On July 9th, Council direct staff to bring back options for Council’s consideration as part of the ongoing local area planning for the Railtown District, including potential zoning changes and options for mixed-use development. 

Council directed staff to incorporate the following considerations as part of the future Railtown Planning work:  

• Increased employment with no net loss of the total inventory of industrial or employment space currently found in Railtown; 
• Transportation network enhancements for safe and active transport options in and out of the area including better connections to the Gastown and Strathcona Shopping Districts and work with TransLink to explore the potential re-routing of key bus services into the Railtown area or providing alternative connections to Waterfront Station and other transit hubs; 
  • Retail at grade, increased vibrancy, safety, eyes on the streets and 24/7 activity; 
  • Increased & diversified housing options including market rental housing and live/work rental options; 
  • Consider which sites are best suitable for rental housing and artist live/work spaces; 
  • Heritage protection and creative uses in heritage buildings such as live/work spaces including the possibility of transferring density to other zones in the city and incentives for the preservation of heritage buildings; and 
  • Increase the overall flexibility of uses. 

Council also directed staff to initiate steps to reclassify Railtown from Industrial (I-4) to General Urban. More information can be found in the full motion.