In a council meeting on Sept. 29, the District of North Vancouver council voted 4-3 to uphold the decision to deny the business licence application for Play to Thrive Pediatric Occupational Therapy. The motion was approved with councillors Jordan Back, Catherine Pope, and Jim Hanson opposed.
The therapy clinic, located at 205-1801 Welch Street, aims to provide private occupational therapy sessions to children aged between 3-18 with ASD, ADHD, and other conditions. The business operates within Comprehensive Development Zone 13 (CD-13), which was originally established in 1997 as a light industrial area.
The zoning bylaw specifically excludes health service purposes. In June 2025, district staff denied the business a license due to noncompliance with the zoning bylaw. According to the report, the land being used for commercial purposes could potentially change the purpose of the industrial area.
The clinic appealed directly to the council for reconsideration, but city staff recommended upholding the denial and complying with the use listed under CD-13.
In the meeting, Mayor Mike Little said the business applicant has a new application for the business at another location that does comply with the zoning bylaw. “Our staff have been working with them to find a suitable place for them to move to. That application is in process with the municipality.” Little further added the reasons for the denial of the application and why the council abides by the defined uses of land. “The challenge is that sometimes they do have incompatible uses, plus also they sometimes have very different costs and values associated with them.”
This potentially leads to a zoning creep, Little said, where a business adds a higher-value use into a space with lower value. This often leads to increased costs for all other uses. “We do also defend some of those definitions to make sure that the lower value uses aren’t necessarily chased out of those properties because they’re competing with higher value commercial properties.”
We’ve seen a loss of light industry on the North Shore: Muri
Councillor Lisa Muri said that the city needs to protect light industrial areas in the North Shore, like the one where the business is proposed. She added that many new areas are being affected by redevelopment and forced out as the value of the land increases.
“We’ve seen a loss of light industry on the North Shore. Best laid plans didn’t work out for us regarding some areas that we were thinking were going to pick up some of the lost industrial that had been rezoned to residential.”
Councillor Hanson said that since the zoning permits office space on the second floor of the building, there’s no encroachment of light industry in the area. He further added that having a pediatric therapy clinic at the location will have “no negative community impacts.”
“These services are badly needed in our community. So much has changed in my view since 1997 when the zoning was created, and certainly demand for health care services of all types has increased.” Hanson said that there’s no reason to create “bureaucratic barriers” to allow the creation of health care spaces in the community and voted in favour of the permit.
Councillor Back said that such services are vital for a family-friendly community, adding that many parents seeking these services for their children have to cross the bridge to access them. “I think in this particular case, the value of having this sort of business far outweighs the bylaw.”
Councillor Pope said that it’s important to support parents of non-neurotypical children in the community and be flexible in their approach to zoning bylaws to make it easier for small businesses to meet the community’s needs.
Councillor Herman Mah said that there are more “appropriate” areas to locate the therapy clinic. Allowing other uses for the space, he said, would throw lease rates “out of whack” for other businesses in the area. “This is not about families; it’s about abiding by our zoning bylaws.” Councillor Forbes stated that the bylaw protects light industry, and she is confident that city staff will be able to provide an alternative location for the clinic.
The denial was upheld with a 4-3 vote.
Good to see the not in my backyard unless I get paid president Lisa Muri is consistent with her bias. Who in thier right mind would want to start up a light industry company on the north shore. 20 percent of your overhead would be in gas idling trying to get off the north shore.