The city of Fort St. John is located in northeastern British Columbia and is the largest municipality in the Peace River Regional District. The heavy industries in Fort St. John are concentrated on the oil and gas industries as it is the provincial center for the petrochemical industry; forestry remains a key heavy industry in the region. Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation and Warehousing are other key heavy industries in the city,

There are two classifications for industrially zoned land in Fort St. John: M1 for Light Industrial Use and M2 for Heavy Industrial Use. Under the zoning bylaws of Fort St. John, land zoned for heavy industrial use is categorized for close proximity to highway access. Under this provision the following heavy industries are permitted:

• Aggregate Processing and Storage

• Bulk Fuel Sales

• Freight Terminal

• Heavy Equipment Sales and Servicing

• Heavy Manufacturing and Production

• Industrial Storage Yard

• Natural Resource Development

• Rail Yard

• Recycling Facility

• Recycling Materials Drop Off Centre

• Sawmill

• Secondary Wood Processing

• Tank Farm

• Towing Service

• Trade Contractor Office

• Wrecking Yard

The following provisions govern the use of industrial storage yards in Fort St, John:

• all permitted uses must be completely housed within an enclosed building, except for permitted outdoor displays, storage yards, rental and sales, parking and loading facilities and specialized outdoor work yards.

• Junk materials must be:

  • a. located at least 30 m from the boundary of a public right-of-way or R, RM and P zone; and

  • b. enclosed by a solid view obscuring fence or wall at least 2.5 m high and no materials shall be piled to a greater height than the surrounding fence.

• Industrial uses must not emit or discharge to the surrounding area odours, toxic or noxious matters or vapors, liquid effluent, dust, fumes, smoke, heat, glare, noise, radiation or vibrations which exceed standards set out by Provincial Statutes.

There are 434 hectares of Industrial Land in Fort St. John, where 134.8 hectares remain undeveloped. There are four industrial parks in the city, with a total land area of 220 hectares, 79 hectares of which are vacant. Industrial yard spaces with their uses are found in the following areas:

• 100 Ave., which contains yard space for Oilfield Equipment Supplies, Contractor Services and Transportation

• 78 and 79 Sts which contain yard space for manufacturing, automobile repair, construction supplies, bulk fuel storage and recycling plants.

• 72 St contains industrial yard space for bulk fuel storage, contractor services, trucking, automobile repair and transport industries.

• A greater concentration of industrial yard spaces are found south of the Alaska Highway, used for bulk fuel storage, equipment rentals, mining and extraction of natural resources, transportation, automobile repair services, contractor and construction services, manufacturing and warehousing industries.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_St._John,_British_Columbia

https://letstalk.fortstjohn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ZONING-BYLAW-No-2470-2019_1st-2nd-readings_20191015.pdf

https://www.fortstjohn.ca/assets/Documents/Reports~Publications/2015%20Investment%20Ready%20Community%20Profile.pdf

https://www.google.com/maps/@56.222306,-120.8403974,697m/data=!3m1!1e3