Temporary Warehouse Moratorium

This image shows a large warehouse with roughly a dozen semi trucks loading or unloading shipments.

The City of Vancouver is considering new development standards for large warehouses, including those that may be built in Fruit Valley.

Under the proposed changes, warehouses larger than 250,000 square feet would only be allowed in Heavy Industrial districts. These areas are located on land owned by the Port of Vancouver and the Columbia Business Center. Truck traffic from large warehouses would not be allowed on Fruit Valley Road. Warehouses larger than 250,000 square feet would also need to meet new standards, such as:

Additional tree plantings
Measures to reduce visual impacts if next to a public street or highway
A ban on truck engine idling while loading, unloading or parked
Climate action measures, such as solar panel-ready roofs, EV charging stations in parking lots and roofs that are designed to minimize heat retention and let in natural light

The proposed code changes would also:

Reduce the minimum number of parking spaces for all warehouses from 1 per 2,000 square feet to 1 per 5,000 square feet
Decrease the maximum lot coverage for large warehouses in the IH District from 100% to 75%

To learn more about these proposed changes, you can watch the most recent Council workshop, view the PowerPoint presentation or review the Council memo.

Share your feedback on the proposed changes using the comment box below.

Heavy Industrial (IH) Districts

Heavy industrial districts are located in west and central Vancouver, on land owned by the Port of Vancouver and the Columbia Business Center.

Project Background

On December 12, 2022, the Vancouver City Council adopted an ordinance imposing an emergency six-month moratorium on new or expanded warehouse facilities of more than 100,000 square feet. Since then, City staff have developed draft updates to the City's Land Use and Development Code. We invite you to learn more about these proposed changes and to share your feedback using the comment box below.

There has been a recent increase in development applications for large warehouse and distribution facilities nationally and in the City of Vancouver. There are a total of 12 proposed large warehouses in Clark County, five of which are proposed in Vancouver. These facilities on average are 506,500 square feet, the largest of which proposed in Camas is 835,765 square feet.

Based on average lot coverage, it takes about 14 acres at a minimum to accommodate a 250,000 square foot building. These extremely large facilities appear to be a growing trend in response to the increasing demand for online retail shopping and parcel delivery, as well as supply chain logistics issues. Large warehouses consume significant swaths of limited industrial land, while generating fewer jobs per acre than many other industrial uses.

These larger facilities were not contemplated by the existing land use code or evaluated in the context of the City’s Climate Action Framework, which indicates that 90% of Vancouver’s emissions are from either transportation or buildings. Several action items in the City’s Climate Action Framework (CAF) are specific to truck transportation and industrial development. Current reliance by this industry on high volumes of diesel-powered trucks to transport goods and construction and operation of buildings that are often several acres or more in size suggest that inconsistencies may exist with the City’s climate action goals.

Code Development Process

Staff are studying the impact of large warehouses in industrial districts across the city.

Over the past year, City staff have evaluated the potential positive and negative impacts of warehouse development across Vancouver. The City's work has taken place across four phases:

Phase 1 - Information Gathering and Analysis

Inventory of industrial land supply in Vancouver
Comparison of local warehouse vs. large distribution center characteristics
Examination of regional and national warehouse market trends
Jobs per acre comparison to other industrial uses
Review of impacts from distribution centers including traffic, pollution, tax base, job creation, land consumption, among others
Equity disparities analysis
Analysis of where large warehouses are most appropriate
Best practice research of other jurisdictions
Direct outreach to other jurisdictions
Outreach to key stakeholders (Port, industrial tenants, CREDC, etc.)

Phase 2: Moratorium Extension

Council workshop in May to provide updates on background research and preliminary analysis
Council public hearing - approval of a six-month extension of moratorium to complete code development work

Phase 3: Code Development

Develop use limitations and development standards as appropriate to mitigate concerns
Targeted engagement with Port, industrial stakeholders, CREDC, County, etc. to receive input on draft standards
Planning Commission Workshop(s) to review draft code changes
Engaging community members and groups to gather input

Phase 4: Code Amendment and Approval Process

Complete State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review and determination
Ongoing community engagement with neighborhoods and the broader community
Planning Commission workshops and public hearing
City Council workshops and public hearing
Potential adoption of development code changes

Upcoming Meetings

In addition to sharing your feedback below, you can also testify at upcoming public hearings:

The Planning Commission will host a public hearing on the proposed changes at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at City Hall, 415 W 6^th Street. Register to testify or provide comments directly to the Planning Commission.
The City Council will host a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27 at City Hall, 415 W 6^th Street

For questions, please contact the project manager, Chad Eiken, Community Development Director, at chad.eiken@cityofvancouver.us or 360-487-7882