When the CPR stopped using the Arbutus corridor for rail traffic and tried to redevelop the lands, the City of Vancouver held public hearings and created a "Arbutus Corridor Official Development Plan" to provide a guideline of what could and couldn't be developed on the old railway ROW, and passed a related bylaw.
CPR sued, claiming the City couldn't interfere with their use (or re-use) of CPR property, and after a CPR victory at trial, and then a City of Vancouver victory on appeal, the CPR appealed to the Supreme Court who ruled the Bylaw was legal, and dismissed the CPR appeal.
I think the CPR still owns the ROW and it appears the ODP is in effect for the Arbutus lands, so any use has to be for transportation (rail, transit, or bike paths); or greenways (pedestrian paths, bike paths, nature trails).
Interesting to see that the ODP specifically excludes allowing "a grade-separated rapid transit system elevated, in whole or in part, above the surface of the ground," like Skytrain. If it has to be grade-separated tracks, it will need to be built underground.
The details of the case and a history of the Arbutus corridor can be read here:
A Railway, a City, and the Public Regulation of Private Property: CPR v City of Vancouver
http://www.law.ualberta.ca/plpr/2011...aking_2011.pdf
(just in case the hockey reboot this weekend gets boring )