Save Wreck Beach: Stop UBC’s 70-Metre Tower and Protect Our Natural Horizon 

Petition by: Wreck Beach Preservation Society

To: The University of British Columbia, the Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, and the Province of British Columbia (including Destination B.C.) 

Wreck Beach is Vancouver’s Rare Jewel.

For generations, Wreck Beach has been Vancouver’s rare jewel where forest, ocean, and sky meet without interruption. It’s more than a beach — it’s a sanctuary of nature, freedom, and community right at the city’s edge. 

Now that view — and the experience it defines — is under threat!

UBC’s Tower would shatter the view forever.

UBC’s Lower Mall Precinct plan proposes a 70-metre tower at the corner of University Boulevard and Lower Mall, near the campus shuttle buses.

That tower would pierce the forested skyline, intrude glaringly through and above the trees, and permanently scar the southern vista toward the tree-line from Wreck Beach. 

In 2005, after a massive public outcry — including a 13,000-signature petition and intervention by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and the Musqueam Indian Band — UBC agreed to a 53-metre height limit to protect this iconic view. That public agreement stood for nearly two decades. But in 2023, UBC quietly raised this limit without consultation or transparent review. 
Once the tree line is broken, that loss is permanent — the visual harmony of the beach can never be restored. 

The trees are vital for slope stability, wildlife habitat, and the natural cooling of the coastal bluff — reasons enough to keep high-rise construction far from the edge. 

What’s at Stake 

●  Ecology: The bluffs and trees provide habitat, cooling, and stability that keep this coastal ecosystem alive. 
●  Culture & Recreation: Wreck Beach is Canada’s first and largest clothing-optional beach, a globally recognized haven of inclusivity and natural freedom. 
●  Scenic Value: The unbroken horizon of forest, shoreline, and sea defines Vancouver’s identity — if ruined, it can never be restored. 

We, the Undersigned, Call on UBC and Regional Authorities To: 

1. Reinstate the 53-metre height limit agreed upon in 2005.
2. Pause all tower development above that limit until full, transparent community consultation occurs. 
3. Work with Metro Vancouver Regional Parks and the Musqueam Indian Band to establish permanent, enforceable view-protection policies for Wreck Beach. 
4.  Prioritize ecological integrity and public amenity overhigh-rise expansion in the Lower Mall Precinct.

Add Your Voice 

This is about more than one tower — it’s about protecting one of the last wild horizons in our city. Help us defend the skyline that defines Vancouver. 

Add your name. Share this petition. Tell UBC to keep Wreck Beach wild. 

#ProtectWreckBeach #StopThe70MetreTower #KeepWreckWild