Fourth Plain for All

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The City of Vancouver will invest more than $25 million into central Vancouver neighborhoods near Fourth Plain Boulevard thanks to federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Fourth Plain for All project team worked with community members to create a long-term investment strategy for the Fourth Plain community, called Fourth Plain for All.

The Fourth Plain for All Investment Strategy has two main objectives:

Create a comprehensive list of investment actions to be implemented in the Fourth Plain community over the next 10 years; and

Highlight specific priority projects that can utilize ARPA funding between now and 2026.

Throughout 2024, the project team worked closely with the FPFA Investment Strategy Committee to prioritize projects and programs that will be funded by ARPA funds. More details on these projects and programs are listed below.

Thank you to those who have helped identify community needs and challenges that the investment strategy should address. The Investment Strategy can be found here for more information.

Vancouver City Council approved the FPFA Investment Strategy on November 13, 2023. The project team will continue to use this project webpage to provide updates on implementation of the investment strategy, so community members can track how investments are being made in their community.

What is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)?

The COVID-19 pandemic created dual nationwide crises: a public health crisis combined with an economic crisis. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was passed in 2021 to deliver immediate relief for American workers and families and build a bridge to an equitable economic recovery. One of the ways ARPA provides support to struggling communities is through the distribution of more than $360 billion in emergency funding for state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.

The City of Vancouver is receiving $32.6 million in funding to help support our efforts to recover from the pandemic-induced economic and housing crisis, which disproportionately impacted socially and economically vulnerable communities and small independent businesses. In addition to the ARPA allocation, additional general funds are being leveraged for a combined $40.6 million in one-time resource allocation to deploy to serve critical needs in the community.

Project area

The project area includes the neighborhoods north and south of Fourth Plain Boulevard between I-5 and I-205, including: Rose Village, Central Park, Fourth Plain Village, Maplewood, Meadow Homes, Bagley Downs, Ogden, Van Mall, and Walnut Grove.

Investment strategy overview

Fourth Plain for All is a community-driven process to identify, prioritize, and implement a community vision that will improve conditions and expand opportunities for central Vancouver neighborhoods. Fourth Plain for All seeks to address impacts from COVID-19 as well as long-standing disparities to foster a more prosperous and resilient community that thrives into the future.

Fourth Plain for All Vision Statement. Through continued investment, the people who live, work, and go to school in our community are healthy, safe, and have greater access to opportunities. Our ties to one another are strengthened through spaces to celebrate diverse cultures. People feel safe and are safe - whether walking, taking the bus, or visiting a park. Our neighborhoods are not only a local hub, but an international district that people love to visit - a Fourth Plain for All.

This effort is supported by federal funding awarded to the City of Vancouver from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a federal program to address public health and economic impacts caused or made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The City received $32.6 million and 75% of the funds (approximately $25 million) are dedicated to the Fourth Plain area. This funding is a once in a generation opportunity to invest in and strengthen the Fourth Plain community. It specifically builds on recent investments from the City of Vancouver in this area and sets the stage for a sustained investment program.

The table below highlights the ARPA-funded investments. However, the complete strategy includes more than 40 actions to guide investments in Housing, Community Building & Public Health, Parks & Public Space, Transportation & Safety, and Economic Development. In addition to ARPA-funded investments, this document also identifies community priorities that will advance through other funding sources.

Investment Strategy table of ARPA-Funded Investments. The table shows ARPA funding per main category in the investment strategy. Housing will receive $9.5 million in ARPA-funding; Community Building and Public Health will receive $2.25 million; Parks and Public Spaces will receive $7 million, Transportation will receive $4.25 million, and Economic Development will receive $2 million.

Community engagement

Community engagement to develop the Fourth Plain for All Investment Strategy included two phases:

Phase 1 (Winter-Spring 2023): We had discussions with the community to better understand current challenges, needs and hopes of the Fourth Plain community. Activities included:

Community Survey – Over 300 people completed our survey between March 16 and April 30. Investments most important to survey respondents include affordable housing and homelessness prevention (65%), safe streets, crosswalks or sidewalks (55%), crime prevention and enforcement (51%), and parks and green spaces (46%). Business canvassing along the Fourth Plain corridor.
Investment Strategy Committee (ISC) – The ISC met twice during the first round of engagement, providing input around current community needs and challenges, their vision for how to best uplift and strengthen central Vancouver neighborhoods, and project investment goals and evaluation criteria.
Business Canvassing – Multilingual staff and project ambassadors visited over 70 central Vancouver businesses in April to discuss current challenges, needs, and desires for the future of their neighborhoods.
Community Tabling – We shared information about the project and collected feedback from the community while tabling at the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration (January 28), Sea Mar Community Health Center (March 30), and Bagley Community Park (April 22).
Neighborhood Meetings – We presented information about the project and collected feedback at four neighborhood association meetings in March and April (Meadow Homes, Fourth Plain Village, Rose Village, and Walnut Grove).
City Council Meetings – Shared project updates with City Council on April 10.

Input collected during the first phase of engagement was used to create a list of potential investment options.

This image shows community members speaking with a member of the project team during an open house event at the 2023 Multicultural Resource Fair. Shown in the background are three boards on easels, which explain different aspects of the project.

Open house event at the June 3 Multicultural Resource Fair.

Phase 2 (Spring-Summer 2023): The project team took the list of potential investment options back out to the community to:

Confirm that we interpreted input from the first phase of engagement correctly and created investment options that the community would like to see implemented.
Invite the community to help prioritize projects and programs that they would like to see implemented using ARPA funding between now and 2026. This input was used to create the final investment strategy.

Phase 2 engagement activities included:

Updated Community Survey – Identified specific projects and programs most important to the community that can utilize ARPA funds.
Investment Strategy Committee – Hosted two ISC meetings to seek input around investment evaluation criteria, budgeting, and priority projects and programs that can utilize ARPA funds.
Open house event at the Multicultural Resource Fair at Hudson’s Bay High School (June 3).
Community Tabling at the Juneteenth Freedom Celebration at Esther Short Park (June 17), Recovery Café of Clark County (July 12), and Grocery Outlet on Fourth Plain Boulevard (July 14).
Business Listening Session at Clark College with current and prospective business owners in central Vancouver (July 24).
City Council Meetings – Presented findings and investment strategy recommendations at the July 10 and August 28 City Council workshops.

For more information about the community engagement done for the Investment Strategy, please see the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Engagement Summaries.

Investment Strategy Committee

The Investment Strategy Committee (ISC) is made up of 15 community members who live, work, own a business or own property within the following Vancouver neighborhoods: Rose Village, Central Park, Fourth Plain Village, Maplewood, Meadow Homes, Bagley Downs, Ogden, Van Mall, and Walnut Grove.

Over the course of two years – 2023 and 2024 – there were two ISC’s created to broaden community voice and representation. The first committee (2023) focused on the development of the Investment Strategy and the second (2024) focused on prioritizing specific projects and programs to be completed in the near-term with ARPA funds. This image shows members of the Investment Strategy Committee standing around a table looking at project materials. 2023 Investment Strategy Committee Meeting #3

Group one met four times between March and June 2023 to provide input around current community needs and challenges, identify a vision for how to best uplift and strengthen central Vancouver neighborhoods, and provide feedback regarding investment goals, evaluation criteria, budgeting, and priority projects. Their input, alongside feedback collected via other community engagement methods, was used to develop near-term and long-term investment strategies for central Vancouver neighborhoods.

Group two met four times between May and November 2024 to integrate personal insights and lived experience into the prioritization process. Their input was used to create a final list of projects and programs to be implemented using ARPA funds.

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-funded projects

In 2024, the project team was tasked with deciding which specific projects and programs would be ARPA funded out of the five main categories in the Investment Strategy. To maintain community voice in this phase of the process, the Investment Strategy Committee (ISC) was re-engaged. The ISC met four times between May and November 2024 to help staff create a final list of projects and programs to be funded.

Meeting 1 focused on potential parks improvements and land acquisition priorities. City staff presented on nine proposed improvements across three parks in the FPFA project area, including Evergreen Neighborhood Park, The Downs Neighborhood Park, and Meadow Homes Neighborhood Park. Committee members prioritized the proposed improvements in the following way:

Proposed Parks Improvements Ranking

1. Portland Loo at Evergreen Neighborhood Park

2. Security lights at The Downs Neighborhood Park

3. Playground and bench replacement at Evergreen Neighborhood Park (tied with #4)

4. New picnic shelter at The Downs Neighborhood Park (tied with #3)

5. Irrigation at The Downs Neighborhood Park (tied with #6)

6. New half-court basketball at The Downs Neighborhood Park (tied with #5)

7. Second picnic shelter at Evergreen Neighborhood Park

8. Half-court basketball refresh at Evergreen Neighborhood Park

9. New pump track at Meadow Homes Neighborhood Park

The City will use the prioritized list to fund projects beginning with improvement #1 until the $2 million in available funds are exhausted. City staff discussed the Bagley Community Park Master Plan with committee members. $5 million in FPFA project ARPA funds will fund phase 1 of the Bagley Community Park improvements.

City staff also presented on the property acquisition process for future affordable housing. Committee members provided input on where staff should focus on site acquisitions, and prioritized sites in the following way:

Housing Property Site Acquisitions Priority Ranking

1. Proximity to schools

2. Proximity to grocery stores

3. Proximity to transit stops

City staff will use this input when determining which sites to purchase using the $9 million in project funds to support future affordable housing.

Meetings 2 and 3 focused on prioritizing transportation improvements. In meeting 2, the committee prioritized general locations and transportation improvement types, as well as engaged in a mapping activity where they highlighted areas in need of safety improvements. Staff used this input to create a list of potential transportation improvement locations that committee members prioritized during meeting 3. The City will use the following prioritized list to fund projects beginning with location #1 until the $4.25 million in available funds are exhausted.

Meeting 4 focused on the following topics:

Homeownership Programs: After learning about potential programs to help people enter and stay in the housing market, the committee prioritized and assigned funding to programs in the following way:

Homeownership Programs
Program	Funding Amount
1. Down Payment Assistance/IDA	$200,000
2. Land Trust Program	$200,000
3. Home Repair Program	$100,000

Small Business Resources: The committee learned about the extensive process to engage local businesses to determine which programs would be most impactful to the small business community in the project area. That process led to the following recommendations:

Small Business Resources
Program	Funding Amount
1. Revolving Loan Fund	$950,000
2. Commercial Real Estate	$250,000
3. Legal Support	$50,000
4. Safeguard & Revitalize Grant	$250,000

Community Building and Public Health: The committee learned about the two programs funded in the Investment Strategy based on 2023 engagement, including the Fourth Plain Community Response Team ($1.25 million) and the Vancouver Public Schools Homework Café ($500,000) programs. The City also provided information on two upcoming grants that will be ARPA funded:

Childcare Grant ($200,000) to increase the number of childcare providers in the project area

Community Grant ($250,000) to empower youth and encourage cultural and community events