• The proposed code changes would apply to new warehouse/freight movement uses in buildings larger than 250,000 square feet and are intended to allow them in Heavy Industrial Districts only, as well as address visual impacts, minimize truck traffic through high priority equity neighborhoods, and improve outcomes regarding climate impacts.
• The proposed code changes would only apply to new warehouses larger than 250,000 square feet with the exception of a proposed reduction in minimum parking spaces, which would apply to all warehouse/freight movement uses regardless of size.
• While the proposed code changes to mitigate climate impacts from large warehouses are fairly modest, a more comprehensive set of green building standards that will apply to all new developments is currently being drafted for adoption next year.

• Specific proposed changes include the following: 

1. Warehouse/freight movement uses larger than 250,000 square feet in a single building would be prohibited in the IL, Light Industrial District, which tend to be closer to residential districts. Such warehouses would be allowed as a limited use in the IH, Heavy Industrial District (effectively only in the Port of Vancouver or Columbia Business Center due to parcel size constraints elsewhere) where they are more compatible with surrounding uses and further away from residential districts and would need to meet certain proposed additional development requirements.         
2. The maximum lot coverage standard (e.g., the percent of land that may be occupied by a building) would be reduced from 100% to 75% for all warehouse/freight movement uses in recognition that because a portion of the site is needed for parking, truck loading and maneuvering, storm water detention, tree plantings, etc., it is not possible for buildings to occupy 100% of a given site;
3. Warehouse/freight movement facilities larger than 250,000 square feet in the IH District would be subject to special development standards that: prohibit truck traffic along Fruit Valley Road, reduce visual impacts along public roads through architectural features and tree plantings, and require certain climate action measures such as: solar-ready roofs (weight load capacity and electrical), EV charging stations at 20% of parking spaces, truck dock charging conduit and wiring, white or light-colored roofs to reduce heat retention, skylights or clerestory windows to allow natural light, prohibition on truck idling, a 10% increase in tree plantings over other industrial uses (33 tree units per acre).
4.  The minimum required number of parking spaces for all warehouse/freight movement facilities would be reduced from 1 space for every 2,000 square feet of building area to 1 space for every 5,000 square feet of building area, in recognition that warehouses are increasingly becoming more automated and may need less parking for employees. Reducing the amount of paved surfaces improves storm water and climate outcomes (less heat retention) and creates more space for tree plantings. 

Transportation and Mobility - a safe, future-ready and convenient transportation system.

Economic Opportunity - a place where a wide variety of businesses of all sizes grow and thrive.

Climate and Natural Systems – Environmental stewardship and efforts to address climate change to ensure a sustainable future.

Late in 2022, city planning staff noticed a trend of very large (as large as 600,000 square feet) warehouses being submitted for development approvals. At the time, there were as many as eight warehouses larger than 100,000 square feet being proposed or under construction, with a cumulative building area of 3.34 million square feet, the equivalent of 58 football fields. Other cities were (and are) experiencing a similar surge in large warehouse projects, and staff was hearing reports of mega-warehouses elsewhere, such as a 2.5 million square foot warehouse in Tacoma.

These extremely large facilities appear to be a growing trend nationally in response to the increasing demand for online retail shopping and parcel delivery as well as supply chain logistics issues and consume significant swaths of limited industrial land with typically lower jobs per acre ratio than many other industrial uses.

Staff became concerned that if the trend continued, limited industrial lands would be consumed by low-wage, low jobs per acre uses that could otherwise be developed for higher wage skilled manufacturing or research and development jobs. Additional concerns with large warehouses that were identified by staff included an increase in truck traffic and pollution, energy consumption/climate impacts from such large building footprints, visual impacts, and limited potential for adaptive re-use of such structures if in the future they are no longer needed for storage of goods.

In December of 2022, planning and economic development staff took their concerns to City Council and recommended that an emergency six-month moratorium be adopted to prevent the submission of any new pre-applications or land use applications for warehouses larger than 100,000 square feet to allow staff time to study these new types of warehouses and understand the physical, operational, and economic differences from traditional wholesale warehouses - as well as key differences in impacts - to inform possible new use and development standards. Because state law only allows land use moratoriums for six months at a time, staff indicated that one six-month extension would be needed to ensure sufficient time to complete needed analysis, public engagement, and development of code amendments.

On December 12 following an executive session, City Council at their regular meeting adopted an emergency ordinance on new large warehouse applications, and the emergency ordinance was affirmed by City Council following a public hearing as required by state law, on January 23, 2023. Three amendments to the initial moratorium ordinance were requested by City Council, which were adopted by ordinance on February 6, 2023, including: 1) an exemption from the moratorium for the Port of Vancouver; 2) increase in the size of warehouses subject to the moratorium from 100,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet and larger; and 3) an exemption from the moratorium for any storage for a publicly-traded product, if formalized through a development agreement.

On June 5, 2023, following a public hearing, City Council approved a six-month extension of the moratorium but also encouraged staff to propose any code amendments as soon as possible so the moratorium may be terminated sooner. The moratorium will end on December 6, 2023.

Over the past ten months, staff has consulted with warehouse industry experts and engaged in a series of meetings with environmental advocates and business stakeholders including the Port of Vancouver and representatives from existing warehouse facilities, as well as the Planning Commission. Planning staff have tried where possible to incorporate input on specific code language to make the ordinance clearer and to balance the stated objectives of City Council with industry, neighborhood and environmental perspectives. Proposed climate action-related measures are somewhat modest, in anticipation of more comprehensive Green Building Standards - which will likely apply to all uses - being developed and adopted in the near future.

The draft code changes presented to City Council for consideration will accomplish several key objectives which are in alignment with the intent of the moratorium and prior Council direction:

• Warehouses larger than 250,000 square feet in a single building would be prohibited in the IL, Light Industrial District which tend to be closer to residential districts. Such warehouses would however be allowed as a limited use in the IH, Heavy Industrial District (effectively only in the Port of Vancouver or Columbia Business Center due to parcel size constraints elsewhere) where they are more compatible with surrounding uses and further away from residential districts and would need to meet certain proposed additional development requirements;        

• The maximum lot coverage standard (e.g., the percent of land that may be occupied by a building) would be reduced from 100% to 75% for all warehouse/freight movement uses in recognition that because a portion of the site is needed for parking, truck loading and maneuvering, storm water detention, tree plantings, etc., it is not possible for buildings to occupy 100% of a given site;

• Warehouses larger than 250,000 square feet in the IH District would be subject to special development standards that: prohibit truck traffic along Fruit Valley Road, reduce the minimum parking requirement, reduce the maximum lot coverage, and require certain climate action measures such as: solar-ready roofs (weight load capacity and electrical), EV charging stations at 20% of parking spaces, truck dock charging conduit and wiring, white-colored roofs to reduce heat storage, skylights or clerestory windows to allow natural light, prohibit truck idling, architectural features (such as windows, darker colors, articulation of façade, etc.), a 10% increase in tree plantings over other industrial uses (33 tree units per acre) and 25-foot wide treed buffer if adjacent to public streets to reduce visual impacts; and

• The minimum required number of parking spaces for all warehouse and distribution facilities would be reduced from 1 space for every 2,000 square feet of building area to 1 space for every 5,000 square feet of building area, in recognition that warehouses are increasingly becoming more automated and may need less parking for employees. Reducing the amount of paved surfaces improves storm water and climate outcomes (less heat retention) and creates more space for tree plantings.

Staff has engaged with stakeholders and the public throughout the past ten months. including Alliance for Community Engagement (ACE), Identity Clark County (ICC) Business Group, Port of Vancouver, Fruit Valley Neighborhood Association. Information regarding the project has been published to the City's BeHeard website, and more recently, postcards were mailed to each residential address in the Fruit Valley Neighborhood. The proposed code has been modified in many areas in response to comments received from all stakeholders.

The Planning Commission held two workshops to discuss the proposed code amendments on July 25 and September 12, 2023, respectively. On October 24, 2023 following a duly-noticed public hearing, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the proposed amendments to City Council. 

The City Council has held four workshops on the draft code amendments and moratorium and has held two public hearings related to the moratorium.

• Very large warehouses, which generate significant traffic, would only be allowed on properties zoned IH Heavy Industrial, which are further away from residential zoning districts and closer to the highway system than most properties zoned IL Light Industrial.
• Special limitations on very large warehouses would address identified impacts and respond to the Council's Climate Action Goals by requiring EV infrastructure, additional tree plantings, and facilitating building-readiness for green technology.