Port Metro Vancouver is running out of land: study

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Plus, a new guide to guide dogs and shopping for retail locations

Land loss

The Lower Mainland’s supply of industrial land suitable for trade and goods movement may run out within 10 years, according to a new study commissioned by Port Metro Vancouver. Site Economics Ltd. found that there are only about 1,000 acres of vacant “trade-enabling industrial lands” suitable for logistics and goods movement compared to the 1,500 to 3,000 more acres required in the next five to 10 years to meet the demands of a growing Canadian economy.

“This issue is critical to the future of the Canadian economy, considering nearly 20 per cent of the value of all goods traded by Canada pass through the port here in Vancouver,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver, in a release. The demand for Canadian trade is growing, and container traffic through Canada’s Pacific gateway is expected to nearly double over the next 15 years. Trade-enabling industrial land will be required to meet this growing demand, according to the port authority, yet over the past 30 years more than 7,400 acres of the region’s trade-enabling industrial land has been rezoned for other uses.

Animal rights
The B.C. government has introduced legislation to clarify the sometimes fuzzy area around the use of service dogs. The new Guide Dog and Service Dog Act, which comes into effect January 18, 2016, includes provisions for higher fines and violation tickets for denying access or tenancy to a certified guide or service dog user; higher training standards for certified dogs; and standardized identification cards for certified teams.

Now strata boards and landlords with a no-pets policy may not refuse residency to someone for having a certified guide or service dog, and restaurants, transit or other businesses who deny a certified guide or service dog user their rights, are subject to fines up to $3,000.

The legislation also introduces protection for the public. Dogs must be certified through an accredited guide or service dog organization, or be tested to ensure they meet the new training standard. New requirements around visible identification will make it easier for business owners, landlords and transit staff to see whether a dog accompanying someone is fully certified.

Shopping news
Metro Vancouver is finally getting a Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th store, as are Winnipeg, Quebec City and Montreal, Saks owner HBC announced on Thursday. The 32,687-square-foot B.C. store will be one of the anchors of the 1.2-million-square-foot Tsawwassen Mills being built by Ivanhoé Cambridge, and is expected to open in fall 2016. Ivanhoé Cambridge and HBC announced earlier this year that three Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th stores will open at Ivanhoé Cambridge shopping centres in 2016: in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Vaughan in Ontario, and in the Greater Calgary area.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s alternative weekly newspaper The Stranger wonders what’s happened to small retailers in downtown Vancouver. Charles Medede writes, “While visiting Vancouver, BC recently, I noticed that many of the rental spaces for small businesses on the drabbish Denman Street, the glamorous Robson Street, and the worldly Granville Street were empty. This wasn’t the case two years ago when I visited the city on New Year’s Day.” His conclusion: global money has made rent unaffordable for small entrepreneurs.