time jobs.
Estimated 2012 Employment by Category in Maple Ridge
Number of Number of
Businesses Employees
Accomodation and Food 220 3,360
Manufacturing 122 4,420
Retail 430 2,740
Business Commercial Services 726 2,970
Construction 502 1,930
Information, Cultural, Arts & Recreation 217 2,220
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 230 1,430
Wholesale Trade 76 860
Health & Welfare / Public Administration 181 3,020
Education 72 2,550
Transportation, Communication, Utilities 52 320
Primary 21 510
Total 2,849 26,330
Source: GPRA estimates based on data from Stats Canada & District of Maple Ridge
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Figure 1: Geographic Distribution of Employment by Sector (2012)
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Figure 2: Employment Breakdown by Area
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3.4 MAPLE RIDGE EMPLOYMENT FORECAST
In undertaking employment forecasting, GPRA takes as a starting point the
Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy’s employment targets for both
the region as a whole and the District specifically. Following from this,
GPRA has reviewed key industry trends and shifts in the competitive
landscape since these targets were compiled in 2011, ultimately producing
an alternate employment projection scenario for the District.
3.4.1 Metro Vancouver Municipalities’ Employment Forecast
Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy Projections for Population,
Housing and Employment (2011) is the most complete study available at
time of writing that forecasts job growth across Metro Vancouver as a
whole and allocates those jobs by Municipality. The forecast population
and employment growth by municipality is displayed below:
Table 7: Metro Vancouver Employment Forecast by Municipality: 2006, 2021, 2041
Metro Vancouver projects the number of jobs in Maple Ridge more than
doubling from 2006 to 2041, growing from 23,000 to 48,000.6 During the
6 Note that the 48,000 job target in 2041 is based on Metro’s understanding, in
December 2011, of existing/established locations for sector employment and the
Metro Vancouver Jobs Forecast by Municipality
2006 2021 2041 2006 2021 2041 #%
Metro Vancouver 2,195,200 2,780,200 3,400,400 1,157,940 1,448,410 1,752,540 594,600 100%
Anmore 1,900 2,800 4,400 300 660 1,250 950 0.20%
Belcarra 700 800 1,000 90 150 220 130 0.00%
Burnaby 210,500 277,000 345,000 136,000 169,000 203,000 67,000 11.30%
Coquitlam 119,600 176,000 224,000 46,000 70,000 94,000 48,000 8.10%
Delta 99,000 109,000 123,000 55,000 63,000 75,000 20,000 3.40%
Electoral Area A 11,600 24,000 30,000 19,000 20,000 21,000 2,000 0.30%
Langley City 24,900 32,000 38,000 17,000 21,000 25,000 8,000 1.30%
Langley Township 97,300 146,000 211,000 49,000 71,000 100,000 51,000 8.60%
Lions Bay 1,400 1,600 2,000 310 400 570 260 0.00%
Maple Ridge 71,500 95,000 132,000 23,000 34,000 48,000 25,000 4.20%
New Westminster 60,500 80,000 102,000 28,000 37,000 48,000 20,000 3.40%
North Vancouver City 47,500 56,000 68,000 29,000 34,000 40,000 11,000 1.80%
North Vancouver District 87,000 98,000 114,000 27,000 33,000 40,000 13,000 2.20%
Pitt Meadows 16,600 22,000 24,000 5,000 8,000 9,000 4,000 0.70%
Port Coquitlam 54,500 68,000 85,000 21,000 28,000 35,000 14,000 2.40%
Port Moody 28,700 39,000 50,000 8,000 13,000 18,000 10,000 1.70%
Richmond 182,700 225,000 275,000 130,000 154,000 181,000 51,000 8.60%
Surrey 413,000 578,000 740,000 143,000 217,000 290,000 147,000 24.70%
Tsawwassen First Nation 800 3,000 5,000 240 1,200 1,500 1,260 0.20%
Vancouver 601,200 673,000 740,000 393,000 441,000 482,000 89,000 15.00%
West Vancouver 45,400 51,000 60,000 21,000 24,000 29,000 8,000 1.30%
White Rock 18,900 23,000 27,000 7,000 9,000 11,000 4,000 0.70%
Source: Metro Vancouver
Job Growth 2006-2041Total EmploymentTotal Population
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same period, the population of Maple Ridge is expected to grow from
71,500 (already nearly 80,000 today) to 132,000.
Based on RGS employment forecasts, the District of Maple Ridge is
expected to increase its share of Metro Vancouver employment from 2%
in 2006 to 2.7% by 2041. To achieve this RGS target, Maple Ridge will need
to attract 4.2% of new jobs in Metro Vancouver over that period.
As displayed in Table 4, over 35% of Maple Ridge residents work in Maple
Ridge, and by 2041 Metro Vancouver forecasts this percentage to be 36.4%.
Therefore, Maple Ridge only needs to increase jobs at the same rate as
population growth to meet these targets.
Some important aspects of the Metro report include:
The forecast jobs per municipality include residents who have jobs
with ‘no fixed place of work’ as well as those that work from home.
o As of 2006, 14% of the Maple Ridge labour force had ‘no
fixed place of work’.
o Forecasted jobs per Municipality also include home based
jobs, which accounted for 8% of the Maple Ridge labour
force in 2006.
o Together jobs with ‘no fixed place of work’ and those who
work from home account for 21% of the labour force in
Maple Ridge or almost 7,700 jobs. GPRA expects these
percentages to remain constant as they have remained
constant in recent Censuses.
Regarding sectors expected to grow, the Metro Vancouver report
forecasts a shift from goods producing industries to service
industries.
o 55% of job growth is expected to come from business &
commercial Service, Finance / Insurance / Real Estate
(FIRE), retail, etc.
o 23% of job growth is expected to come from health,
education and public administration.
o 21% of job growth is expected to come from
manufacturing, transportation, wholesale trade and
construction.
o Only 1% of job growth is expected to come from primary
industries.
Employment growth in most categories is strongly correlated with
population growth. However, employment growth in some
categories is more dependent on quality of location rather than
availability of employment lands in each of Metro’s municipalities. As major
changes in land availability and infrastructure occur (for example, recent ALR
exclusion of North Lougheed lands in Pitt Meadows), forecasts will be revised.
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size of local population. Manufacturing serves as a prime example.
Manufacturing jobs are often considered of particular value to
communities because they provide well-paid positions, important
tax revenues, and are not as tied to population growth as other
categories. This is due to the fact that in general manufacturing
companies serve a larger market than the adjacent neighbourhood,
municipality or region. A very macro example would be that auto
manufacturing jobs will not increase in Metro Vancouver as a result
of population growth. Those jobs are located elsewhere.
In order for Maple Ridge’s employment numbers to increase at a rate
higher than its population growth, attracting categories such as
manufacturing will be important. It is expected that for employment
growth to surpass population growth, business services will also
increase. Business services only represent an estimated 11% of the
jobs in Maple Ridge and almost 20% for the region.
3.4.2 Maple Ridge Employment Forecast by Sector
Forecasting employment is very helpful and necessary for long range land
use planning, however forecasts themselves are based on a number of
potentially volatile assumptions. It is difficult to predict cycles in the
economy as well as changes in the way people work; this difficulty expands
exponentially the more distant in the future we try to forecast.
Based on our review of the assumptions underpinning Metro Vancouver’s
municipal jobs forecasts, as well as our understanding of emerging regional
employment land dynamics (particularly those that have come about since
Metro’s publication of municipal employment projections in 2011), GPRA
takes the view that Metro’s employment targets should be regarded as a
‘high’ growth projection scenario and thus should be complemented by a
second more conservative forecast scenario. GPRA has thus compiled a
second, conservative growth scenario for the District, in which we adopt
Metro Vancouver’s sector-specific forecasts for the region overall and
subsequently revise Maple Ridge allocation figures. Both forecast
scenarios are presented in Table 8 below.
Baseline jobs, 2012: 26,300
Metro Vancouver Scenario, 2041: 48,000 (2.1% annual growth)
GPRA Scenario, 2041: 42,500 (1.7% annual growth)
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Table 8: Sector Specific Employment Forecast for Maple Ridge to 2041
The sectors expected to see the largest job growth in Maple Ridge are
Business & Commercial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Education, as well
as Health & Welfare / Public Administration.
Other sectors expected to see significant job growth include Construction,
FIRE, and Accommodation / Food.
3.5 EMPLOYMENT TRENDS BY SECTOR 7
The following section reviews the trends of business sectors that are major
users of industrial lands in Metro Vancouver, and potential sources for
employment in Maple Ridge.
3.5.1 Primary Sectors
The Primary Sector historically would have been dominated by the
Forestry sector in the Lower Mainland; however now the largest
sub-sector is agriculture.
Forestry and agriculture are important areas for jobs in this sector
in Maple Ridge.
It was estimated that there were 500 jobs Primary Sector jobs in
Maple Ridge in 2012, and this is forecast to increase to 900 by 2041.
Trends
Eating locally is becoming increasingly important for people in
Metro Vancouver and will result in growing agricultural and agro-
industrial jobs.
Growth in agro-industrial jobs are expected, but the total number
of new jobs are forecast to be small. Employment in this sector will
7 The employment sectors used are the same used by Metro Vancouver.
Technology jobs, for example, could be found in Manufacturing,
Information / Cultural / Arts, as well as Business Commercial Services.
Estimated Employment Growth by Category in Maple Ridge to 2041
Jobs in Jobs in New Jobs in New
2012 2041 Jobs 2041 Jobs
Accommodation and Food 3,400 5,300 1,900 5,100 1,700
Manufacturing 4,400 6,600 2,200 5,900 1,500
Retail 2,700 5,000 2,300 4,600 1,900
Business Commercial Services 3,000 5,700 2,700 4,800 1,800
Construction 1,900 4,000 2,100 3,600 1,700
Information, Cultural, Arts & Recreation 2,200 3,800 1,600 3,200 1,000
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 1,400 3,400 2,000 2,900 1,500
Wholesale Trade 900 2,400 1,500 1,800 900
Health & Welfare / Public Admin 3,000 5,100 2,100 4,800 1,800
Education 2,600 4,800 2,200 4,500 1,900
Transportation, Communication, Utilities 300 1,000 700 600 300
Primary 500 900 400 700 200
Total 26,300 48,000 21,700 42,500 16,200
Source: GPRA, HBLG Estimates based on data from Stats Canada & District of Maple Ridge
Metro Forecast GPRA Low Scenario
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continue to include an important component of seasonal and part-
time jobs.
Significant agriculture and agro-industrial growth in the region will
likely involve public involvement, including support for small
farmers, and will not be solely market driven.
According to the 2008 Maple Ridge farming census, in 2008 Maple
Ridge farmers paid for 9,400 weeks of labour or approximately 180
full-time equivalent jobs.
A Working Farm School to teach the business of farming and agro-
tech has been proposed for Maple Ridge. The Economic
Development office and District should promote this school. A
location close to retail and industrial land would be ideal to
promote potential growth and spin off benefits.
OCP policies seek to preserve agriculture lands, a key factor in
fostering growth in this sector.
3.5.2 Construction
It is estimated that 1,900 jobs were in the Construction Sector in
Maple Ridge in 2012, and could grow up to 4,000 by 2041.
Maple Ridge has a higher proportion of Construction sector jobs
than the region, and this is expected to continue through 2041.
Land use is dominated by contracting companies which prefer light
industrial locations with outside and indoor storage for equipment,
tools, and vehicles. The trucks used are usually vans or pick-up
trucks.
Approximately 10% of companies, such as vendors of concrete and
rebar, require heavy industrial land which is often located on the
waterfront.
Trends
Land use by the construction sector has not seen increases in
efficiency, but companies have moved east, following cheaper
lands and residential development.
The use of industrial land by the Construction Sector in Maple
Ridge is currently not very efficient, which is not uncommon for
this sector throughout the region. Land use efficiency by the
construction sector is expected to improve slightly by 2041 as
industrial land values in Maple Ridge increase.
The demand for industrial land, and job growth in this sector,
should mirror the growth in the construction sector, and this
growth is closely related to both the economy of BC and regional
population growth.
Waterfront locations in Maple Ridge could be used for the storage
or transportation companies that ship materials up and down the
Fraser River.
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Given Maple Ridge is expected to see significant population growth
and residential development, the construction sector in Maple
Ridge should see similar growth in construction jobs.
3.5.3 Manufacturing
The Manufacturing Sector in Maple Ridge is estimated to employ
4,400 people in 2012. Jobs in this sector could grow up to 6,600
by 2041.
It is important to attract manufacturing companies because they
are not influenced by population growth, and therefore are key
to increasing the jobs per population ratio.
Trends
Manufacturing jobs in Maple Ridge split into three broad camps:
o Wood manufacturing: Typically located in older buildings.
Will see job growth, but less demand for new facilities.
o Food manufacturing: The agro-industrial sector is
expected to grow due to local demand, but this sector
likely needs support from Municipal and Provincial
Governments.
o All other companies: Most likely smaller scale
manufacturers. Larger companies should be the targeted,
though small owner-operated businesses could also
provide significant employment growth.
It is estimated that almost 50% of the manufacturing jobs in
Maple Ridge are from the wood products / forestry sector. Many
of these businesses are based in aging buildings, and it can be
tempting to suggest that these lands are ripe for redevelopment;
however, it should be recognized that these jobs are important
for the community.
In general the manufacturing sector is going through dramatic
changes including smaller production runs and increased
customization and higher value-added processes which reduce
demand for land.
These changes will result in smaller production floors, growing
requirement for mixed-use lands with office space, as well as an
increased importance on locations with easy access for just-in-
time shipments of materials / finished products.
Smaller production runs, and value-added processes will protect
Canadian manufacturers from currency fluctuations.
Maple Ridge’s high proportion of manufacturing jobs
comparative to other municipalities is in large part due to its
lower industrial land values, historical location for wood product
companies, and the attractive lifestyle available to owner-
operators. This is expected to continue.
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3.5.4 Wholesale Trade
The Wholesale Trade sector is estimated to include 900 jobs in
2012, and forecasted to include almost 2,400 jobs by 2041.
Maple Ridge has lower than the regional average of wholesale
sector jobs, most likely do to access issues, but with population
increase and tolls on the Port Mann Bridge, this sector is expected
to see higher growth than the region as a whole.
Trends
Companies that service the downtown core are less likely to move
eastward.
As a result of remaining in some of the most expensive industrial
land in the region, the wholesale sector has had to make much
more efficient use of their space. Enhanced racking systems and
‘just-in-time’ deliveries are increasingly used by this sector to
improve efficiency.
Larger wholesalers looking for cheaper land, with easy access to
the US border, as well as companies servicing populations in east
Metro Vancouver could look to locate in Maple Ridge.
Congestion is an issue for the wholesale sector, so access to quality
transportation networks is critical for attracting these companies.
3.5.5 Retail Trade
It is estimated that Maple Ridge has 2,700 jobs in the retail sector,
with employment expected to grow to 5,000 by 2041.
Retail development and employment typically follows population
growth.
Areas that become a regional retail destination will have a higher
proportion of retail employment.
Trends
Retail in Maple Ridge’s Town Centre will improve and grow with an
increased population and improved anchors, such as Target,
Thrifty’s and the new Gaming Centre.
Traditional Town Centres provide a positive pedestrian experience,
and can become regional draws for retail expenditure.
Recent regional retail development has focussed either on
providing big-box formats for large retailers, or pedestrian
oriented developments that focus on providing a positive
consumer experience.
As the region becomes denser, some projects are combining big-
box retailers with a pedestrian element. Park Royal Village as well
as the Canadian Tire and Best Buy are good examples of this trend.
Retail development on industrial lands is decreasing as the
importance of the industrial land base becomes evident to local
governments. To strengthen this trend in Maple Ridge, it is
recommended later in this report that big box retail is removed as
an allowable use on M-3 zoned lands.
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3.5.6 Transportation, Communication, Utilities8
These sectors were estimated to include 300 jobs in 2012, and
could increase to over 1,000 by 2041.
Within Metro Vancouver 70% of goods are moved by truck.
Difficulty to access Maple Ridge likely kept these jobs away from
the District historically, but that should change over time with the
new Golden Ears Bridge and tolls on the Port Mann Bridge.
Growth in these sectors will be typically based on population
growth, traffic network improvements, and increased traffic at the
Port of Vancouver.
Trends
Traffic congestion is huge issue for this sector. Some companies
have considered leaving the region, and all are awaiting the
completion of the Gateway project.
Companies that do not require a location next to the airport or
ports have been moving eastward to take advantage of cheaper
rates and available lands.
With the improved bridges Maple Ridge could become a more
regionally important location for Transportation and Warehousing
companies, although they would want to be located in southwest
Maple Ridge.
Increased activity of the Pitt Meadows Regional Airport could lead
to transportation related jobs.
3.5.7 Film, Publishing, Information, Culture
Film, Publishing, Information, and Culture sectors are estimated to
have 2,200 employees in Maple Ridge in 2012. These sectors could
expand to include 3,800 jobs in Maple Ridge by 2041.
Land use by the film sector is dominated by studios, though office
space is used by producers, animators and editors.
Trends
There is demand for more studio space in the region, and due to
the tax credit for filming that occurs east of 200th Street industry
insiders suggest that a new studio could be developed in Langley,
Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows to take advantage of the tax
incentive.
With the rise in the Canadian dollar in recent years the tax
incentives introduced by the Provincial Government are
considered critical in attracting film productions.
Publishing and other art and cultural jobs are expected to grow
with population. Employment in these sectors is expected to grow
slightly slower in Maple Ridge than the region.
8 These sectors were combined in the Metro Vancouver employment study,
and were combined in this study to maintain continuity.
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3.5.8 Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE)
The FIRE sectors are estimated to have 1,400 jobs in Maple Ridge
in 2012. FIRE is forecasted to have 3,400 jobs as of 2041.
These jobs are typically expected to go at the rate of population,
but due to the low number of jobs in Maple Ridge in 2012, it is
expected that job growth in FIRE will exceed population growth.
Typically cluster in commercial hubs, but will locate where the
population is.
Trends
More FIRE businesses have been moving from Vancouver and
locating in the suburbs to be closer to their clients.
This sector has been one of the more important sectors pushing for
new suburban office space in Surrey and Langley.
As the Maple Ridge Town Centre becomes more vibrant it will
attract more businesses from this sector in office space.
3.5.9 Business & Commercial Services
These sectors employ an estimated 3,000 people in Maple Ridge in
2012, and could grow to employ 5,700 people by 2041.
Would include a broad spectrum of businesses that are typically
knowledge based.
One of the fastest growing sectors in Metro Vancouver that is
expected to continue to grow.
Trends
The North American and Metro Vancouver economy is forecasted
to become more service oriented. Maple Ridge currently has a low
proportion of Business & Commercial Services jobs, so this sector
could be expected to grow faster than population growth.
Many of these businesses are home-based, but a vibrant Town
Centre would likely attract businesses to Maple Ridge.
3.5.10 Education
The educational sector employs an estimated 2,600 people in
Maple Ridge, and it is forecasted the sector could employ
approximately 4,800 people in 2041.
Institutional employment that also creates a significant number of
spin-off service sector jobs.
Predominantly Education jobs grow at the rate of population, but
private education is a growing sector, and these institutions can
cause jobs to grow at a faster rate than population growth.
Trends
Throughout BC there has been increasing development of new
post-secondary facilities in recent years. Many of these facilities
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have been developed by Community Colleges, some of which are
now designated as Universities.
There is discussion of two new post-secondary developments in
Maple Ridge including a Business Innovation Accelerator that
would focus on technology, agriculture and tourism, as well as a
Working Farm School to teach business of farming and agro-tech.
3.5.11 Health & Welfare
The Health & Welfare sector is estimated to employ 3,000 people
in 2012, and is forecasted to employ 5,100 people in 2041.
Trends
As the population grows employment in the Health & Welfare
sector will grow. An aging population will also increase jobs in
Health & Welfare.
Health and beauty products are also one of the fastest growing
categories of retail, but that would not be included in this sector.
3.5.12 Accommodation & Food
The Accommodation and Food sector employs an estimated 3,400
people in 2012, and is forecasted to employ up to 5,300 by 2041.
Accommodation and Food can be expected to grow in comparison
with population.
Trends
Since Maple Ridge is underserved with restaurants, it is possible
that this sector will grow faster than population as the Town Centre
and other regional centres gain critical mass to add new food
options.
Development of new hotels has increased in the eastern
municipalities of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge will likely add a
new hotel over the study period.
Increased activity and awareness of the Pitt Meadows Regional
Airport could aid demand for hotel space in Maple Ridge.
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3.6 LAND REQUIRED FOR NEW EMPLOYMENT
The employment forecasts created allowed for estimates to be made on
the types of buildings and land uses that new jobs would require.
Employment by the various categories was split between different types of
office, retail, industrial, and institutional building typologies along with
their standard site coverage, density, and expected employment density.
Home based jobs, and jobs with no fixed address were expected to remain
at 20%, their current level. The following table displays the forecasted new
jobs by building typology.
Table 9: New Jobs by Estimated Building Typology
Table 10 presents land demand estimates based on each of the two
employment projection scenarios.
Table 10: Maple Ridge Land Required for Projected Jobs
Future densities are difficult to forecast. However, recent studies indicate
industrial land utilization is not forecast to see significant gains in
employment or development densities on industrial lands in the short
term.9
Dramatic changes in the way people work over the next 30 years can be
expected. Increases in home based employment, and employment with no
fixed address could potentially occur as more people rely on technology for
work.
9 Metro Vancouver, Industrial Land Intensification Analysis, Eric Vance &
Associates, 2011
Building Typology of New Jobs in Maple Ridge
Metro Vancouver Lower Employment
Forecast Growth Scenario
Retail 4,100 3,500
Insitutional 3,000 2,400
Industrial 5,800 4,300
Office 4,400 2,800
Home Based 4,400 3,200
Source: GPRA, HBLG Forecast
Land Required for Forcasted Jobs by 2041
Metro Vancouver Metro Vancouver Lower Employment Lower Employment
Forecast Forecast Growth Scenario Growth Scenario
Acres Hectares Acres Hectares
Retail 110 45 100 40
Insitutional 80 32 70 28
Industrial 230 93 170 69
Office 50 20 30 12
Source: GPRA, HBLG Forecast
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3.7 STRATEGIES FOR MAXIMIZING FUTURE EMPLOYMENT
3.7.1 Invest Maple Ridge – Economic Development Office
The Economic Development office in Maple Ridge, through their Invest
Maple Ridge marketing program, is using traditional economic
development strategies including forming strategic partnerships, as well as
targeted marketing and communications to help grow the Maple Ridge
economy.
Invest Maple Ridge gets direction from the Maple Ridge Council, and from
the Economic Advisory Commission (EAC), which has 12 members,
including 3 Councillors, 6 members at large, and 3 community liaisons.
Specific goals of Invest Maple Ridge include:
Attract commercial & industrial investment
Create high value local jobs
Promote the quality lifestyle of Maple Ridge
Promote business retention in Maple Ridge
Attract investment in the Town Centre
The goal of creating high value local jobs has led to a process of reviewing
each priority economic sector to outline strategies for growth. So far this
process has completed a review of the Tourism sector, and is currently
reviewing the Education sector, with a review of Agriculture to begin in
2012.
The review of the Tourism sector indicated there is significant
potential for growth, but Maple Ridge requires more hotel rooms
and meeting facilities.
o Economic Development has been pursuing potential hotel
investors / developers, and there is a proposed project
now at 224 & Dewdney.
Within Education sector there is the potential for the development
for a new facilities including a Business Innovation Accelerator, a
Green Building Technology Centre, as well as a Working Farm
School.
The goal of attracting investment in the Maple Ridge Town Centre has
resulted in the Town Centre Investment Incentive Program. This incentive
program has been very well received and was awarded the 2012 Marketing
Program of the Year by the Economic Developers Association of BC. The
incentive program includes:
Temporary Tax exemptions and reduced permit costs
Priority processing from District Staff
Incentives / grants for façade improvements and commercial
renovations
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Increased allowable density
The incentive program has reportedly resulted in 320 new residential units
in 6 comprehensive multi-family developments. It is believed that similar
incentive programs might assist the District in meeting its job growth goals.
For example, one particular target area would be the promotion of land
consolidation along with development along the Lougheed corridor.
For the District to meet its job growth goals, similar incentive programs
might need to be established to promote development and consolidation
on industrial lands and along the Lougheed Corridor.
By focusing on developing the Town Centre, attracting educational
institutions to build new locations and major businesses to the area Invest
Maple Ridge is being effective in attracting new jobs to the District.
3.8 RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
3.8.1 Regulatory
Consideration should be given to the fact that the faster Maple
Ridge’s population grows the more jobs it needs to create to keep
the job to population ratio.
Continue to promote / allow home-based businesses. Maple Ridge
has one of the higher percentages of residents that work in their
home municipality (see Table 4), but has an opportunity to
strengthen support home-based businesses. Regulations
governing home-based businesses should be relaxed. In rural
areas, regulations governing home-based businesses are based on
lot areas, these regulations should be reviewed.
Maintain regional competitiveness regarding industrial and
commercial tax rates.
Table 11: Comparative Tax Rates by Municipality
3.8.2 Marketing
Promote the District as one of the fastest growing municipalities in
the region as well as its lifestyle and affordable housing / land to
Comparative Tax Rates by Municipality
2011 Rates
Light Industrial Business & Other
Tax Rate Tax Rate
Surrey 6.6073 7.41846
Langley City 9.2424 8.8727
Langley Twnshp 9.7807 9.6238
Maple Ridge 12.1045 12.1045
Coquitlam 12.3135 14.7825
Port Coquitlam 13.3124 12.1766
Pitt Meadows 15.0137 12.6713
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prospective businesses. ‘Lifestyle’ attributes that would attract
businesses to Maple Ridge include the proximity to nature, healthy
Town Centre, affordable housing, and quality community facilities.
Continue to promote Maple Ridge along with Pitt Meadows and
Mission, as the ‘North of the Fraser’ communities.
Focus business attraction on manufacturing, technology as well as
partnerships with new educational institutions.
3.8.3 Town Centre
Extend the Town Centre incentive program beyond 2013. A vibrant
Town Centre will create more retail jobs and attract more
businesses to Maple Ridge.
o A hotel in the Town Centre will help attract more tourists
as well as meetings / events and tournaments to Maple
Ridge.
Encourage office development in Town Centre.
Promote an ‘executive business centre’ in the Town Centre. Such
a facility could act as a business incubator while also providing ‘hot
desks’ and office amenities for home based businesses.
Continue to support new cultural events (such as free concerts,
open air movies, etc.) in the Town Centre to bring more people to
the area.
Key retail tenants have a huge impact on perception. Promote
popular tenants, such as Earls, Cactus Club, Joey, Milestones, Nuba,
etc. to locate in Maple Ridge.
Continue to promote an improved streetscape in the Town Centre.
Promote food carts in the Town Centre to animate Memorial Peace
Park and other public spaces in the Town Centre.
3.8.4 Tourism
Promote hotel development in the Town Centre, preferably with
meeting room facilities.
Utilize the Fraser River and the Albion Ferry terminal for tourist
activities. A study was done for the District of Maple Ridge that
looked at creating a tourist visitor centre at the Albion Ferry
Terminal. 10
Develop eco-tourism opportunities, potentially with guiding
operations based at a new tourist visitor centre at the old Albion
Ferry terminal.
Look at attracting tournaments and events to locate in Maple Ridge.
10 Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows Visitor Centre Feasibility Study, IBI Group, July
2010.
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o Review potential fringe sports that are already popular in
Maple Ridge and other sports tourism possibilities.
3.8.5 Business Retention & Attraction
Continue to support the Economic Development office.
Retaining businesses is the same as attracting a new business.
Work with new Business Innovation Accelerator to promote
entrepreneurs to locate in Maple Ridge.
Manufacturing and Information / Cultural jobs are less tied to
population growth and should be promoted.
Use jobs estimate in Maple Ridge as a baseline to track changes in
employment by sector.
3.8.6 Industrial Promotion
Promote northern industrial sites for those looking for affordable
lands.
Promote flexibility of uses on industrial lands, not including big box
retail.
3.8.7 Infrastructure Enhancement
Work with Translink to promote development of Abernethy
Connector, and improved transit in Maple Ridge.
Look at feasibility of creating additional wireless hotspots in the
Town Centre.
Capitalize on regional infrastructure investments to attract
businesses to Maple Ridge.
Revisit the potential for a Westcoast Express station at Albion if the
area is to be redeveloped.
3.8.8 Education
Promote the development / expansion of educational facilities
including:
o Business Innovation Accelerator
o Working Farm School
o Green Technologies Centre
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4.0 COMMERCIAL LANDS: ISSUES AND INVENTORY11
As part of the vision of creating a complete community, Maple Ridge
residents have expressed a strong desire to increase the retail and service
options they have in their community. Through stakeholder engagement,
along with informal conversations with residents and business owners, it
became clear that residents have a strong desire for more comparison
shopping opportunities, brand-name restaurant space, a vibrant cultural
and entertainment destination in the Town Centre, and generally less need
to travel west or south to find goods and services that they desire.
GPRA has conducted a detailed retail and service commercial assessment
for the District (Sections 4, 5 and 6 of this report), including a review of the
commercial lands inventory (designated and zoned), current commercial
expenditures, ‘outflow’ of expenditures, projections of future demand
under a variety of scenarios, and how demand will likely be allocated by
area with associated land use implications. This analysis culminates in a
series of options, opportunities and recommendations for how the District
may proceed with its commercial lands strategy in the coming decade and
beyond.
This section provides an overview of issues and land/built space inventory
by area.
4.1 COMMERCIAL ISSUES / STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS
4.1.1 Commercial Issues
The District of Maple Ridge is in the midst of a multi-year effort to
strengthen and incent growth and vibrancy in the Town Centre.
Reinforcing the Town Centre as the primary destination business,
11 Note that Sections 4, 5 and 6 address “Commercial Land” and associated
demand insofar as they pertain to RETAIL and SERVICE COMMERCIAL in
retail environments. Other aspects of commercial development (i.e.
Office space demand and land requirements) are addressed in Section 7.
Highlights:
District working to build balanced community and neighbourhoods, with
stronger commercial base and better opportunities to spend within the
community;
Built Inventory: 2.4 mil sq.ft. retail/ service commercial
Land Inventory: 445 acres designated commercial lands
Zoned Land Inventory: 346 acres of zoned commercial lands
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entertainment and shopping district in the municipality is considered a
primary goal for Maple Ridge.
Strengthening the Town Centre is part of the broader strategic commercial
planning goals and principles outlined in the OCP which are designed to
help achieve a balanced, complete community. The District hopes to
reinforce the “development of a network of mixed use urban activity
centres” which include:
The Town Centre as the area of central focus for business, culture
and entertainment;
A hierarchy of ‘lower order’ commercial centres based on the
needs of the local population, to promote compactness,
community identity, transit, and commercial activity;
Promotion of a pedestrian friendly Town Centre surrounded by
high density and other infill.
The OCP also explicitly calls for the undertaking of a commercial and
industrial lands strategy (OCP, 6-4).
From this work, the District will have a more complete understanding of
commercial land availability, land requirements, and strategic areas to
focus future growth.
4.1.2 Stakeholder Comments
The stakeholder workshops conducted by GPRA and HB Lanarc-Golder in
June 2012 brought forward the following concerns, wants, and
recommendations regarding commercial planning and development.
These were kept in mind when conducting the ensuing analysis and
developing recommendations:
Commercial in the East: Further commercial development
in the East would, it was suggested, be able to coexist with a strong,
vibrant downtown. Expanded residential in the core will, it is
thought, be the primary supportive elements for more downtown
retail.
Marketing: Focus on marketing and planning commercially
‘themed’ areas (e.g. promoting downtown as the ‘cultural heart’ or
‘center of boutique commercial.’)
Waterfront: Bring modern mixed-use, with retail components,
to underutilized waterfront lands.
New Tenants: Promote ‘urban box’ type retail development (i.e.
national retailers in smaller footprints integrated into town centre
pedestrian network). Also promote restaurant development
downtown.
Incentives: Extend Town Centre incentives package beyond
2013 to keep up positive momentum.
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Embrace Opportunity: do not reject opportunities to bring large
retailers (e.g. Wal-Mart) to the community. Instead, manage the
opportunity, encourage progressive development, work with
proponents to build strong community.
Conference/Hotel/: continue to invest in incentives that will
bring, in the medium-long term, lead to development of new hotel
and conference space.
Approvals: Speed up the approvals process (rezoning,
development permits, subdivision approvals and building
permits).12
4.2 COMMERCIAL FLOOR AREA & LAND INVENTORY
The District-wide commercial inventory provides a snapshot of both built
retail and service commercial floor area and land supply.
4.2.1 District-Wide Commercial Floor Area & Land Supply
Maple Ridge today is home to approximately 2.4 million square feet of
retail and service
commercial floor area,
including health service
and financial/legal
service space located in
shopping centres and
along street-fronts.
This space inventory
breaks down by
category as shown at
right:
12 A recent survey from the Commercial Real Estate Development Association ranked
Maple Ridge in last place out of 20 Lower Mainland municipalities in terms of
approval timing in 2012. A previous survey conducted in 2010 had ranked Maple
Ridge mid-pack.
Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory, 2012*
Retail Categories Square Feet
Convenience Goods & Services 944,000
Grocery & Specialty Food 296,500
Pharmacy 21,900
Alcohol & Tobacco 44,800
Health Services 242,900
Financial & Legal Services 139,700
Other Services 198,200
Comparison Goods 804,700
Apparel 126,700
Footwear & Fashion Accessories 12,000
Cosmetics, Health, Bath & Beauty 40,200
Jewelry & Accessories 35,000
Home/Portable Electronics & Appliances 39,000
Multimedia, Books & Music 42,300
Home Furnishings & Accessories 141,000
Home Improvement 253,300
Toys / Hobbies / Pets 92,700
Sporting & Recreational Goods 22,500
Food & Beverage 329,200
Restaurants 274,100
Alcohol Sales - Pubs / Lounges / Restaurants 55,100
Entertainment & Leisure 141,700
Movies 0
Leisure & Recreation 141,700
Automotive Goods & Services 188,900
Total 2,408,500
*District Inventory, categorized by GPRA
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Data from the District indicates that the municipality has 445 acres of OCP
designated commercial lands and 346 acres of zoned commercial lands.
The approximate breakdown of zoned commercial by
zoning type is shown in Table 11 at right.
Approximately 13.1% or 45.5 acres of the District’s zoned
commercial lands are currently vacant, while 11.3% or
39.3 acres are underutilized.13 The largest amounts of
both vacant and underutilized zoned land are in the
Town Centre.
GPRA has subdivided Maple Ridge into five geographic
areas for the purpose of commercial space demand
forecasting. These areas are outlined in the map below,
with grey filled areas denoting the Town Centre and
Albion Area Plan areas.14
Figure 3: Maple Ridge Geographic Sub-Areas, and Boundaries of Town Centre and
Albion Area Plans (in grey)*
13 Underutilized lands are lands with a low value of improvements to
property value (less than 10%).
14 See Appendix A for a description of each sub-area’s corresponding Traffic
Zones, descriptions of area boundaries, and a Traffic Zone map.
North / Silver Valley
West
Core
Core East
East
Zoned Commercial Lands
Zone Acres % of Total
Community Commercial (C-2)35.4 10.2%
Heritage Commercial (H-1)0.9 0.3%
Neighbourhood Commercial (C-1)7.6 2.2%
Neighbourhood Pub Zone (C-4)2.8 0.8%
Recreation Commercial (CS-3)40.4 11.7%
Service Commercial (CS-1)134.2 38.7%
Service Station Commercial (CS-2)5.8 1.7%
Town Centre Commercial (C-3)117.1 33.8%
Village Centre Commercial (C-5)0.7 0.2%
Table 12: Zoned Commercial Lands
*Note: Identified areas do not reflect planning area boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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The ‘Core’ (outlined in green) encompasses the Town Centre plus a ‘fringe’
area to the east to 232nd street. The ‘Core East’ encompasses Cottonwood
and East Haney, as well as a portion of the Albion Area Plan.
Following is an overview of current commercial floor area and land
inventory by the 5 geographic areas.
4.5.2 West Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory
West Maple Ridge is home to 807,000 square feet of commercial space,
representing 32% of total District inventory. An estimated $214 million of
retail expenditures were captured in the West over the past year,
representing 33% of all retail spending within the District.
Table 13: West Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory
In the West, the majority of commercial floor area is contained within small
and large auto-oriented strip plazas and centres along the Lougheed
Highway and Dewdney Trunk Road corridors. Most of the larger retail
plazas appear to be relatively healthy, with low vacancy and strong anchor
tenants (e.g. Safeway, Save-On Foods). There are some areas with
relatively marginal businesses and poor upkeep along the corridor; these
underutilized commercial sites will likely be redeveloped slowly over the
next 10-20 years.
The West contains 125 acres of zoned commercial lands (36% of total) and
180 acres of OCP designated commercial land. Of the zoned space, 12 acres
are considered ‘underutilized’ while nearly 11 acres are classified as vacant.
The entirety of the Dewdney/Lougheed corridor (Areas 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the
map below) contains approximately 170 acres of OCP-designated
commercial lands, 120 acres of which is currently zoned for some form of
commercial use. Of the zoned commercial space in the corridor, 7.6% (9.1
acres) of the lands are classified as ‘vacant’ while 9.6% (11.5 acres) are
classified as ‘underutilized.’
In the southern cluster of Hammond (Area 5 on the map below), located
southwest of Maple Meadows Business Park, there are 6.2 acres of zoned
commercial. 0.8 acres are considered underutilized while 1.7 acres are
vacant.
Wet Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory
Categories Square Feet % of District Total
Convenience Goods & Services 259,300 27%
Comparison Goods 300,100 37%
Food & Beverage 113,200 34%
Entertainment & Leisure 50,300 35%
Auto Goods & Services 84,300 45%
Total 807,200 34%
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Figure 4: West Maple Ridge Commercial Precincts
Lougheed/Dewdney Corridor Commercial Precincts
Hammond Commercial Area
1
2
3
4
5
Note: Identified area does not reflect planning area boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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4.3.2 Core East
The commercial precincts within the Core East area are home to nearly
19,000 square feet of commercial
space, representing 0.7% of total
District inventory. An estimated $6.5
million of retail expenditures were
captured in this area over the last year,
representing 1% of District spending.
There are 5 areas within this sub-region
that are designated for commercial in
the OCP, as depicted in the map below. In all, this sub-region contains an
estimated 21 acres of OCP-designated commercial lands with nearly 16
acres currently commercially zoned. There are nearly 5 acres of either
vacant or underutilized zoned commercial land.
1
2
3
5
4
SW Corner
Dewdney & 232nd:
service station &
convenience store.
SW Corner Dewdney & 240th : service
station, convenience store, auto parts
retailer. Neighbourhood node potential.
Both sides of 112th Ave along 240th
Street.
Largest designated commercial
parcels in sub-area: ~ 6 acres on
west side of 240th north and south
of 112th Ave, & ~1 acre on SE
corner of 240th and 112th
designated “Village Commercial.
Current application for 10,000
sq.ft. neighbourhood commercial
at north-west corner and 10,000
sq.ft. at south-west corner.
Note: North-east node, where no
application has been received to
date, is in the Albion
Neighbourhood Plan Area
Largest retail precinct in sub-
area by built floor area.
Home to Bruce’s Market and
auto supplies retailer.
Significant vacant lands.
Village in Albion neighbourhood (<1 acre).
Some of the best commercial design in the
District, and an attractive heart for the
neighbourhood.
Commercial potential across the street. This
would help create a complete retail ‘village’
within the Albion Neighbourhood Plan Area.
Table 14: Core East Commercial Inventory
Core East Commercial Inventory
Categories Square Feet % of District Total
Convenience Goods & Services 8,800 0.9%
Comparison Goods 4,300 0.5%
Food & Beverage 2,000 0.6%
Entertainment & Leisure 1,000 70.0%
Auto Goods & Services 2,600 1.4%
Total 18,700 0.8%
Note: Identified area does not reflect planning area boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
4.3.3 East Maple Ridge Commercial Supply
East Maple Ridge contains six nodes designated for commercial space
totaling 21 acres. Not all nodes currently contain retail floor area, and not
all are zoned. The total built space
in the East is an estimated 6,600
square feet, representing 0.3% of
District commercial inventory.
All 6 designated commercial nodes
are depicted on the map below.
Figure 5: East Maple Ridge Commercial
Areas
1 2 3
4
5
6
East Commercial Inventory
Categories Square Feet % of District Total
Convenience Goods & Services 2,700 0.3%
Comparison Goods 0 0.0%
Food & Beverage 3,900 1.2%
Entertainment & Leisure 0 0.0%
Auto Goods & Services 0 0.0%
Total 6,600 0.3%
Table 15: East Maple Ridge Commercial Inventory
SW Corner
Dewdney & 248th.
Contains service
station with
associated food
store & coffee
counter.
SE Corner Dewdney
& 256th: Currently
vacant, designated
commercial. SE Corner Dewdney
& 284th: Small
grocery and UHaul
Rental.
272nd Street at 100th
Avenue: designated
commercial, contains
assembly space.
Total OCP-designated land inventory: 21 acres
Total Zoned commercial land inventory: 24 acres
Historic Whonnock
commercial area,
containing small general
store and post office.
Located in Ruskin
industrial areas, home to
a large pub.
Note: Identified area does not reflect planning area
boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official
Community Plan
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
4.3.4 Silver Valley/North Commercial Supply
The Silver Valley/North contains the nodal commercial areas along the
north side of Dewdney Trunk Road from 232nd Street to 256th Street, as well
as designated commercial precincts within the Silver Valley Neighbourhood
Plan area.
The North today contains an estimated 56,000 square feet of built
commercial floor area, representing 3%
of District inventory.
The majority of this space is located in
Area 1, at the Cooper’s Food-anchored
community shopping centre on the
north-west corner of Dewdney Trunk
Road and 240th Street. This node
contains 29,000 square feet of retail
grocery space, 5,000 square feet of restaurant space, and 2,000 square feet
of personal services.
Area 2, at Dewdney and 246th, contains Trice Farms Pond and Garden. Area
3, at Dewdney and 256th, contains a small food store. Area 4, at 232nd
Street and Dogwood Avenue, is home to the Black Sheep pub and a liquor
store.
Figure 6: North Maple Ridge Commercial Nodes
1 2 3
4
Table 16: North/Silver Valley Commercial Inventory
North / Silver Valley Commercial Inventory
Categories Square Feet % of District Total
Convenience Goods & Services 36,600 3.9%
Comparison Goods 2,000 0.2%
Food & Beverage 14,400 4.4%
Entertainment & Leisure 3,000 2.1%
Auto Goods & Services 0 0.0%
Total 56,000 2.3%
29,000 sq.ft. anchored by
Cooper’s Food
Black Sheep Pub & Liquor
Store
Trice Farms Pond &
Garden Centre
Websters
Corner Store
Note: Identified area does not reflect planning area boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
The North contains 36 acres of designated commercial lands and 30 acres
of zoned commercial land. Of the zoned area, 6.3 acres are ‘underutilized’
and 0.5 acres are vacant.
4.3.5 Core Area Commercial Supply
The Core Area (Town Centre + Fringe) is the primary area of commercial
activity in the District, home to over 1.5 million square feet of commercial
space representing 63% of the District’s inventory. An estimated $392
million in retail expenditures were captured in the Town Centre in the past
year, accounting for 61% of spending within the District. 71% of all floor
area in the Town Centre is located between Lougheed Highway in the South,
Dewdney Trunk Road in the North, 221st Street west and 228th Street in the
east.
Table 17: Town Centre Commercial Inventory
We have subdivided the Town Centre into the following five inventory
sub-areas:
Area 1: Dewdney to Lougheed, 224th to Burnett Street
Area 2: Dewdney to Lougheed, 221st to 224th Street
Area 3: Dewdney to 124th, 221st to Greenwell Street
Area 4: Lougheed to Haney Bypass, 222nd to Burnett Street
Area 5: Burnett Street to 232nd, Lee Avenue to Haney Bypass15
The Town Centre contains 186 acres of designated commercial land area
and 152 acres of zoned commercial lands. Of the zoned areas, 20.5 acres
are classified as ‘vacant’ with an additional 12 acres classified as
‘underutilized.’
See map on following page.
15 While this area falls outside the boundaries of the Town Centre Area Plan,
for the purposes of this analysis it has been considered as part of the
downtown.
Town Centre Commercial Inventory
Categories Square Feet % of District Total
Convenience Goods & Services 636,600 67%
Comparison Goods 498,300 62%
Food & Beverage 195,700 59%
Entertainment & Leisure 87,400 62%
Auto Goods & Services 102,000 54%
Total 1,520,000 63%
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
1 2
3
4
5
Area 1: Town Centre Heart
713,000 sq.ft.
47% of inventory
Major categories: retail
grocery (95,000 sf), home
improvement (60,000 sf),
restaurant (78,000 sf)
Area 2: Town Centre West
372,000 sq.ft.
24% of inventory
Major categories:
financial and legal
services (71,000 sf),
health services (60,000
sf), home
furnishings/accessories
(44,000 sf.)
Area 3: Town Centre North
275,000 sq.ft.
18% of inventory
Major categories: retail
grocery (46,000 sf),
health services (55,000
sf), home furnishings
(28,000 sf), restaurant
(21,000 sf.)
Area 4: Town Centre South
132,000 sq.ft.
9% of inventory
Major categories:
restaurants (37,000 sf),
financial and legal
services (15,000 sf),
apparel (12,000 sf).
Area 5 (Core Fringe):
39,000 sq.ft.
<3% of inventory
Major categories:
personal service, auto
goods & services.
Figure 8: Core Area Commercial Space
Note: Identified area does not reflect planning area boundaries indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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5.0 DISTRICT-WIDE COMMECIAL DEMAND
5.1 DEMAND FACTORS
Demand for new retail space across the District will be driven by factors of
population growth (and its geographic distribution), inflow/through-flow
spending capture (tourists, business, destination shopping etc.), and the
stemming of outflow spending.
5.1.1 Population
The District’s population projections in the Official Community Plan and
Regional Context Statement are estimated at 118,000 by 2041. For
analytical purposes, however, the population projections of Metro
Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy will be used, as noted in Table 18
below. The projections from the Regional Growth Strategy combine
estimates from all of Metro Vancouver’s member municipalities. These
projections are considered the most comprehensive available and have
been used to assess demand for the District’s commercial and industrial
land supply.
Table 18: Population Growth Projections by Sub-Region, 2012 to 2042
Population Growth by Sub-Region, Maple Ridge, 2012-2042*
Year West Core Core East East North/SV Total
2012 26,946 15,785 15,153 6,352 15,695 79,931
2022 30,228 22,343 17,568 7,842 17,577 95,558
2032 33,842 30,962 20,287 9,500 19,755 114,346
2042 37,453 39,253 22,676 10,650 22,227 132,259
30 Year Growth 2012-
2042 10,507 23,468 7,523 4,298 6,532 52,328
% of Total Growth by
Region, 2012-2042 20.1%44.8%14.4%8.2%12.5%
Rate of Growth within
each region, 2012-
2042
39.0%148.7%49.6%67.7%41.6%
*Metro Vancouver Growth Forecasts by Traffic Zone, with linear extrapolation between target years.
Highlights:
Anticipated demand for 1.3 million net additional square
feet of retail and service commercial space by 2042;
50% of demand to Town Centre area, 36% to West;
Between 73 and 114 acres of land required;
Sufficient OCP-designated commercial land capacity.
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As shown in the table above, the Core is expected to be the primary growth
area for Maple Ridge in the next 30 years, attracting 45% of total District
Growth. By 2042 it is expected to contain 30% of the District’s population,
surpassing the West which will drop from 34% today to 28% by 2042. The
Core East’s share of District population will drop from 19% today to 17% by
2042, while the East and North/Silver Valley will remain at 8% and drop
from 20% to 17% respectively.
5.1.2 Inflow and Flow-Through Spending
Maple Ridge benefits from capture of flow-through and inflow retail
spending, particularly during the peak summer tourist season as people
drive through the community to access Golden Ears Park and other outdoor
recreational opportunities. Maple Ridge also attracts people from across
the region for youth sporting events/tournaments, equestrian recreation,
fishing, hiking, cycling and golf. In addition, there are those who commute
into Maple Ridge each day for work and make lunch-hour and after work
retail expenditures in the community. As the Metro Region grows, flow-
through traffic and spending will likely also grow. Additionally, as the
community grows and offers more destination recreational and business
opportunities (e.g hotel/conference space, gaming centre), more retail
spending in the community will be a knock-on benefit.
5.1.3 Stemming of Outflow Spending
Currently Maple Ridge has significant net retail spending leakage,
estimated at over 17% of total District spending potential in 2012.16 Of an
estimated $767 million in retail expenditures in 2012, outflow is calculated
at $128 million. Put another way, the amount of money leaving Maple
Ridge could support approximately 650,000 square feet of combined retail
space across all merchandise categories. As Maple Ridge grows and its
retail offerings strengthen, a greater percentage of spending outflow is
likely to be recaptured. This process of retail strengthening is already
starting to occur, as discussed in Section 5.2.
5.2 CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The commercial landscape in Maple Ridge is evolving, with some significant
new projects either already underway or coming soon which will bring
many new shopping opportunities to the community. While additional
retail development in the community may have minor sales cannibalization
effects on existing retailers, more than anything else the addition of
significant new retail space will lead to the recapture of some of the
District’s considerable outflow spending.
16 Within Convenience retail and service categories, outflow is estimated at
11%. Within Comparison Goods categories, outflow is a more
substantial 30-35%.
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The following table outlines some of the more significant ongoing and near-
term commercial development/redevelopment activities occurring in the
District. The absorptive effects of new retail space are taken into account
when projection future ‘net new’ demand.
Table 19: Current and Near-Term Commercial Projects
5.3 DISTRICT-WIDE COMMERCIAL DEMAND PROJECTIONS
With the above context in mind, we explore how much additional
commercial floor area Maple Ridge can likely support in the next 30 years,
the likely geographic distribution of demand, and the associated land use
implications. This leads to a discussion of commercial strategies by sub-
region.
Current/Near Term Commercial Projects
Project Location Comments
Haney Place Mall Upgrades
(facades, parking, plaza,
landscaping)
Core
The upgrades will be a positive step in better integrating the mall into
the Town Cenre's pedestrian circulation system and presenting a
more urban face to both 224th and 226th streets.
Thrifty Foods Core
The recent opening of Thrifty Foods at Haney Place Mall brings a first
class retail grocery anchor to the Town Centre. The presence of this
anchor will help draw ancillary retail spending to other town centre
retailers.
Target (coming soon)Core
The replacement of Zellers with Target at Haney Place Mall is one of
the most anticipated and exciting additions to the Maple Ridge retail
landscape in a decade. Target will attract significantly more spending
across all comparison goods categories than Zellers, especially in the
categories of apparel, Footwear/fashion, and home furnishings and
accessories. This anchor will also bring significant benefit to ancillary
retail tenants both in the mall and on the street in the Town Centre.
Kwantlen First Nation Retail
Project (underway)
Lougheed Highway, 4 km east
of Albion Flats
Anticipated 300,000 square feet of highway-oriented retail with 1 or 2
large format anchors (100,000 square feet each) and 9-12 medium and
smaller format retail units. In addition, 50,000 square feet of
convenience commercial, service station and neighbourhood business
services. Anticipated completion in 2013-2014.
SmartCentres, Albion Flats
(unknown timeline)Albion Flats
Despite recent ALC ruling, SmartCentres is likely to continue its
pursuit of a destination shopping centre at Albion Flats. However,
this development does not factor into the residual demand analysis of
this report.
Rezoning at 112th and 240th Core East
Rezoning application for 10,300 square feet and 3,300 square feet of
neighbourhood commercial. Unknown tenant mix and build-out
schedule, but assumed completion by 2015.
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5.3.1 Current and Future Outflow under ‘status quo’
GPRA calculates that retail expenditure potential in Maple Ridge will grow
from $767 million in 2012 to $1.02 billion by 2022 and $1.71 billion by 2042.
If outflow were to remain at its current levels, by 2042 Maple Ridge would
be losing nearly $300 million in expenditures; this could support over 1.7
million square feet of combined retail floor area.
Table 20: Commercial Expenditure and Outflow Projections
5.3.2 Demand Projection Factors
In addition to the retail projects discussed in Table 20 above, which
themselves will help capture more spending in the District, there are other
positive actions and trends underway:
Significant commercial business interest and activity in the Town
Centre today;
Proactive, multi-pronged Town Centre incentives in place;
A strong policy direction for compact, pedestrian-oriented town
centre development;
Growth in retail trends favouring Town Centre development
(discussed below).
Maple Ridge Commercial Expenditure Projections
2012 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services $355,988,000 $474,706,000 $620,546,000 $792,721,000
Comparison Goods $313,406,000 $417,923,000 $546,319,000 $697,899,000
Food & Beverage $57,850,000 $77,143,000 $100,843,000 $128,822,000
Entertainment & Leisure $15,147,000 $20,198,000 $26,403,000 $33,729,000
Auto Goods & Services $24,586,000 $36,064,000 $47,143,000 $60,224,000
Total $766,977,000 $1,026,034,000 $1,341,254,000 $1,713,395,000
Est.Outflow (projected at 2012 levels)-$128,662,000 -$172,119,355 -$224,998,171 -$287,425,604
Given emerging trends, development interest and activity, and proactive civic
policy, GPRA is confident that Maple Ridge will see long-term spending
outflow recapture of at least 20%. This has been taken into account in
demand modeling.
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G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
5.3.3 Net New Commercial Demand
GPRA projects net new demand for retail and service commercial floor area
in the District to be approximately 1.3 million square feet by 2042.
Demand would be split up as follows:
Table 21: Net New Commercial Floor Area Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
We assume that, on average, new commercial space will be built at
between 0.3 and 0.4 FSR. At these densities, 1.3 million square feet would
require between 73 and 114 acres of land.
Section 6 provides detailed discussion of commercial demand, land use
implications and associated opportunities and strategies for each of the 5
geographic sub-areas. By way of introduction and summary, we believe
that the 1.3 million square feet of projected commercial floor area demand
will be distributed by area as follows:
Core 49% (sections 6.1 and 6.2)
West: 36% (section 6.3)
Core East: 7% (section 6.4)
North/Silver Valley: 6% (section 6.5)
East: 2% (section 6.6)
Demand for New Retail & Service Commercial Space, Maple Ridge
2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 943,950 118,300 314,800 513,200
Comparison Goods 804,700 69,000 245,100 422,800
Food & Beverage 329,200 20,900 86,500 152,700
Entertainment/Leisure 141,700 18,600 48,700 79,100
Auto Goods & Services 188,905 55,800 97,200 139,000
Total 2,408,455 282,600 792,300 1,306,800
Net Additional Demand*Current InventoryCategories
*Assumes 300,000 sq.ft. absorbed into market at Kwantlen in 2014, & additional 50,000 sq.ft. added
by 2022.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.0 SUB-REGION RETAIL AND SERVICE COMMERCIAL
DEMAND, STRATEGIES, OPPORTUNITIES
6.1 TOWN CENTRE COMMERCIAL DEMAND17
The Town Centre is home to approximately 64% of Maple Ridge’s
commercial floor area today and captures about 60% of commercial
spending within the District.
6.1.1 Commercial Demand and Opportunity
GPRA projects that nearly 50% of District-wide commercial demand over
the next 30 years will be directed to the Town Centre. This represents
over 635,000 square feet of additional commercial floor area. This
demand is allocated by merchandise category as follows:
Table 22: Town Centre Commercial Demand Projections
17 While the data presented here takes into account both the Town Centre
and “Town Centre Fringe” as depicted in Figure 8, the latter has a
negligible portion of current inventory and all demand projections
assume that future space will be allocated within the bounds of the
Town Centre Area Plan.
Town Centre Commercial Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
Categories 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 62,682 166,840 271,971
Comparison Goods 30,710 109,024 188,085
Food & Beverage 11,999 49,688 87,737
Entertainment & Leisure 1,680 20,601 33,460
Auto Goods & Services 14,259 38,864 55,585
Total 121,330 385,017 636,838
Highlights:
Core Area will need 33 to 55 acres to meet demand;
o Challenges: small lots, fractured and speculative
ownership.
West will need 23 to 38 acres to meet demand;
o Challenges: encouraging more urban form of
development;
o Zoning bylaw consolidation;
o Maintaining industrial/business park land for non-retail
use.
Other areas will need between 13 and 20 acres to accommodate
demand. There is sufficient designated commercial land supply in
the East, the North and in Cottonwood to meet demand.
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6.1.2 Factors of Floor Area Demand in Town Centre
In determining how much District-wide floor area demand is likely to ‘land’
in the Town Centre versus other existing or future retail developments on
the Lougheed/Dewdney corridor or future shopping centres at Kwantlen
and elsewhere, GPRA took into account the following:
1. Population growth projections for the Town Centre and across
the District, examining how growth in each area would likely
translate to demand for retail downtown;
2. The evolution of retail development trends and fundamentals,
and their implications for Town Centre retail attraction and
retention.
1. Population Growth and Distribution
The Core area is expected to be the most populated of District sub-
regions by 2042. This population will rely on local retail/service
commercial for much of their day-to-day convenience needs, as well as
a sizeable portion of their destination/comparison shopping, food and
beverage spending, and leisure spending. These population
projections are therefore a primary determinant of future commercial
demand.
But Town Centre commercial serves much more than the local
residential market. For instance, in 2012, the Core area residential
population has an estimated retail expenditure potential of about $124
million (after accounting for outflow). By itself, this population could
support about 470,000 square feet of commercial floor area in Maple
Ridge, with about 180,000 in the Convenience Goods & Services
category. Yet in 2012, the Town Centre has over 1.5 million square feet
of commercial inventory and captures an estimated $390 million in
annual sales revenue. Clearly, the Town Centre acts as most
downtowns do (or hope to do): as a primary destination for commercial
spending.
GPRA also believes that the ‘magnetism’ of the Town Centre is
increasing, due to the following factors:
New high-quality retail anchors (Target and Thrifty Foods).
These are the basic building blocks of downtown revitalization;
Presence of three retail grocery anchors (Save-On, Extra,
Thrifty);
Cluster of non-retail anchors in an attractive civic precinct (city
hall, library, performing arts centre, and recreation centre).
Significant streetscape and façade improvements making the
public realm more attractive. This will be aided by the $2
million in upgrades at Haney Place Mall.
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Town Centre investment incentives encouraging business and
housing growth.
As we anticipate the Town Centre will strengthen its role as the primary
destination for spending on retail, service and leisure in the years to
come, we examined how spending generated in other areas of Maple
Ridge are likely to ‘flow’ (or not flow) to the Town Centre in the years
to come.
Spending inflow from other parts of Maple Ridge
West: The likelihood of Western Maple Ridge residents traveling
to the Town Centre will be both of function of their
proximity to the Town Centre relative to other destination
shopping options (e.g. Meadowtown Shopping Centre,
new Fremont Village power centre, expanding Coquitlam
Town Centre etc.), and the relative attractiveness of major
anchors in the Town Centre. We expect an increasing
share of flow from the West to the Town Centre.
North: Many people from the North’s growing Silver Valley
neighbourhoods will make destination shopping trips to
the Town Centre. Much of the future retail development
slated for this community will be in the convenience
categories (including grocery); for destination shopping,
the nearest precinct is the Town Centre.
Core East & East:
In the Core East and East areas, destination spending that
remains in Maple Ridge is likely to be split between trips to
the Town Centre and trips to the new destination shopping
centre soon to be opened at the Kwantlen Lands.
In addition, and as mentioned previously, we anticipate an increase in
spending inflow from elsewhere in the region, as well as more daytime
retail/food & beverage spending associated with a growing workforce.
The Town Centre can, over the short, medium and long term,
successfully differentiate itself from other parts of the District and
make itself the primary destination for leisure, culture and
entertainment, and possibly destination wants-based retail spending.
2. Evolution of Retail Development Trends
Retail development trends are moving in favour of Town Centre
commercial growth and vitality.
As the trend moves more toward urban multi-family living,
many leading retailers are designing new, more flexible store
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formats that can be adapted to smaller blocks/retail spaces in
town centres;
Large format stores are increasingly experimenting with
smaller floor plates (sometimes as small as 10-20,000 square
feet)18, mutli-level concepts, wrapped structured parking, and
are integrating into urban streetscapes through the use of liner
shops and layering of uses;
There is a growing trend in the retail development world
toward emphasis on locating in areas (or creating areas) with
grid street networks and flexible spaces that can allow for
evolution based on market trends, rather than emphasizing
inflexible, single-use auto-oriented developments. Town
Centres with decaying enclosed or externally-oriented
shopping centres can be prime candidates for such new urban-
style retail development;
While mixed-use developments have had higher economic risk
profiles, making some retailers wary of participating, new
trends indicate that mixed use developments are becoming
easier to obtain financing for. The trend is toward partnerships
and mergers that allow for shared expertise and more
integrated developments. This bodes well for town centres;
Downtowns across Canada are revitalizing and differentiating
themselves from other retail centres by emphasizing
experience and entertainment. Cultural uses in downtowns
can act as anchors, supporting other businesses such as
restaurants and specialty retail;
Movie theatres are making a comeback to Main Street.
Theatres that show movies in the evening can help increase the
number of customers and energy in the downtown;
Town Centres can distinguish themselves from ‘cookie-cutter’
retail plazas by promoting their history and special memories
of downtown. Branding is a key component of downtown
success.
These are some of the key emerging trends that bode well for Town
Centre commercial in Maple Ridge.
6.1.3 Challenges and Opportunities for Town Centre Commercial
The challenge facing many town centres today, including Maple Ridge, is
neither lack of demand for new commercial space, nor necessarily a lack of
demand from prime retailers (as in the past), of whom many are showing
increased flexibility and desire to come downtown. Rather, the central
18 The recently opened London Drugs at Vancouver’s Village at False Creek
(former Olympic Village) is 17,000 square feet, less than half the size of
their typical stores. It has underground parking, multi-family dwellings
above, and fronts onto a community square.
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stumbling block is the provision of a sufficient and timely supply of suitable
land.
To accommodate 637,000 square feet of new commercial floor area, Maple
Ridge Town Centre would require anywhere from 33 to 55 acres of
commercial land.19
Of the Town Centre’s zoned commercial land base, there are 20.5 acres
vacant and 12 acres underutilized. More importantly perhaps, there are
164 acres of OCP designated “Town Centre Commercial,” which, if
developed at appropriate densities, will be more than enough to
accommodate anticipated development and redevelopment over the next
30 years. Near-term development pressure will be mostly directed at
vacant and underutilized zoned lands (e.g. Haney Plaza) while over time
existing commercial buildings will depreciate to become underutilized and
thus become prime candidates for redevelopment. While the absolute
amount of zoned town centre commercial may decrease (e.g. as areas
along 224th south of North Avenue currently zoned commercial get rezoned
for multi-family residential development in line with OCP designation),
there will not be a shortage of space to accommodate future demand
within the downtown core.
The key challenges that the Town Centre faces are:
Many small lots and fractured lot ownership, requiring
assembly;
Speculators driving up land costs, sometimes by pursuing
comprehensive rezonings with an intention only to flip the
property rather than develop;
Land owners who have sufficient cash flow from their
properties without making significant reinvestments.
The following section discusses initiatives and strategies that the District
can pursue to continue strengthening the Town Centre.
19 Depending on setbacks, single vs. multi-storey, and parking (surface vs.
structured vs. underground). Assumptions are FSR Range of 0.3 to 0.5
and average building efficiency of 90%.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.2 TOWN CENTRE COMMERCIAL STRATEGIES & RECOMMENDATIONS
6.2.1 General Strategies
Regulatory Strategies Timing20
Town
Centre Area
Plan
Maple Ridge has already taken a strong direction with its Town Centre Area Plan, putting in
place many of the preconditions necessary to create certainty of direction that will attract
investors, businesses and residents.
Designation At the macro level, analysis indicates that there is no need to designate additional
commercial lands in the Town Centre to accommodate projected growth, even at relatively
conservative (0.3) FSRs. We do however recommend that the District consider applications
for ground floor commercial in areas currently not designated for such use on a case-by-
case basis. Each case should be examined for its contribution toward enhancing the quality
of the Town Centre or its immediate Town Centre sub-area.
Ongoing
Zoning Consider reducing the number of commercial zones, or better differentiating between
some commercial zones.
Short-Term
Incentives
&
Promotion
Strategies Timing
Promote dialogue and partnership between investors, developers, land owners and
retailers to keep up development and re-development momentum in the Town Centre
Short, Medium
and Long-Term
Focus on differentiating the Town Centre, making it the District’s centre for specialty retail,
entertainment/culture, civic uses, and destination restaurants.
Short and
Medium Term
Promote the downtown and available land supply, both vacant and underutilized. Short term
Work with merchants and land owners to improve building facades and displays. Short-Term
Work with landowners of underutilized sites to either redevelop those sites or to sell lands
to speed up redevelopment.
Medium and
Long Term
Extend the Town Centre development incentives into the future, but focus them to ensure
that commercial is concentrated in viable, well-anchored and themed commercial
precincts.
Short-Medium
Term
Urban
Design
Strategies Timing
Continue to create comfortable commercial streetscapes in priority areas through provision
of covered walks, well-designed streetscapes, street trees, and maintained walking surfaces
and parking lots.
Ongoing
20 “Short Term” = immediate to 2 years. “Medium Term” = 2-5 years. “Long
Term” = 5+ years.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Do not create overly detailed streetscapes. This is expensive and has diminishing returns.
Focus instead on simple public spaces with quality, weather-resistant materials, and direct
resources to businesses to improve their storefront designs and visual merchandising
displays. This will be more effective in buoying downtown retail sales.
Medium-Long
Term
Mandate building to a common frontage line with some provision for variance for
restaurants to allow patio seating where appropriate or desired for street animation.
Short-Term
Require that a minimum of 60% of first floor building façade surface area of commercial
structures be covered in clear glass (excluding doorways).
Short-Term
Do not permit drive-through businesses in the Town Centre. Short-Term
Consider a beautification grant matching program for small projects covering such items as
planters, hanging baskets, boulevard landscaping etc. available to landlords and interested
tenants.
Short-Term
6.2.2 Sub-Area Opportunities & Strategies
Dewdney
Trunk Road
Strategies Timing
Opportunity: Underutilized areas along Dewdney Trunk Road could house a significant
portion of future Town Centre Commercial demand, especially in the areas in and around
the north end of 224.th
Encourage redevelopment of Haney Plaza to mixed residential/commercial, and work with
the proponent of the mixed-use development at 224th and Dewdney (NW corner) to ensure
that project moves forward as the market matures.21
Medium-Long
Term
Consider changing the requirement for ground floor commercial along Dewdney Trunk
Road east of 227th Street (as shown in Schedule G of the Zoning Bylaw) to either mandatory
“ground floor active use” or optional ground floor commercial (i.e. flexible mixed-use).
Active use could include office, gallery, indoor recreation, daycare, institutional space or
other publicly accessible space. Removing strict commercial requirements may help to
better concentrate the commercial demand in a well-defined ‘core precinct.’
Short-Term
A similar change to Schedule G should be considered for the area of Dewdney west of 222nd
Street
Short-Term
Lougheed:
222nd -228th
Street
Strategies Timing
This stretch of Lougheed contains many small lots, and assembly will be difficult and
costly. Some redevelopment has begun along this stretch, and will continue slowly
over the medium-long term (10-30 years).
21 GPRA’s proforma analysis has indicated only marginal viability for concrete
highrise development currently. As the market matures, concrete
highrise development will be possible.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
Promote dialogue and partnership between land owners and potential
investors/developers to promote development.
Ongoing
Monitor whether economic incentives are appropriate or require modification through
periodic ‘check ins’ with key stakeholders
Medium-Term,
Long-Term
Haney
Place Mall
& Civic
Precinct
Strategies Timing
Animate the public space around Memorial Peace Park. The District should encourage
restaurant space to be developed at 224th and McIntosh Avenue, and directly across from
the pagoda on the north side of Haney Place Crescent. Food carts are another good active
use that could locate around the park.
Medium-Long
Term
Encourage better pedestrian connectivity between the civic precinct and Haney Place Mall Short-Medium
Term
Encourage animation of blank walls at the mall with glass and/or other streetscaping. Short-Term
Encourage redevelopment of the mall. Such redevelopment will be a complex, multi-year
undertaking involving partnership between mall owners, anchor tenants and the District.
There should be exploration of appropriate incentives and assistance to encourage
redevelopment.
o Redevelopment of the mall would likely allow for significantly more on-site retail
space, as well as office uses and possibly residential.
Long-Term
East
Downtown
Strategies Timing
The area of 227th Street between Dewdney Trunk Road and Lougheed Highway is
designated Town Centre Commercial. We recommend re-designating as Flexible
Mixed-Use. Ground-oriented medium density housing or live/work units should be
permitted if the market demand is there.
Short-Term
Emphasize and encourage land assembly of the blocks on the east side of 226th Street for
mixed-use development
Short-Term
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.3 WEST MAPLE RIDGE COMMERCIAL DEMAND AND STRATEGIES
6.3.1 Floor Area Demand
GPRA projects that 33% of District-wide commercial demand over the
next 30 years will be directed to areas in the West sub-region. This
represents 437,000 square feet of additional commercial floor area,
beyond the estimated 807,000 square feet in the region today.
More than 50% of new space demand will be for comparison-type retail,
while a smaller but not insubstantial 25% of demand will be for
convenience retail and service such as grocery, pharmacy, banks and
medical offices. The balance of
demand will be for restaurant, coffee
shops and pubs (11%), indoor
recreation space (3%) and
automotive goods and services (9%).
West Maple Ridge is currently the
most populated of the sub-regions,
although it is projected to lose that
title to the Town Centre sometime
before 2040. The West is expected to
add 10,500 people in the next 30 years.
Demand for additional space in the West is driven by:
Convenience goods/services spending growth driven by
population growth and anticipation of increased flow-
through spending along the Lougheed and Dewdney
corridors;
Continued desire of many large and medium sized retailers
to locate in modern shopping centre space with good
highway and arterial access, visibility and ease of parking.
The land area required to accommodate projected Western retail demand
will be between 23 and 38 acres, assuming a range of densities from 0.3 to
0.5 FSR. There are currently 10.9 acres of vacant zoned commercial space
in the west, with an additional 12.3 acres underutilized. Development and
redevelopment of these sites could accommodate demand for at least the
next 20 years. Beyond 2022, additional zoned commercial land will be
required to accommodate demand. This additional land will be found
through a combination of:
Higher density redevelopment of some of the 101 acres of
currently developed commercial lands;
Rezoning of lands currently designated for future commercial use
in the OCP but zoned for other purposes today.
West Maple Ridge Commercial Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
Categories 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 25,133 66,897 109,051
Comparison Goods 36,996 131,341 226,587
Food & Beverage 6,418 26,576 46,927
Entertainment & Leisure 3,403 8,916 14,480
Auto Goods & Services 18,584 32,387 46,321
Total 90,534 266,117 443,366
Table 23: West Maple Ridge Commercial Demand Projections
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.3.2 West Maple Ridge General Commercial Strategies
Design &
Land Use
Strategies Timing
Density Encourage densification and ‘urbanization’ of retail plazas over time, as demand allows. Medium-Long
Term
Connectivity Improve multi-modal connectivity between commercial developments along Dewdney
Trunk Road and Lougheed Highway, and the surrounding residential areas. This could
require municipal property acquisition and easements.
Medium-Long
Term
Design Encourage retail to be developed close to the street, at first through pad development at
key site entry/exit points and high visibility corners.
As demand increases over time, encourage additional development of retail on
shopping centre sites from front to back, creating internal roadways lined with
streetwall retail.
Ensure surface parking is behind retail.
Over time, encourage shopping centres to reach higher densities (0.6-0.8 FSR).
This would include multi-level retail, structured parking partially wrapped in inline
retail tenants, internally-oriented loading, and lower parking ratios (eg. 3.5 spaces
per 1,000 square feet.). There are many examples of such projects being
developed today in the Lower Mainland, including a new Canadian-Tire and Best
Buy-anchored project with a retail density of 0.79 (and overall density of 1.63
including structured parking) on South West Marine Drive in Vancouver.
Medium-Long
Term
Regulatory Strategies Timing
Designation There is sufficient designated commercial land supply to satisfy projected demand over the
next 20 years, and likely enough supply to satisfy demand beyond assuming increases in
site densities.
Complete
Zoning Future rezoning will be required to bring demand in line with the OCP land use plan. Ongoing
Zoning The separation of CS-1 and C-2 commercial zones along the Lougheed are not desirable or
conducive to providing land in a sufficient and timely manner to respond to market
opportunity, despite recent amendments to the CS-1 zone that make it more responsive
through additional permitted uses. Consider rezoning to C-2.
Short-Term
Permitted
Use
Large format retail uses going to the West should be clustered along the Lougheed Highway
at existing shopping centre sites. We strongly recommend that additional lands currently
designated for industrial or other uses not be re-designated/re-zoned for large format
retail.
Ongoing.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.4 CORE EAST COMMERCIAL DEMAND AND STRATEGIES22
6.4.1 Floor Area Demand
GPRA projects that 7% of District-wide commercial demand over the next
30 years will be directed to the Core East area, primarily in and near the
Albion Neighbourhood. This represents approximately 90,000 square
feet of additional floor area, adding to the estimated 19,000 square feet
existing in the area today.23
Over 70% of new space demand will be for convenience goods and services
(eg. grocery, liquor, financial and health services, pharmacy) and food and
beverage (coffee shop, restaurant, pub). The balance will be limited
seasonal demand for comparison goods (tourist apparel and sporting
goods), perhaps some indoor recreation space, and automotive goods and
services.
Table 24: Core East Commercial Demand Projections
Demand for new retail space in this area is driven by:
Population growth within the sub-area.
o This sub-area is expected to grow by 7,500 residents over the
next 30 years, with associated support for at least 50,000
square feet of convenience goods and services within the area;
Positioning to capture retail spending flowing from East
Maple Ridge;
Capture of flow-through traffic, primarily north-south
along 240th Street and east-west along Lougheed.
From these demand totals, we may discount 20,000 square feet if we
assume that the two proposals for neighbourhood serving commercial at
240th and 112th are approved and these projects are leased. This likely
22 The ‘Core East’ area contains the majority of the Albion Area Plan
neighbourhood, including its existing and future commercial areas.
23 This assumes no large scale retail development on the Albion Flats. If
significant retail space is developed at the Flats, this would redirect
some of the spending and square footage potential that GPRA has
allocated both to the Town Centre and to the West.
Categories 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 11,860 31,567 51,458
Comparison Goods 482 1,711 2,953
Food & Beverage 1,215 5,031 8,884
Entertainment & Leisure 3,063 8,024 13,032
Auto Goods & Services 5,575 9,716 13,896
Total 22,195 56,049 90,223
Core East Commercial Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
satisfy demand to about 2022 and reduce long term (2042) demand to
about 70,000 additional square feet.
The land required to accommodate 70,000 square feet of demand will be
between 6 and 8 acres. Currently this region has 4.6 acres of zoned
commercial land that is vacant or underutilized, and 21 acres of OCP
designated commercial lands. The above noted applications are taking
place on an estimated 6 acres of commercially-designated land on the west
side of 240th Street north and south of 112th.
6.4.2 Core East Commercial Strategies
Strategies Timing
In order to accommodate future commercial demand within this sub-area, the District may
wish to consider the following:
Examine potential to expand the designated commercial node on the east side of
240th street north of 112th. If this site is expanded from an estimated 1 acre today
to 5 acres, it could accommodate about 65,000 square feet of space.
Consider the potential for the southwest corner of Dewdney Trunk Road & 240th
Street to evolve into a neighbourhood-serving retail node anchored by the
existing fuel station and convenience store.
Some future demand could also be a captured through additional development
density on Bruce’s Market site at Lougheed and 240th.
Ongoing
Design guidelines emphasizing street-wall retail, parking at rear and high-quality
storefronts should be applied to future Village or Community commercial centres. The
quality of design at the Village node in the Albion Neighbourhood serves as a guide.
Medium-Long
Term
Note that if retail is developed at the Albion Flats, this would likely redirect some of
the spending and square footage potential allocated to the Town Centre and to the
West.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.5 EAST, NORTH / SILVER VALLEY DEMAND & STRATEGIES
6.5.1 Demand in the East
In addition to the Urban Reserve, the East part of Maple Ridge includes land
that will remain rural, and is therefore projected to grow modestly in the
coming decades. Additional commercial space demand in the East is
estimated at about 27,000 square feet by 2042.
Table 25: East Commercial Demand Projections
Most new demand will likely be absorbed in an ad-hoc fashion at the
various commercial nodes scattered across the Eastern area, as shown in
Figure 5.
There is also possibility for a future Village-style convenience retail node of
between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet at either the southeast corner of
Dewdney Trunk Road and 256th Street, or at Dewdney Trunk Road and 248th
Street.24 Both junctions have qualities that are attractive for retail, namely
traffic volumes and visibility.
In the near-term, 248th and Dewdney is the most logical location for a
village-style convenience retail node, ideally in the 10,000-15,000 square
foot range. This site is already served by urban sewer and water, and would
benefit from proximity to existing single-family neighbourhoods and the
Garibaldi Secondary School. 248th is also relatively closer to Silver Valley
and could therefore more easily offer convenience retail access to
residents of that neighbourhood. Over the medium-long term, additional
retail could be constructed at 256th and Dewdney. As is shown in Table 25
above, there will be sufficient demand in eastern Maple Ridge for retail at
both locations over the coming decades.
From a general regional planning perspective, both the 248th and 256th
nodes are strategic locations for convenience retail and service. Both sites
are located within a 5-7 minute drive time of areas as far as 112th Avenue
in the south, Whonnock Lake in the east, 256th and 130th Avenue in the
24 Note that the 256th and Dewdney site is designated suburban residential and is not
in the Fraser Sewer Area. Neighbourhood serving commercial that is sensitive to
the local context would work on this site, but the District should recognize that
current servicing constraints would make such a development part of a longer
term vision and would require approval from the Greater Vancouver Sewage and
Drainage District.
East Commercial Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
Categories 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 3,000 10,000 16,000
Comparison Goods 0 0 0
Food & Beverage 0 1,000 2,000
Entertainment & Leisure 0 0 1,000
Auto Goods & Services 3,000 5,000 8,000
Total 6,000 16,000 27,000
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
North and Dewdney and 240th in the west. Both locations would also
benefit from a future Abernethy Connector. Given the relatively rural
nature of the surrounding area, this village centre’s primary trade area
would likely extend well beyond this 5-7 minute drive time zone.
There is sufficient designated commercial land area in the East to
accommodate demand within the projection period.
6.5.2 Demand in the North
Demand for retail space in the North will be driven by projected growth of
the Silver Valley neighbourhoods, taking into account the intention to
retain a significant amount of convenience, food & beverage and
recreational spending within the community at both village hamlet nodes
and a shopping district along a main street.
Commercial floor area demand in the North is estimated at 84,000 square
feet by 2042. With the exception of a very modest amount of convenience
space that could be located at Dewdney and 256th (perhaps 2-5,000 square
feet) and some ancillary food and beverage space in and around the
northern industrial areas as they develop further, the balance should be
located in the commercial precincts designated for the Silver Valley.
Table 26: North/Silver Valley Commercial Demand Projections
The Silver Valley Area Plan designates four areas for commercial
development, all to be developed as ‘pedestrian-oriented mixed-use
shopping streets:’
River Village: The commercial heart of Silver Valley, providing
retail, service, office and civic needs for local residents;
o Limited to 110,000 square feet (90-100,000 serving local
population with balance as destination space);
o May include mixed-use;
o Expected to comprise personal, business services,
entertainment services, general retail, food and beverage,
and ‘tourist destination’ uses.
Blaney, Forest and Horse Hamlets:
North / Silver Valley Commercial Demand: 2022, 2032, 2042
Categories 2022 2032 2042
Convenience Goods & Services 15,000 41,000 67,000
Comparison Goods 1,000 2,000 3,000
Food & Beverage 1,000 4,000 8,000
Entertainment & Leisure 1,000 4,000 6,000
Auto Goods & Services 0 0 0
Total 18,000 51,000 84,000
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
o Planned as complete villages with housing, school, parks,
transit and basic commercial needs in the form of a corner
store of 560 square feet.
There is sufficient designated commercial area to accommodate demand
to the projection horizon.
6.5.3 North/Silver Valley and East Commercial Strategies
While there may be insufficient commercial demand to fill
the entirety of the 110,000 square foot commercial main
street in Silver Valley in the next 30 years, all of the
designated commercial space should be retained and not
converted to other uses (e.g. more residential), as this is
an important ‘land bank’ for the future. There is also
potential for the main street to contain non-commercial
active uses such as branch libraries, community halls, or
even outdoor space for community gathering and festivals.
With regard to the Silver Valley Hamlets, we recommend
retaining the designated 560 square feet of commercial
space within each.
The East has sufficient designated commercial area and
will evolve organically as demand allows.
We do not recommend having a separate ‘tourist
commercial’ designation within Silver Valley.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.6 RETAIL, SERVICE COMMERCIAL AT ALBION FLATS
The retail demand allocations undertaken for this study assumed that
virtually no future retail would be developed at the Albion Flats in the Core
East sub-area.
With the pending development of a shopping centre at the Kwantlen lands
to the east and the potential to infill large scale retail along the Lougheed
corridor to the west, we do not believe there is a pressing community need
to open the Albion Flats for large-scale retail development at this time.
Instead, given the dearth of quality lands for family-supporting jobs and
industries in the District, we recommend that any future exploration of ALR
exclusion for part of the Albion Flats focus on developing it as a mixed
employment node with a smaller retail component near 105th Avenue.
While the community has expressed desire to see a “Morgan Crossing”25-
style retail development in Maple Ridge in the near future (with a mix of
street-front commercial uses, residential above and public amenity), and
while many feel that the Albion Flats is the best ‘blank slate’ on which such
a development could be created, we believe that the Town Centre should
be prioritized as the best area for a development of this nature. There has
been a recent application for a mixed-use development at Port Haney,
within the Town Centre. We believe that this is an appropriate site for this
type of development as it is within the Town Centre Area Plan, and as it
provides the public with much needed access to the waterfront in a high
quality environment.
Figure 7: Aerial View of Morgan Crossing, Surrey
Source: Morgancrossing.ca
25 Morgan Crossing is a mixed-use residential/retail project in Surrey. It incorporates
large format anchors in both pad and inline locations, a commercial ‘high street’
with angled parking, and multiple levels of residential above all commercial
space.
[60]
MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
6.7 SYNOPSIS OF COMMERCIAL DEMAND AND STRATEGIES
In sum, the 5 geographic sub-areas of Maple Ridge will require between 72
and 112 acres of land to accommodate projected retail and service
commercial demand.
As shown in the table below, each sub-district of Maple Ridge currently has
sufficient designated land capacity to accommodate projected demand for
retail and service commercial over the next 30 years. It should also be kept
in mind that relatively conservative FSR assumptions have been used to
make these land projections, even in the ‘higher density (i.e. low additional
land) scenarios. If the District effectively promotes and works with the
development community to bring higher-density commercial development
and redevelopment to the District, both within and outside the Town
Centre, land requirements will be lower.
Table 27: Commercial Lands Required by 2042 and Designated Today
In the near-term, the zoning bylaw should be modified to better
differentiate between some zones (e.g. C-1 and C-2) or merge zones while
being less prescriptive on permitted uses. In the long-term, transition the
bylaw to one emphasizing density/design/building envelope.
For the Town Centre, the key will be to take advantage of emerging
commercial trends and build on the great momentum generated by the
new anchor tenants and upgrades occurring at Haney Place Mall. Extend
the incentives package into the future, and maintain close contact with
land owners and potential investors to ensure that the incentives are
properly targeted and relevant. In the long term, encourage
redevelopment of the mall site to a pedestrian-oriented and mixed-use
project. In the short and medium term, encourage redevelopment of
underutilized plazas along Dewdney Trunk Road to modern commercial
space that takes advantage of emerging commercial design and leasing
trends.
The West will continue to be an auto-oriented commercial landscape, but
the design of these spaces can be improved over time. Encourage pad
development at corners, street-wall development along arterials and
‘reverse L’ plazas that place parking and access to the rear while creating
some forms of street activation. Also, encourage more ‘urban’ style
commercial to cluster at major intersections along the corridor.
Commercial Lands Required for Retail & Service Commercial by 2042 and Designated Today (acres)
Low High Low High
Town Centre 35 55 154 174 186
West 23 38 125 140 181
Core East 6 8 17 19 21
East 2 3 8 9 21
North/Silver Valley 6 8 29 31 36
Total 72 112 334 374 446
Additional Required by 2042 Total Requried by 2042 OCP Designated
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
In the East Core, much of the future demand should be directed to the
designated commercial areas at 240th Street and 112th Avenue. There may
be potential to expand the designated site on the east side of 240th to
accommodate more commercial space in the future. There will also be
potential to turn the Bruce’s Market site into a more comprehensive village
node.
In Silver Valley, the areas designated for commercial should be retained to
accommodate demand in the 30-year period and beyond. Some of the
commercial areas could also be used for other ‘active’ non-commercial
uses such as civic and community gathering space.
The East will see bits and pieces of commercial expansion over time, and
this will occur in an ad-hoc manner at the designated commercial sites.
[62]
MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
7.0 OFFICE SPACE DEMAND & RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 ISSUES
Office development in the Maple Ridge market is likely to
occur on a relatively small scale, speculative basis in the
near term.
In the longer term a large office park-type development
would likely require a sizeable anchor tenant, for which
there would be competition from other municipalities and
developments.
In some municipalities there are office space building
requirements as part of large mixed-use developments.
(e.g. Coquitlam Town Centre). Here, developers are
required to provide office space as a proportion of overall
built floor area. While such requirements do create town
centre office inventory – a long-standing goal embedded
within Regional plans and municipal plans for decades –
this space is most often built at a loss by the developer.
The space is effectively ‘cross-subsidized’ by other
components of the developments (typically residential),
and in many cases the spaces sit vacant waiting for a
market to emerge. This is a method of creating a long term
‘bank’ of space for a desired future mix.
The issues at hand for Maple Ridge are: (1) how much
office space demand will there be in District over the next
30 years, (2) how much of that office space is likely to be
demanded in office/industrial park environments vs. other
areas, and (3) what strategies can the District implement
to accommodate strategic office development in the
future?
Highlights:
3,000 to 4,500 employees requiring office space are expected
to be added to the Maple Ridge market over the next 30 years.
This translates to 30-50 acres of land demand.
At least 25% of future office demand will be directed to
industrial/business parks.
There will be growing demand for high-amenity business park
space in Maple Ridge.
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MA P L E R I D G E C O M M E R C I A L A N D I N D U S T R I A L ST R A T E G Y, 2012 T O 2042
G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
7.2 STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS
During the stakeholder sessions in June 2012, the following issues related
to office space were raised:
It was suggested that municipal land assembly in the Town
Centre would help with both retail and office development,
likely in mixed-use environments;
Many felt that more office space will be needed to attract
high-tech businesses to Maple Ridge. This space will likely
be built speculatively, and should be in the Town Centre or
in new dedicated high-amenity business park space;
There were those in favour of clustering office in the Town
Centre, and others who would discourage a single office
area in favour of more dispersed office in “high amenity”
business park environment(s);
Many felt that the most appropriate future use at the
Albion Flats is for business park-type space rather than
retail;
Wherever office space is located, it should be clustered in
a way that allows for transit service.
7.3 OFFICE INVENTORY
Maple Ridge commercial business inventory data indicates that the District
has approximately 250,000 square feet of office space located in office
buildings downtown or in smaller offices intermingled with retail uses.26
There are 230,000 square feet of office space in the Town Centre, with an
additional 20,000 in the Lougheed/Dewdney area.
While no reliable data exists on the share of office space within industrial
parks, a cursory visual survey and discussions with tenants and brokers
leads us to believe that between 5% and 10% of industrial floor area could
be classified as office space. Given an inventory of 2.2 million square feet
of floor area in industrial parks, the estimated office component is between
110,000 and 220,000 square feet.
7.4 OFFICE DEMAND
GPRA’s comprehensive employment forecasting, detailed previously in
Section 3.0, examined the extent to which employees in each employment
sector are likely to be located in office space in the future, and both current
and trending office space utilization ratios (i.e. the number of square feet
26 Note that much of the 790,000 square feet of office space inventory mentioned in
the 2004 Maple Ridge Commercial Land Use Study has been re-classified in this
study as “financial services” and “health services” and therefore appears in the
retail/service commercial inventory and projections.
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per employee by employment sector). Using this forecasting method,
GPRA has determined that:
Of the 16,200 to 21,700 additional employees expected to
be added to the Maple Ridge employment base in the next
30 years, between 4,300 and 6,300 are expected to be
located in some type of office space.27
Over the next 30 years, the trend will be toward fewer
square feet per office employee across nearly all
employment sectors. We have accounted for this trend in
our employment forecasting.
To accommodate future office-based employees, Maple
Ridge will require between 30 to 50 acres of land on which
office can be constructed.
We estimate that at least 25% of required land (between
7.5 and 12.5 acres) will be within industrial/business parks,
with the balance locating mostly in the Town Centre at
lands designated for commercial, flexible mixed-use, and
institutional. There will also be some office space demand
directed to the Lougheed/Dewdney corridor to the west,
primarily for business services and health centres.
As currently designated, there will be sufficient land area
in the Town Centre to accommodate projected office
demand provided that at least some of that demand is co-
located in mixed-use formats with retail/service
commercial, residential or both.
o The location of office space within mixed-use
formats is the most likely means by which
additional speculative office space will be added to
the Town Centre, given that current and projected
office lease rates are likely insufficient to allow for
an economically feasible stand-alone office project
(at least in the near-term).
Along the Lougheed/Dewdney corridor to the west there
is sufficient land area to accommodate all types of
commercial for the next 30 years, including office
development.
There are trends around the region indicating an uptick in
demand for high-amenity, transit-accessible office park
space. Lease rate increases in Vancouver are pushing
many businesses to Surrey and Langley, and the trend is
toward a continued movement of demand east.
27 This does not include people in ‘office-type’ job sectors working in home-based
businesses.
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7.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
Business
Park
Strategies Timing
To better accommodate demand for office space within business park environments, it is
recommended that the District modify the M-3 zoning bylaw restriction stipulating that
accessory office use “not exceed 25% of the gross floor area of the principal use” to instead
permit office as a “principal use” for certain types of businesses. It is recommended to
allow professional offices such as engineers, architects, consultants, and the like within the
M-3 zone. Businesses such as medical / dental, lawyers, accountants, beauticians,
businesses, hair salon, and the like should not be allowed in the M-3 zone as these uses
should be located in commercial areas.
Short-Term
Town
Centre
Strategies Timing
The Town Centre Commercial zone (C-3) permits various types of office-related uses (e.g.
business services, professional services, financial services), and the Town Centre Area Plan
encourages office in mixed-use development within the “Central Business District.”
To encourage office development in mixed-use environments within the CBD, a
bonus density provision should be explored whereby residential density bonuses
are used to encourage additional employment generating space.
Short-Medium
Term
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8.0 INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY, DEMAND & STRATEGY
8.1 ISSUES
Maintaining a supply of quality industrial lands in Maple Ridge is critical to
the District’s future, as businesses that use industrial land are important
sources of employment. Total employment on industrial lands in Maple
Ridge today is estimated at nearly 7,700, or 29% of total District
employment.
Currently, the majority of “ready to develop” industrial lands in Maple
Ridge are in the north – primarily at Kanaka Business Park – which, while
attractive for certain sectors, is too removed from major transportation
routes for most businesses. It is expected that accessible industrial land
supply will be a critical issue for the District moving forward.
Ultimately it is expected there will be demand for approximately 200 acres
of industrial land in Maple Ridge before 2041. The District will need to
ensure these lands are ready for development to meet its employment
growth goals.
8.1.1 Challenges & Opportunities
Regional Context
Demand for industrial space north of the Fraser River is growing,
due to cheaper lands, as well as a result the new Golden Ears and
Pitt River Bridges.
Pitt Meadows has serviced and vacant industrial lands currently
available which will attract most businesses considering moving
north of the Fraser River before Maple Ridge.
The current industrial supply in Pitt Meadows is expected to last
for the next 10 years, at which point Maple Ridge will see an
increase in development pressure on industrial lands.
Maple Meadows Industrial Park
Non-industrial uses in the Maple Meadows Industrial Park is
controversial given it is the most sought after industrial space in
the District.
Albion Industrial Area
The desire to intensify land usage in Albion Industrial Park must be
balanced with recognizing business sectors such as wood
manufacturing located in Albion Industrial Park which contributes
significant jobs to Maple Ridge.
The Albion Industrial Park provides significant redevelopment
opportunities, but so far landowners in the area have displayed
little interest in consolidation or redevelopment. Providing
incentives for the redevelopment of these Albion lands will be
important for the District. The Albion Industrial Park was
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designated M-3 (Business Park) in 2006, and development in this
area could adhere to the M-3 zoning without regional referrals.
Given the waterfront location of the Albion Industrial Park there
has been discussion about the potential for mixed use
development in the area. This potential is tempered by high
development costs that would be required, including a new dyke
and improved access. There have also been proposals for a mixed-
use waterfront development within the Town Centre on non-
industrially designated lands. It is believed that the Town Centre is
a better location for this type of development, and the Albion
Industrial Area should remain industrial over the course of this
study period.
Lougheed Corridor
Commercial lands along the Lougheed Highway, especially with CS-
1 zoning, would work well for light-industrial / commercial
businesses, but the small parcel sizes may deter redevelopment.
Agricultural Land Reserve
According to conversations with ALC officials recent changes in
how the Crown Agency operates would see the ALC dedicate more
time to promoting agricultural uses and uses that support
agriculture on ALR lands. With the ALC, Maple Ridge has the
opportunity to promote uses that compliment farm production on
ALR lands including processing, accessory produce sales, agri-
tourism, agro-industrial uses, etc.
The Agricultural Lands Commission has not permitted many ALR
lands to be re-designated for industrial purposes in recent years.
Counting on exempted ALR lands to provide Maple Ridge with its
needed additional industrial lands is a risky strategy.
The ALC was approached during the writing of this study, and it
confirmed that the Commission position on granting ALR
exclusions has changed and lands with agricultural potential would
have less chance at receiving an exclusion than in the past.
The Pelton Lands in particular was offered as an example of a site
that would be even less likely to receive an ALR exclusion than in
the past, due to a more clear process for reviewing applications.
The 2010 application for excluding the Pelton Lands was
unanimously denied by the ALC.
Beyond being more strict with ALR exclusion applications, the ALC
is becoming more stringent with application submissions,
increasing the time and cost required by the applicant.
Regarding the Albion Flats lands south of 105th Avenue, the ALC has
recommended to the District of Maple Ridge that it pursue on large
application that includes all of the lands south of 105th Avenue
rather than multiple applications for these lands.
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The ALR is currently considering applications for excluding lands
north of 105th Avenue on the Albion Flats. A timeline for these
decisions was not provided.
Non-Industrial Uses in Industrial Areas
The Districts position on non-industrial uses on industrial lands,
such as dance studios or drive-through restaurants, requires
review as some question allowing these uses on industrial lands.
Industrial Uses adjacent to Residential Areas
There are currently businesses with industrial uses operating
adjacent to residential areas, typically under the CS-1 zone. There
may be pressure to rezone these properties for residential use.
Allowing for non-intrusive light-industrial uses, such as those
allowed in the CS-1 zone increases employment lands. These types
of uses should be protected and promoted.
8.1.2 Stakeholder Comments
Stakeholders had a number of comments during the workshops held in
June, 2012 regarding industrial lands:
Designate more industrial lands.
Industrial areas lack amenities, such as restaurants or personal
services nearby. These amenities will make industrial areas more
attractive for companies and their employees.
Completion of Abernethy Road is required to make the northern
industrial areas more attractive.
Re-application to have the Pelton Lands excluded from the ALR
was brought up by a number of attendee’s, who suggested the
application should stress that the lands would be used for agro-
industrial uses.
Albion Flats and Albion Industrial Area should be considered as a
‘single-node’ with a full mix of uses including housing, retail,
industry and a new West Coast Express Station.
Non-industrial uses, such as dance studios, should not be allowed
in industrial areas. Although other stakeholders suggested drive-
through restaurants should be allowed.
8.2 REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL MARKET TRENDS
8.2.1 Broad Regional Trends
In very broad terms there are two major trends impacting industrial
demand in the Metro Vancouver area:
1. Increasing demand for industrial lands near the ports and the
Gateway project.
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2. Demand for more affordable industrial lands pushing users east to
Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
The Pitt Meadows / Maple Ridge industrial lands are more likely to be the
beneficiary of industrial users looking for affordable industrial lands, than
users who have strong business connections with Port of Vancouver
activity.
From a user / developer perspective, industrial lands in Pitt Meadows and
Maple Ridge are considered similar, especially when considering lands in
western Maple Ridge.
Much of the demand for industrial lands in the Metro region is looking to
supply traffic from the ports.
8.2.2 Types of Businesses on Industrial Lands
There are many different types of businesses that use industrial land in
Metro Vancouver. However, according to a recent study completed for
Metro, it was determined that there are three business sectors that
together account for nearly 55% of all jobs on industrial lands.28 These are:
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Transportation & Warehousing
The sector with the next highest amount of employment on industrial lands
was retail trade.
There is also a trend to greater flexibility on industrial lands in terms of both
business type and building form. Buildings with an increasing amount of
office space are being permitted on industrial lands across the region, and
this should be welcomed. For example the Rivers Edge Business Park in
Port Coquitlam is based on an M-3 zoning, but allows up to 40% office space.
The fact that Maple Ridge has been successful in attracting manufacturing
businesses from a regional perspective likely is due to the following factors:
Maple Ridge is home to a number of wood manufacturing
companies, such as shingle manufacturers;
Manufacturing companies have less dependence on being close to
transportation networks than wholesale trade or transportation
companies, thus allowing these firms to take advantage of lower
cost industrial lands in Maple Ridge;
Manufacturing companies are often owner operated, and owners
are likely to be attracted to the lifestyle in Maple Ridge.
28 Metro Vancouver, Industrial Land Intensification Analysis, Eric Vance &
Associates, 2011
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8.2.3 Building Configuration
Metro Vancouver has seen increasing demand for large industrial space
with tenants regularly looking for buildings between 100,000 to 200,000
square feet.
Speculative developments are now being built to include large 100,000+
square foot buildings, allowing the market decide how the buildings will be
internally divided. Speculative developments also tend to be flexible in
terms of building access and space for truck loading and turning.
Much of the Maple Ridge industrial building supply was built by owner
occupiers or in strata developments which are typified by smaller spaces.
Due to these small spaces, rents per square foot in Maple Meadows can
seem higher when compared to other industrial lands in the region, but
similar space in Maple Ridge is typically less expensive than Langley or
Coquitlam.
8.2.4 Other Metro Vancouver Trends
Lands that are considered to have a high agricultural value will not
be excluded from the ALR. Lands with lower agricultural value may
be approved for exclusion, but are subject to conditions imposed
by the ALC including the improvement of agricultural lands
elsewhere.
An application to the ALC has been made for the removal of an
additional 600 acres of land in Tsawwassen for industrial
development. If this application is accepted it will have an impact
on industrial development in other areas in Metro Vancouver.
The issue of the industrial land supply in Metro Vancouver is
garnering more attention, with some commentators suggesting an
Industrial Land Reserve should be created. This comment
highlights issues of past rezoning of industrial lands for residential
or retail uses, and the recognition that industrial lands are critical
for employment in the region.
The Gateway Project is intended to improve the movement of
people and goods throughout the region. Investments in the South
Fraser Perimeter Road and the expansion of Highway 1 have
increased the value of industrial lands adjacent to recent
infrastructural improvements.
The Tsawwassen First Nation was granted full municipal-type
jurisdiction over 1,800 acres of land in 2008, of which
approximately 335 acres are intended to be developed for
industrial purposes to service the Deltaport container terminal.
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8.3 MAPLE RIDGE INDUSTRIAL TRENDS
8.3.1 Golden Ears Bridge Construction
The Golden Ears Bridge has improved the marketability of
industrial lands in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. It is believed
that developers and users are taking some time to understand
which users will now have interest in locating in the area.
There is currently a significant amount of vacancy in the Maple
Meadows Business Park. It is estimated that only 75% - 80% of built
space is leased. Recent departure of businesses that were involved
with Golden Ears Bridge construction is believed to be responsible
for some of this vacancy.
8.3.2 Pitt Meadows Industrial Supply
Pitt Meadows has roughly 200 acres or industrial land that is either
currently marketing or coming soon to the market. This amount of
supply could take up to 10 years to absorb and will impact the
extent to which users cast their view to Maple Ridge.
8.3.3 Northern Industrial Absorption and Outlook
In recent years development of northern industrial lands in Maple
Ridge has begun, with approximately 55,000 sq. ft. of strata
industrial space built and mostly sold at Webster’s Corners. This
has been a successful project, attracting small businesses to the
northern industrial areas.
The Kanaka Business Park in the north has struggled. Attracting
large users to the north on sites with septic servicing has proven
difficult and gives an indication of the current limitations of the
northern industrial lands.
Industrial developers and users point to the need for improved
road access to the northern industrial lands. Development of the
Abernethy Road connector would require funding from the
Province and Translink.
8.3.4 Other Trends
Many of the users of industrial lands in Maple Ridge are smaller
companies. Large sites that could attract large users do not
currently exist, although this could change with the rezoning
proposal for 40 acres south of Maple Meadows.
If rezoned for industrial use, the lands south of Maple Meadows
Business Park would be an excellent source of new supply that
could attract larger tenants.
There are a significant number of companies, estimated at almost
150, that own strata-commercial space on industrial lands in Maple
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Ridge. This has been noted as a trend across the Metro Vancouver
region, and one that suits Maple Ridge with its large number of
owner-operated companies.
8.4 INDUSTRIAL LAND & EMPLOYMENT INVENTORY
8.4.1 Metro Industrial Lands Overview
Historical statistics that track industrial development in Metro Vancouver
have traditionally combined Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge. Both
communities are commonly considered the same market from an industrial
land user perspective.
Figure 9 below shows the historical growth of industrial space across Metro
Vancouver, as well as the vacancy rate for industrial space in the region.
The impact of the global economic slowdown can be seen after 2007,
through both an increasing vacancy rate and a reduction in the rate of
growth of new industrial supply. While vacancy rates have decreased in
the years since, they are still relatively high compared the 13 year average.
Industrial land supply in 2012 Q2 is approximately 170 million square feet.
Figure 8: Metro Vancouver Industrial Space (sq.ft.), 1999 to 2012
Figure 10 shows the total industrial square footage by select municipality
in 1996, 2006 and 2012. Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are combined.
Figure 9: Industrial Square Feet by Municipality: 1996, 2006, 2012
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Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows combine to account for approximately 1%
of the total industrial supply in Metro Vancouver. Since 1996, the
proportion of industrial space in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows has been
growing slightly.
8.4.2 Maple Ridge Industrial Land Supply & Utilization
Based on District data, there are 2.2 million square feet of built industrial
floor area in Maple Ridge today. This industrial space is found in the
following 6 industrial areas: Southwest, Central Maple Ridge, Albion, North,
Whonnock, and Ruskin.
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Figure 10: Maple Ridge Industrial Areas
The amount of designated industrial lands has not changed in Maple Ridge
in recent years. However, it is understood that nearly 90 acres of zoned
industrial lands in the Albion Industrial Area either (a) part of the Kanaka
Creek Regional Park, or (b) likely to be rezoned for residential use in the
near future. These lands have been subtracted from the zoned totals
below, leaving approximately 160 acres of industrial land in the Albion Area.
The issue of use on industrial lands is important in Maple Ridge, and it
should be noted that a total of almost 390 acres in both Southwest Maple
Ridge and the Albion Flats have been designated for business park. As
shown in Figure 11 below, the vast majority of lands designated for
industrial use are in northern Maple Ridge.
An additional 40 acres in Southwest Maple Ridge is currently applying for
rezoning to M-3 or Business Park.
Southwest
Albion
North
Central
Whonnock
Ruskin
Note: Identified areas do not reflect planning area boundaries
indicated in the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan
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Figure 11: Designated Industrial Land by Type and Region
Since 2010, some changes in the way industrially designated lands are
zoned include 1 acre changing from M-2 (General Industrial) to M-3
(Business Park) to accommodate the Kingfisher Pub in the Albion area. In
2010 an additional 11 acres were rezoned to M-2 (General Industrial) in the
North.
Figure 12 clearly indicates that the majority of underutilized and vacant
industrial lands are found in the Albion area and in North Maple Ridge: 29
Figure 12: Industrial Land Uitlization
29 The distribution of industrial lands by utilization uses the total areas
multiplied by the proportion of lands determined to be developed, vacant or
underutilized according to the District of Maple Ridge.
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The north has the largest supply of vacant and underutilized industrial
lands, but due to the distance and poor connectivity, these lands are not in
high demand with industrial land users or developers.
The District’s six industrial areas (Figure 10) have the following key
characteristics:
Northern Maple Ridge
Includes almost 300 acres of zoned industrial lands, zoned mostly
M-2 (General Industrial) with some M-4 (Gravel Pit)
218 acres of vacant land and 72 acres of underutilized industrial
land
Businesses in the north were represented by a wide variety of
sectors including manufacturing and warehousing found in smaller
strata space as well as larger tracts of land used by the forestry
sector.
The area employs approximately 50 people.
While there is plenty of supply in this area, its distance from major
arterials is seen as a major setback. Completion of the Abernathy
Connector would improve access, but it will still be an issue for
many potential users.
Southwest
Almost 155 acres of zoned industrial lands, zoned mostly M-3
(Business Park) with some M-2 (General Industrial).
Approximately 6 acres of vacant land.
While there is limited vacant land, there is reportedly up to 15% to
20% vacancy in Maple Meadows’ built space at the moment, with
companies involved with building the Golden Ears Bridge vacating
their space. It is also likely that the ICBC Air Care site will soon be
available for redevelopment.
There is an application to rezone 41 acres of land from residential
to M-3 (Business Park) just south of Maple Meadows Business Park.
Southwest Maple Ridge is the most sought after location for
industrial space in the District due to its proximity to the Golden
Ears and Pitt River Bridges.
Includes two distinct industrial areas. The first, Maple Meadows is
zoned M-3 and is primarily light industrial. The second is zoned M-
2 and includes a wood processing plant.
Users in Maple Meadows include school bus parking,
manufacturing, warehousing, dance and martial arts studios as
well as wholesale trade and automotive services.
GPRA estimates that the southwest employs approximately 5,800
people.
Central Maple Ridge
The North employs
approximately 50 people.
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Includes a total of almost 20 acres of zoned industrial land,
including 3 acres of vacant land and 3 acres of underutilized land.
Mostly zoned M-1 or M-2 these lands are either located along the
Lougheed Corridor or south of the Town Centre near the Fraser
River.
Land uses include manufacturing, warehousing, construction, and
wholesale trade.
There are other light industrial uses in Central Maple Ridge located
on lands zoned CS-1 which allows for some light industrial uses.
Albion
Almost 160 acres of zoned industrial lands, zoned mostly M-3
(Business Park) with some M-2 (General Industrial).
37 acres of vacant land and 47 acres of underutilized industrial
lands.
Major businesses in the area include construction wood processing
/ manufacturing, transportation and warehousing.
The Albion area is seen to have redevelopment potential, but the
existing businesses do employ a significant number of people.
Based on our estimates the Albion Industrial Area employs
approximately 1,000 people.
Whonnock
Over 53 acres of zoned industrial lands, zoned entirely M-2
(General Industrial)
26 acres of vacant lands with 2 acres of underutilized lands
Located along the Fraser, in some cases with some narrow parcels,
the Whonnock area is typified by wood product related companies.
Ruskin
Almost 60 acres of zoned industrial lands, zoned entirely M-2
(General Industrial).
1 acre of vacant lands, and 3 acres of underutilized lands.
Located on the southeastern boundary of Maple Ridge, Ruskin
primarily is home to forestry related companies including lumber
mills, and shingle manufacturing.
The Waldun Forest Products Mill recently burned down which
employed roughly 200 people. The company is currently
considering whether it will rebuild the mill.
Whonnock and Ruskin combine to employ approximately 800
people according to our estimates.
8.4.3 Employment on Industrial Lands
There are approximately 7,700 jobs located on industrial lands in Maple
Ridge.
Whonnock and Ruskin
combine to employ
approximately 800 people.
Albion employs
approximately 1,000
people.
The Southwest and Central
Areas combine to employ
an estimated 5,800
people.
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Table 28: Employment by Sector on Industrial Lands
The sector with by far the largest amount of employment was
manufacturing.
When employment is split into detailed subcategories, key employment
subsectors begin to stand out. For example:
1,500 jobs in ‘machinery & equipment’
980 jobs in ‘sawmill, shake & shingle’
490 jobs in ‘wood products / lumber’
400 jobs in ‘metal’
480 jobs in ‘unclassified manufacturing’
These numbers indicate the importance of the forestry and wood
manufacturing sector to Maple Ridge. These jobs should be considered
when plans for redevelopment of District industrial areas are proposed.
Estimate of Jobs on Industrial Lands in Maple Ridge
By Employment Category
Accomodation and Food 60
Business Commercial Services 850
Construction 820
Education 70
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 80
Health & Welfare / Public Administration 330
Information, Cultural, Arts & Recreation 100
Manufacturing 4,330
Primary 20
Retail 260
Transportation, Communication, Utilities 170
Wholesale Trade 600
Grand Total 7,690
Source: GPRA, HBLG
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8.5 COMPETITIVE SUPPLY
Outside of the lands in southwest Maple Ridge, it is generally accepted that
industrial lands in Maple Ridge are not ideally located, and therefore will
have difficulty competing against available lands nearby. The following are
some important highlights of competitive industrial supply from adjacent
municipalities:
8.5.1 Pitt Meadows
Due to their proximity to the Pitt River Bridge and the Golden Ears
Bridge, industrial lands in Pitt Meadows will be more attractive
than Maple Ridge lands outside of southwest Maple Ridge.
There are approximately 200 acres of developable industrial lands
in Pitt Meadows.
At the time of this report the first building on site, 75,000 square
feet in size, is almost fully leased. A second building with 110,000
square feet is planned, followed by a third with 25,000 square feet.
The marketing team is still looking for a large single tenant who
could use a building between 300,000 to 500,000 square feet.
It is believed that the absorption of this site is going well,
especially considering how the market for industrial space has
slowed in 2012.
Industrial space in Pitt Meadows is costing $5.25 per square foot
for warehouse space, and $6.50 per square foot with industrial
space with office space.
8.5.2 Mission
Mission has made available 40 acres of industrial land in the Silver
Creek area, though reportedly only 7 acres remain.
The older industrial space adjacent to downtown has fractured
ownership, which will delay redevelopment.
8.5.3 Coquitlam
Coquitlam has 36 acres of vacant industrial land and
approximately 200 acres of underutilized industrial lands.
With tolls being placed on the new Port Mann Bridge Coquitlam
and Maple Ridge will be in more direct competition for tenants.
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8.6 PROJECTED DEMAND
Demand projections for industrial land have been conducted using two
methods.
Method #1: The first forecast was based on projected
employment growth and the estimated square
feet required for employees on industrial lands.
There were high and low forecasts created, the
former based on the Metro Vancouver projections,
and the latter created by GPRA. Land utilization
per employee was based on forecasted jobs per
category, and the estimated employment density
per employment type.
Method #2: The second forecast was based on the historic
growth of industrial lands in Metro Vancouver, and
the anticipated roll of Maple Ridge within Metro
Vancouver. Based on forecasts that regional share
of employment in Maple Ridge will increase, and
the share of industrial lands Maple Ridge will also
increase incrementally.
These two forecasts have led to the estimate that Maple Ridge will require
between 170 and 230 acres of industrial land by the year 2040. The
following table highlights the industrial demand based on the two separate
methodologies:
Table 29: Industrial Land Demand Forecast
Industrial Acres Required, Maple Ridge (Cummulative)
2015-2040
Metro Employment GPRA Employment Absorption
Based Forecast Based Forecast Based Forecast
2020 29 22 22
2025 59 44 50
2030 135 100 103
2035 180 133 153
2040 230 170 210
Source: G.P. Rollo & Associates Ltd.
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8.7 MEETING INDUSTRIAL DEMAND IN MAPLE RIDGE
If Maple Ridge will have demand for approximately 200 acres of industrial
land by 2040 it must begin planning now for how it will meet that demand.
It should be recognized that although Maple Ridge has large
amounts of industrial land supply, much of it is located in the
north which is not currently of interest to most industrial
developers or users. The Abernethy Connector will improve
absorption of industrial land in the North, but the location will
still likely be too far away for many region serving businesses.
The following table displays the vacant and underutilized industrial areas
in Maple Ridge. The table also highlights alternative lands that could be
considered for future industrial development.
Table 30: Available Industrial Lands in Maple Ridge (acres)
Absorption in northern Maple Ridge will be slow, so the District must
consider a range of scenarios if it is going to have marketable industrial
lands available to meet demand.
Without considering the north, Maple Ridge only has 90 acres of
developable industrial land, mostly found in the Albion Industrial
Area.
The Albion Industrial Area itself has serious redevelopment
constraints, including the floodplain (and associated dyke
requirements), infrastructure and landowner expectations.
Excluding the Albion Industrial Area and the North, Maple Ridge
only has 6 acres of developable industrial land.
Maple Ridge will need to provide another 100 acres of industrial
lands to satisfy demand by 2040.
Available / Underutilized Industrial Lands
in Maple Ridge
Available Underutilized Lands with
Industrial Industrial Industrial
Lands Lands Potential
Southwest 6 40
Albion 37 47
North 218 72
Ruskin / Whonnock 27 5
Albion Flats 50
232 St & 128 Ave.55
Dept. of Transportation 19
West of Kwantlan 13
East of Kwantlan 7
Total 288 124 184
Total - No North or East 43 47 184
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Given the approximate 200 acres of industrial land in Pitt Meadows that is
currently or soon to be available, the District has an estimated 10 years
before demand and development pressure will move to Maple Ridge.
During this time Maple Ridge should plan to provide the needed lands.
8.7.1 Strategy #1: Status Quo
With close to 225 acres of demand to 2040, the District has the option to
try to meet demand within its current industrial lands.
Future demand could potentially be satisfied by 46 acres of prime
developable industrial lands in the southwest, and 100 acres in in
the Albion Industrial area.
The remaining 50-70 acres of demand could be met by a
combination of redevelopment in the southwest, and Albion
Industrial area as well as development in the North.
The weakness of this scenario is the lack of prime industrial lands. Maple
Ridge would likely have trouble recruiting businesses and would lose out
on job growth without available lands in the southwest, or other well
located developable industrial lands.
Another important issue will be the complications of redeveloping the
Albion Industrial Park:
Redevelopment of Albion Industrial Park will be slow and
challenging given high costs of flood mitigation, infrastructure
requirements, and high land values based on landowner
expectations.
Given these high costs, a higher density of development might be
necessary, but will be delayed by determining how to pay for
infrastructure costs in the area.
The Albion Industrial Area is designated for Business Park use, and
would not need an area plan to increase density for this use.
8.7.2 Strategy #2: Redevelopment of Albion Industrial Park
The District could provide incentives for the redevelopment of Albion
Industrial Park. Land uses in the Albion Industrial Park could be intensified
to allow for greater employment densities, either through light industrial
uses or potentially office uses.
Major redevelopment in the Albion Industrial Park will include significant
infrastructure costs that will likely result in pressure to include a mix of uses
in the area to increase land values.
Some of these infrastructure costs include:
Improving the dyke, or raising the land. Estimates for a seismically
upgraded dyke are in the $50 million range. Rather than building
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a new dyke, an estimated 3 metres of fill would be required to raise
the land out of the floodplain.
o New industrial buildings are not required to build to the
flood protection level and are only required to have
working areas above the flood levels.
Site contamination will be an issue, especially if the Albion
Industrial Park is rezoned to increase employment density. If a
mixed use employment / residential development is considered for
the site, an Environmental Consultant should be commissioned to
estimate the remediation costs involved.
Additional employment density will increase pressure to create an
improved interchange on the northwest side of the site. However
the Ministry of Transportation will not allow a new traffic light at
Tamarack Lane as it is too close to Kanaka Way under its current
by-laws, and CP Rail will not allow another level crossing at 105th
Avenue. Therefore an expensive overpass has been discussed at
105th Avenue, which will require some land expropriation.
The Albion Industrial Area is designated Business Park and is ready to allow
rezoning. An extensive area planning process would not be required, and
the road network is in place. A more strategic initiative would be to focus
on incentives to drive desired action. It is believed that significant
redevelopment in the Albion area could take over 10 years to materialize,
but the District could speed up the process through consolidation
incentives. The redevelopment of the Albion Industrial Park could be
slowed given the reluctance of current owners to sell their lands.
If the District wants to consider rezoning the Albion Industrial Park to allow
for increased employment density it should consider first confirming the
costs involved; this would necessitate confirmation that a non-overpass
solution is not feasible, estimates on the cost of an overpass, estimates on
the cost of site remediation, and estimates on bringing the site out of the
floodplain, either by raising the site or improving the dyke.
If these costs are prohibitive to redeveloping the site with a mix of uses, it
is still likely that the Albion Industrial Park will see an increase of
employment over time as industrial redevelopment occurs.
8.7.3 Strategy #3: Albion Flats
The potentially developable lands on the Albion Flats south of 105th Avenue
add up to approximately 85 acres. The Agricultural Land Commission was
more receptive to lands south of 105th Avenue being excluded from the ALR
than Albion Flats lands north of 105th Avenue. In conversations, the ALC
reconfirmed their recommendation that the District of Maple Ridge put
together an application for exclusion of the entire block of lands south of
105th Avenue.
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It is likely that a mix of uses on the southern section of the Albion Flats
would be proposed, but it is recommended that employment be a major
component of any development of these lands.
Light industrial space and office space could coexist with retail commercial
uses to create a vibrant hub within relative proximity to the Town Centre.
The ALC confirmed that applications were received regarding the potential
exclusion of lands north of 105th Avenue. No timeline was given regarding
these applications.
8.7.4 Strategy #4: 232nd Street 128th Avenue
There is approximately 50 – 60 acres of land designated for urban
development southwest of the 232nd Street and 128th Avenue intersection.
This location could include light industrial and office park development.
Given the proximity to residential, a new industrial zone allowing for low
impact industrial development is recommended where the buildings have
a similar style and massing to townhomes.
This site does not have the best location, but it is an improvement upon
the northern industrial lands, and the lands in Ruskin or Whonnock.
8.7.5 Strategy #5: Department of Transportation Lands
The Department of Transportation owns 38 acres of land to the west of the
eastern intersection of the Lougheed Highway and the Haney Bypass.
These lands have a number of streams running through the site, and some
slope issues. It is estimated that 50% of these lands could be developed for
industrial use if redesignated. As it stands these properties are located
within the Urban Area Boundary and currently zoned for CS-1, RM-1, and
RS-3. An amendment to the Official Community Plan to support business
park industrial development is recommended.
8.7.6 Strategy #6: Lands Adjacent to Kwantlen First Nation
There are lands to the west and east of the Kwantlen First Nations land
along the Lougheed Highway that could potentially be redesignated if
demand for new industrial land is outstripping supply in the future. Both
sites to the east and west of the Kwantlen lands have slope issues. Based
on a high level review of watercourses and slope on the site, it is estimated
13 acres to the west, and 7 acres to the east of the Kwantlen lands would
be developable for industrial use. Currently these lands are outside the
Urban Area Boundary and are designated RS-3. Metro Vancouver’s
regional growth strategy will be affected by any proposed redesignation of
these lands. Given the site constraints, it is recommended that the
feasibility of industrial development at these locations be investigated.
8.7.7 Strategy #7: Redesignating Residential Lands
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If all of the above scenarios have been considered and demand for
industrial land still exists, there could be potential within existing
residentially designated neighbourhoods. Maple Ridge has significant
lands designated for future residential supply, which should be considered
for industrial usage if warranted by demand for employment lands. Maple
Ridge needs to maintain a balance between the amount of industrial and
residential lands, and over the long-term brining new residential lands to
market should be balanced with new industrial lands. As with ‘Strategy 4’
above, the creation of a low impact industrial zone is recommended to
avoid conflicts with residential uses.
8.7.8 Strategy #8: ALR / ALR Exemptions
Pursuing ALR exemptions for future land supply is considered a risk filled
strategy that should only be pursued in the long term future if other
initiatives prove insufficient for meeting demand for industrial land. The
Agricultural Land Commission has changed the process of reviewing
applications for ALR exemptions, and they are becoming stricter than in
years past.
The ALC official that was interviewed gave the example that an application
to exempt the Pelton Lands would have less chance of gaining approval
than it did in 2010 when it was unanimously denied by the ALC board.
The applications to exempt lands north of 105th Avenue on the Albion Flats
will give an indication of the potential for future ALR exemptions in Maple
Ridge.
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8.8 STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING INDUSTRIAL LAND DEVELOPMENT
General Strategies Timing30
Initiate dialogue within community planning projects (e.g. OCP review, Zoning Bylaw
etc.) for how Maple Ridge can meet the projected demand for industrial space.
Short-Term
Allow greater flexibility for space utilization in industrial zones. This includes
additional allowance for office space (as noted in Section 7), as well as restaurant
facilities as accessory uses and/or at key locations (e.g. high profile intersections).
Short-Term
Consider potential for a new Industrial Zone to encompass potential light-industrial
uses adjacent to residential areas.
Short-Term
Southwest Strategies
The Southwest (e.g. Maple Meadows and environs) is the most attractive area for
businesses in Maple Ridge.
While some mixing of uses is desirable in industrial parks to create vibrancy and
provide needed/desired amenities, we recommend that major non-industrial uses
such as big box retail stores not be permitted.
Short-Term
Do not permit large format retail (“big box”) on rezoned industrial lands south of
Maple Meadows. While retail would certainly work well on this site, these lands are
too valuable as future industrial supply. It is recommended that the M-3 zone is
amended to exclude big box retail.
Short-Term
Increase flexibility for office uses within the M-3 zone. Short-Term
Promote the redevelopment of aging buildings, including the ICBC site in Maple
Meadows.
Medium-Long
Term
New signage/wayfinding within the Maple Meadows business park could help attract
new users.
Short-
Medium-Term
Central Maple
Ridge/Lougheed
Corridor
Strategies
Zoning Many of the sites with industrial zoning in the Town Centre area are designated in the
OCP for other uses. This should be reconsidered in areas where the industrial uses are
fitting well within the surrounding community. Changing the zoning to CS-1 where
some industrial uses are permitted should be considered.
The Lougheed corridor already has important employment density in Maple
Ridge with many light industrial uses in CS-1 zones.
Medium-Term
30 “Short Term” = immediate to 2 years. “Medium Term” = 2-5 years. “Long
Term” = 5+ years.
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Zoning The CS-1 zone should be relaxed to permit more light industrial, self-storage and office
uses.
Short-Term
Ultimately, development with retail and/or light industrial along with commercial on
the ground floor and office above is an excellent mix/building typology for this
corridor.
Long-Term
Albion
Industrial Area
Strategies
Development constraints such as floodplain issues, soil remediation, and the need for
improved access will limit large scale redevelopment of this area for 10-15 years.
Redevelopment will be a long-term undertaking, and will likely include a mix of uses
to create a financially feasible project.
Define costs for infrastructure upgrades, flood mitigation, soil remediation, access.
Examine potential to pay for overpass through a DCC, through partnerships
and/or through senior government infrastructure or economic development
grant programs.
Medium-Long
Term
Future development should be based on a comprehensive District-wide plan for
industrial lands
Long-Term
Promote consolidation of land ownership, including District acquisition of sites that
come to market.
Long-Term
Albion Flats Strategies
Besides the 40 acres of land south of the Maple Meadows, the Albion Flats represents
the ‘best located’ lands for future industrial uses.
The Albion Flats are currently within the ALR. If proposals to have portions of the
Albion Flats removed from the ALR are successful it should be considered for an
employment hub.
Long-Term
The Albion Flats has the potential to become a major employment hub. Planning for
the Flats should include a mix of uses including light industrial, office park,
recreational, and on-site-serving retail. Stakeholders felt that should this be achieved,
the Albion Industrial Area would become more successful as it would benefit from
increased amenities within walking distance.
Long-Term
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North Strategies
Accelerate eastward extension of the Abernethy Connector Short-Medium
Term
Promote area to companies, such as resource or institutional users, which do not rely
on quick access to major transportation networks.
Likely tenants in the north will be resource-based, institutional, and small
owner-operated businesses.
Short-Term
Do not rely exclusively on industrial supply in the north to provide the land Maple
Ridge requires to meet employment goals.
Whonnock &
Ruskin
Strategies
Whonnock should remain ‘as-is’ for existing uses, and potential relocation of some of
the users/uses from the Albion Industrial Park over time.
There is likely to be ‘built-to-suit’ development in this area, but no speculative
development for many years.
Long-Term
Promote waterfront uses for potential new businesses
Short-
Medium-Long
Term
Regard this areas as a future ‘industrial reserve’ Long-Term
Encourage the manufacturing sectors to locate here. Long-term
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9.0 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This report represents the completion of the 2nd phase of our work program
with the District of Maple Ridge, having already completed the stakeholder
workshops.
This study has determined that the employment forecast created by Metro
Vancouver, of 48,000 jobs by 2041, is on the high end of the potential
employment growth. A scenario with 42,500 jobs in Maple Ridge by 2041
is considered more likely and reduces demand for land.
However, even with the low employment forecast, Maple Ridge will be
facing a shortage of industrial lands within 10 years. Planning for where
future industrial development will be located needs to begin in the short
to medium term.
GPRA has provided a series of both short term and long term
recommendations that, if implemented, should position the District well
for future commercial and industrial growth.
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APPENDIX A: Consolidated List of Recommendations
Following is a consolidated list of all recommendations made throughout
this report. These recommendations are organized by timing –
Short/Medium term and Long Term – and further divided by 3 sub-
categories: (1) marketing & general employment, (2) retail & service
commercial, and (3) office and industrial. Short term recommendations
are things that council, planning and economic development can do
starting today to improve the District’s industrial and commercial
situation.
Short/
Medium Term
Strategies Theme
Marketing &
General
Employment
Continue to support Economic Development office and their work
to attract entrepreneurs, businesses and employees.
Ec Dev
Focus on attracting businesses from sectors which either are not
based on population growth, or where jobs in Maple Ridge are
below regional averages. These sectors include Manufacturing,
Business Services, FIRE, Education, and Tourism.
Employment
Extend Town Centre Incentive plan which is set to expire at the end
of 2013.
Employment
Continue to support new cultural events in the Town Centre Culture
Promote food carts in the Town Centre to animate Memorial Peace
Park and other public spaces.
Culture
Promote hotel development in the Town Centre, with meeting
facilities.
Tourism
Promote executive business centre in the Town Centre Employment
Expand the permitted uses for home-based businesses. Promote
Maple Ridge as home-based business friendly, building on past
success.
Employment
Work to attract tournaments and events to Maple Ridge Ec Dev
Use employment by sector figures prepared by GPRA for this report
as a baseline against which to track future successes in employment
growth.
Tracking
Examine feasibility for creating additional wireless hot spots in the
Town Centre.
Information
Services /
Ec Dev
Promote development/expansion of educational facilities
including:
Business innovation accelerator
Working farm school
Marine technologies Centre
Employment
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Retail/Service
Commercial
Investigate CS-1 and C-2 zones as they pertain to desirable types of
commercial development along the Lougheed Highway.
Zoning
We recommend that areas currently designated for industrial not
be re-designated or rezoned for large format retail. We
recommend that large format retail be removed as a permitted use
in zone M-3.
Zoning
The CS-1 zone should be modified to permit more light industrial,
self-storage and office uses.
Zoning
Retain all designated commercial space within Silver Valley. Designation
Remove differentiation between neighbourhood and tourist
commercial in Silver Valley.
Designation
Promote the downtown and available land supply, both vacant and
underutilized.
Incentives
Work with merchants and land owners to improve building facades
and displays.
Engagement
/incentives
Work with landowners of underutilized sites to either redevelop
those sites or to sell lands to speed up redevelopment.
Engagement
Mandate building to a common frontage line with some provision
for variance for restaurants to allow patio seating where
appropriate or desired for street animation.
Zoning /
Design
Require that a minimum of 60% of first floor building façade surface
area of commercial structures be covered in clear glass (excluding
doorways).
Design
Do not permit drive-through businesses in the Town Centre. Zoning
Consider a beautification grant matching program for small projects
covering such items as planters, hanging baskets, boulevard
landscaping etc. available to landlords and interested tenants.
Incentives
Consider changing the requirement for ground floor commercial
along Dewdney Trunk Road east of 227th Street (as shown in
Schedule G of the Zoning Bylaw) to either mandatory “ground floor
active use” or optional ground floor commercial (i.e. flexible mixed-
use). Active use could include office, gallery, indoor recreation,
daycare, institutional space or other publicly accessible space.
Removing strict commercial requirements may help to better
concentrate the commercial demand in a well-defined ‘core
precinct.’
Zoning &
Designation
A similar change to Schedule G should be considered for the area of
Dewdney west of 222nd Street
Zoning
Encourage better pedestrian connectivity between the civic
precinct and Haney Place Mall
Design
Animate the public space around Memorial Peace Park. The District
should encourage restaurant space to be developed at 224th and
McIntosh Avenue, and directly across from the pagoda on the north
side of Haney Place Crescent. Food carts are another good active
use that could locate around the park.
Promotion/
Incentives/
Engagement
Emphasize and encourage land assembly of the blocks on the east
side of 226th Street for mixed-use development.
Engagement
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Design guidelines emphasizing street-wall retail, parking at rear and
high-quality storefronts should be applied to future Village or
Community commercial centres. The quality of design at the Village
node in the Albion Neighbourhood serves as a guide.
Design
Industrial &
Office
Consider the following to improve industrial land supply in the near-
term:
1. Approve rezoning application for 40 acre site at 11055
Hazelwood Street.
2. Examine potential for redesignation of 50-60 acre site at
232nd Street and 128th Avenue for industrial.
3. Move forward with Abernethy connector extension to
improve marketability of Northern industrial lands.
4. Plan for future industrial at Albion Flats.
Zoning,
Designation
To better accommodate demand for office space within business
park environments, it is recommended that the District modify the
M-3 zoning bylaw restriction stipulating that accessory office use
“not exceed 25% of the gross floor area of the principal use” to
instead permit office as a “principal use.”
Zoning
Permit greater flexibility in industrial zones to allow for restaurant
and accessory uses at key locations (e.g. high profile intersections.)
Zoning
Consider potential for a new Industrial Zone to encompass
potential light-industrial uses adjacent to residential areas.
Zoning
Promote northern industrial areas (e.g. Kanaka Business Park) to
companies/sectors that do not rely on quick access to major
transportation networks or full servicing, but which would benefit
from highland locations not at risk of flooding. Likely tenant
categories will be resource industries, institutional users, small
owner-operated businesses serving the local market, and data
centres that require secure, remote locations.
Ec Dev
The Town Centre Commercial zone (C-3) permits various types of
office-related uses (e.g. business services, professional services,
financial services), and the Town Centre Area Plan encourages
office in mixed-use development within the “Central Business
District.”
To encourage office development in mixed-use environments
within the CBD, a bonus density provision should be explored
whereby residential density bonuses are used to encourage
additional employment generating space.
Zoning / Policy
New signage/wayfinding within the Maple Meadows business park
could help attract new users.
Signage
Long-Term Strategies Theme
Marketing &
General
Employment
Pursue potential for West Coast Express station at Albion. Transportation
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Utilize Fraser River and Albion Ferry site for tourist activities,
including a tourist visitor centre
Tourism
Work with landowners of underutilized sites in the Town Centre and
elsewhere to either redevelop those sites or to sell lands to speed
up redevelopment.
Engagement &
Incentives
Retail & Service
Commercial
Encourage redevelopment of Haney Plaza to mixed
residential/commercial, and work with the proponent of the mixed-
use development at 224th and Dewdney (NW corner) to ensure that
project moves forward as the market matures.
Engagement &
Incentives
Monitor whether economic incentives are appropriate or require
modification through periodic ‘check ins’ with key stakeholders
Monitoring
Encourage redevelopment of the Haney Place Mall. Such
redevelopment will be a complex, multi-year undertaking involving
partnership between mall owners, anchor tenants and the District.
There should be exploration of appropriate incentives and
assistance to encourage redevelopment.
Redevelopment of the mall would likely allow for significantly more
on-site retail space, as well as office uses and possibly residential.
Engagement &
Incentives
Encourage densification and ‘urbanization’ of retail plazas over
time, as demand allows.
Engagement &
Incentives
Improve multi-modal connectivity between commercial
developments along Dewdney Trunk Road and Lougheed Highway,
and the surrounding residential areas. This could require
municipal property acquisition and easements.
Design &
Acquisitions
Encourage new retail in West Maple Ridge to be developed close
to the street, at first through pad development at key site
entry/exit points and high visibility corners.
Zoning & Design
Industrial Incentivize long-term redevelopment and/or intensification of
employment at Albion Industrial Park. Review costs involved in
such redevelopment/intensification, including:
Dyke system;
Contamination remediation
Overpass
Transportation
Incentives &
Research
Future development at Albion Industrial area should be based on a
comprehensive District-wide plan for industrial lands.
Planning
Promote consolidation of land ownership in Albion Industrial area,
including District acquisition of sites that come to market.
Engagement,
Incentives,
Acquisitions
Consider 38 acre Department of Transportation Lands to the west
of the eastern intersection of Lougheed Highway and Haney Bypass
for long-term industrial supply.
Designation
Consider the estimated 13 acres to the west and 7 acres to the east
of Kwantlen lands for long-term industrial supply.
Designation
If all other options have been explored thoroughly and demand
warrants additional industrial, examine potential for re-designating
Designation
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some of the non-developed long term residential land supply for
industrial uses.
Develop Albion Flats south of 105th as a major employment hub.
Plan in conjunction with redevelopment/intensification of Albion
Industrial Park.
Planning & ALR
Whonnock and Ruskin should remain as-is for existing uses, with
long-term potential for relocation of some uses from Albion
Industrial park. Regard these areas as long-term industrial reserve.
Planning
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APPENDIX B: Land Use Map with Traffic Zones
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G.P Rollo & Associates, Land Economists Ltd.
West Maple Ridge
Demarcated by Pitt Meadows border in the west, approximate Town Centre boundary in the east (extending to 224th street north of Town
Centre), Fraser River in the South, and south of 128th Avenue in the North.
Corresponds with Metro Vancouver Traffic Zones 5803, 5802, 5822, 5821, 5812, 5811, 5814, 5834, 5833, 5852, 5851.
1. Town Centre
Demarcated by the approximate town centre boundaries identified in the Town Centre Area Plan (Bylaw 6610-2008), slightly adjusted to
Metro Vancouver Traffic Zone boundaries for data aggregation purposes;
Corresponds with Metro Vancouver Traffic Zones 5832, 5842, 5843, 5853, 5864, 5863, 5862, 5861.
2. Cottonwood/East Haney
Demarcated by boundary with Town Centre to the west, Fraser River to the south, boundary with “North/Silver Valley” in the north and
boundary with “East Maple Ridge” in the east;
Corresponds with Metro Vancouver Traffic Zones 5912 and 5920;
3. North / Silver Valley
Demarcated by border with Mission in the east, border with Pitt Meadows in the west, extent of inhabited area in the north, and
boundaries with “West”, “Town Centre”, “Cottonwood/East Haney,” and “East” to the south.
Corresponds with Traffic Zones 5801, 5831, 5841, 5880, 5890, 5870, 5900.
4. East Maple Ridge
Demarcated by border with Mission in the east, boundary with North/Silver Valley area in the north, boundary with Cottonwood/East
Haney in the west, and Fraser River in the south.
Corresponds with Traffic Zones 5911, 5930, 5950, 5960, 5942, 5941.