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City of Vancouver Washington

Comprehensive Plan

Our Vancouver: Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code Update

The City of Vancouver is working together with the community to create Our Vancouver, an updated comprehensive plan that will guide the city’s growth and development over the next 20 years. As part of this process, the City’s zoning code is also being updated. The zoning code outlines specific rules for what can be built and where.

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Background

The City of Vancouver’s Comprehensive Plan provides the overall long-term vision and policy direction to manage the built and natural environment in Vancouver and provide necessary public facilities to achieve our shared vision.

Vancouver has changed a lot since the last update in 2011- we’ve experienced significant population growth, the community is more diverse, economic conditions have shifted, and our housing affordability crisis has deepened. Community priorities have also changed.  Given all of this, it’s necessary to re-imagine the existing growth strategy through the comprehensive plan update.

As part of this, Our Vancouver will need to plan for at least 38,000 additional housing units (about 44% more than we have now) and add more than 40,000 jobs over the next 20 years to improve our community’s livability and affordability. Updating our Comprehensive Plan doesn’t mean everything will change at once, or that all properties will redevelop over the long term, but it does provide a framework for incremental citywide change over the next 20 years to better meet community needs.

Site Specific Zoning Designations

The updated Comprehensive Plan and zoning code will designate new zoning districts for all properties throughout the city of Vancouver. The new zoning districts are intended to create a simpler, more flexible system with more options for property owners. They are also intended to meet new housing laws and needs, to provide a range of employment opportunities for the community as it grows, and to better link together different land uses so the things residents need and use regularly are available closer to where they live.

The online StoryMap shows potential designations of new zoning districts for properties citywide and includes information about the new zoning districts.

 If you have questions about a specific property or would like to submit a request for a different zoning district than is currently mapped, please email OurVancouver2045@cityofvancouver.us. There will also be opportunities throughout the remainder of the Comprehensive Plan update process to provide input, including at future Planning Commission and City Council workshops and hearings.

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