Patrick Johnstone is an environmental geoscientist – and author of NWIMBY: New Westminster In My Back Yard.
So he was a natural to write about this:
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This is the ‘white pipe farm’ in my neighbourhood at Pendrell and Denman – a fenced-off lot, been there for years, once the site of a gas station* – that you’d think, given the land value, would be sold off and redeveloped by now.
Patrick explains why that hasn’t happened:
Oil companies hate risk, so they would rather just own the land, put a fence around it, say “no trespassing” and do whatever due diligence is required to keep anyone from messing with their contamination. Just to be on the safe side.
So too often, the most rational business case is to just let that white pipe farm sit there, contributing nothing to the community for perpetuity. And there is nothing the City can do about it.
Complete (and extensive) story in Part 1 here. Part 2 will explore what the Province, cities and neighbourhoods can do about these sites.
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* A lot of gas stations have been redeveloped on the downtown peninsula, of course. There are only two active ones left: Bidwell and Georgia, and Burrard and Davie.
By the way, do you know why the lot across the street from the Empire Landmark Hotel on Robson Street has been vacant for decades?
Closer to home: The old Shell gas station at SFU, right at the top of Burnaby Mountain, is still empty and undeveloped — but it is now a rather ugly parking lot.
How can you tell it apart from all the other ugly parking lots up there? I had no idea there was once a gas station on top.
Goes to show how long it’s been gone. I remember it was there when I was an undergrad in the late 80s because it was hugely boycotted during the South African boycotts. Not sure when it closed down but it must have been sometime in the 90s.
re the empty lot on Robson http://www.francesbula.com/questions/what-is-with-the-empty-lot-at-robson-and-broughton-prime-real-estate-sitting-undeveloped/
The city isn’t in a position to force, but some cities (Edmonton for instance) have instituted a decontamination subsidy to change the economics of sitting on the land in perpetuity. Doesn’t solve everything, but can certainly help over time to get rid of these things.