A new report commissioned by Maple Ridge council shows a need for more retail space, offices, and industrial areas in the District over the next 30 years.

The most growth potential in the District is in business services, manufacturing, retail, education, health and welfare, and public administration, stated the report presented to council Monday.

The report writers recommend the economic development office focus on manufacturing, tourism, business and commercial services, and also on finance, insurance, and real estate.

Over the next 30 years, District-wide demand for new retail space will be 1.3 million square feet (121,000 square metres), translating into a need between 73 and 114 acres of land, according to the Rollo report.

There will be between 4,300 and 6,300 new employees in Maple Ridge requiring office space in the next 30 years, which means 30 to 50 acres of land will be needed for this purpose.

About 25 per cent of the office jobs would be in the industrial and business parks, and the rest in the downtown area, on the Dewdney-Lougheed corridor in west Maple Ridge, and in small office clusters in north Maple Ridge.

The report also finds that between 170 and 230 acres of new industrial land will be needed by 2040.

"Additional lands with full servicing and proximity to transportation routes is required to remain competitive with other municipalities," the report stated.

Statistics from 2006 show that 12,715 Maple Ridge residents worked in the community.

Metro Vancouver has projected that number will be 48,000 in 2041, while G.P. Rollo estimates the number will be more like 42,500.

Thirty-five per cent of Maple Ridge residents were employed in the District in 2006. This compares to only 17 per cent in Pitt Meadows, and 22 per cent in Coquitlam.

The report was scheduled to be dealt with by Maple Ridge council at Monday's workshop meeting, with a plan to send it to the economic advisory committee next.

Strategic options endorsed by council would then come to an open house for public input.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com