Comprehensive Plan

Vancouver Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code

The Comprehensive Plan is one of our community’s most important tools to help plan for the future. Over the next two and a half years, community members and the City will work together to develop a plan that will guide Vancouver’s growth and development through 2045.

Since the plan was last updated in 2011, Vancouver has experienced significant growth, as well as demographic, economic and social changes. Planning for our shared future will require widespread engagement and conversations about how we realize a shared vision.

Updating the existing plan – Our Vancouver 2045

The City has recently started the process to update its comprehensive plan, to respond to shifting growth, demographic, economic and social trends that have emerged since 2011, the last time the plan was updated.

The comprehensive plan is a significant policy document that will help shape how the community looks and feels, and how it functions and operates over time. The plan will guide the City’s growth and development for the next 20 years, with a target year of 2045 for achieving the overall vision that is established. Washington’s Growth Management Act requires the City to adopt an updated plan and changes to its zoning code by June 30, 2025.

What exactly is being updated?

To meet the requirements of the Growth Management Act, the City will need to do the following:

• Perform a holistic re-write of the existing Comprehensive Plan;
• Develop a detailed strategy for implementing the goals, policies, and strategies outlined within the revised plan;
• Modify the existing zoning code (Title 20 of the Vancouver Municipal Code) that is reflective of the goals and policies identified in the revised plan;
• Complete the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process outlined within the State Environmental Policy Act;
• Establish a process to develop and create the plan with members of the community, and conduct community engagement activities in a method consistent with state law.

Guiding questions

The planning process will be guided by several big questions, including:

Housing

• How will we provide housing that is affordable and accessible to all members of the community?
• How will we address our community’s current housing deficits, which have resulted from decades of underproduction and restrictive zoning?
• How can provide housing for the most vulnerable community members, while improve safety outcomes and community well-being for all?

Land Use, Development, and Infrastructure

• How will we account for the significant population growth occurring within City limits and our urban growth boundary?
• As our community continues to grow, what types of services, facilities and infrastructure will be needed?
• How will the City’s infrastructure and land uses be resilient and responsive to natural disasters, threats, and unexpected circumstances?

Economic Development

• How will we help shape a 21^st century local economy that supports all of our residents?
• How will we help facilitate land, buildings, services, and infrastructure in the face of changing demographics, technologies, and business practices?

Equity and Opportunity

• How can we develop an inclusive process for co-designing policy with the community, and ensure the voices of our most vulnerable and impacted community members are a central focus of the planning and policy design process?
• How will the overall vision that is established in the plan inform equitable access to opportunity, employment, investment, and the benefits from those investments?
• Who might potentially benefit the most or the least from these outcomes?

Climate and Environment

• How can we mitigate and adapt to the effects of a changing climate?
• How can we help make Vancouver a healthier community for all people?
• How do we shape growth to support our community’s climate goal of net zero emissions by 2040 and support overall state greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction requirements?

How you can be a part of the process

The City intends for this work to be a co-creative and iterative process with community members, with an emphasis on elevating the perspectives of communities that have been historically underrepresented, excluded, or negatively impacted from public decision-making processes. The comprehensive plan will take around 2 ½ years to prepare and adopt, and there will be a wide variety of opportunities and formats to inform policy, provide input and feedback, and weigh in on alternatives.

Learn more

• What is a Comprehensive Plan?
• Introduction to Growth Management and Comprehensive Planning in Washington
• View the City’s Existing Comprehensive Plan

• Past Workshops
  • April 4, 2022: Comprehensive Plan Scope and Initiation (City Council)
  • April 12, 2022: Comprehensive Plan Scope and Initiation (Planning Commission)
  • February 6, 2023: Chartering Process

Site Specific Designation Change Requests

There will be opportunities throughout the Comprehensive Plan update process to provide input on individual property zoning and Comprehensive Plan designations.

In 2024, the City will accept applications for the Annual Review Process for Site Specific designation changes on a limited basis – only for proposed changes that:

• Facilitate housing, particularly affordable housing
• Avoid outcomes that are contrary to existing Council direction
• Minor amendments needed to ensure clarity and a predictable development process

Pre-applications for 2024 proposals must be submitted by April 30, and full applications by June 15, 2024. Decisions are anticipated in late fall 2024 following Planning Commission and City Council public hearings.

No applications for site specific designation changes will be accepted in 2025 while the City is updating its Comprehensive Plan. Property owners that are seeking designation changes are encouraged to weigh in during the update process. More information can be found on the Our Vancouver BeHeard page.

The normal Annual Review process where formal applications can be submitted for site specific map designation changes of any type is anticipated to resume in 2026.

Contact Us

• Any general questions on the overall Comprehensive Plan Update process can be sent to OurVancouver2045@cityofvancouver.us
• Questions on Comprehensive Plan map and Title 20 map and text changes prior to 2026 should be directed to Bryan Snodgrass, Principal Planner, Community Development Department, Bryan.Snodgrass@cityofvancouver.us