The Baylands Development Company wants to build a whole new city in Brisbane: 7 million square feet of commercial development, including office and hotel space, plus 2,200 housing units. Click here to read our letter to the City Council on ways to push for a better project.
The Baylands project is proposed on land that formerly housed railyards, lumber yards, and a major landfill. The plan is not to remove the toxic soil, but instead to cover it with soil from elsewhere in the project, leaving toxic heavy metals in place.
Over 19,000 people are expected to work in the commercial development at the Baylands, far more than 2,200 housing units can accommodate. This jobs-housing imbalance will exacerbate the housing affordability crisis.
Despite these and other negative impacts, the Baylands project is currently barreling toward approval hearings. According to the City, there will be two workshops (not approval hearings) at the Planning Commission on Thursday, May 28th and Thursday, June 11th, at 6:30 p.m. The first Planning Commission hearing will be on Thursday, June 25, with the City Council’s final decision on the project anticipated in Fall 2026.
The City of Brisbane has a very thorough Baylands web page with all of the major documents related to the Baylands project; we encourage you to check it out and read what is being proposed.