Project Timeline

The process to update the Comprehensive Plan began in early 2023 and will take nearly three years to complete. This timeframe will allow for in-depth community input and ensure consistency with legislation.

  Project Initiation

• 2/6/2023 City Council Workshop video and materials (pages 134 - 181)
• See all past City Council and Planning Commission meetings

  Convene the Community Partners

• The Community Partners is a committee made up of City residents who are tasked with co-creating policy with the City for the Comprehensive Plan update.
• Our Community Partners meet regularly to discuss the needs of the communities they serve and identify with. By hearing from folks outside the typical City planning process, we can deliver a comprehensive plan that is truly reflective of the community we serve.  

  Equity Framework and Analysis

• Establishes a structure for ensuring disproportionately impacted and historically marginalized communities drive the policy design process

  Community Partnership Framework and Public Involvement Plan

• Provide details on how we inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower co-creative partners and community members during the plan development process.
• This also outlines overall community engagement goals and objectives, and provides details on the who, what, where and why of engagement.

This phase of the project focused on gathering input from the community to identify a collective vision for the future of Vancouver as well as understanding our community's past and present.

   History - Understand how we got here

• Vancouver Timeline

  Existing Conditions - Understand where we are

• Community Atlas
• Economic Conditions and Opportunities Analysis
• Housing Needs Assessment
• Community Housing Forum - Inform the community about housing needs and policies in Vancouver during the Community Housing Forum
  • Video
  • Presentation

  Visioning - Understand where we want to go

• Goals Framework and Plan Vision Statements
  • Provides an overall framework and structure for goals within the plan, including the outline of plan chapters and key themes for each chapter that reflect existing policy guidance and Council universal policy priorities.
    
•  Envision Events
  
  • Meet the community where they are and learn about what makes you feel connected to OUR VANCOUVER.
  • In-language liaisons gathered community input to make sure we are hearing from folks in spaces where they can express their needs without language barriers.
  • Individual event summaries are available by request.
• Community Survey
  
  • Gather community feedback on neighborhoods, housing, and community health and well-being with a community survey.
• Vision Statement Survey
  • A draft vision statement was created based on input from envision events and the community survey. The draft was shared on the project webpage for a four-week comment period and reviewed with Community Partners. Then, additional refinements were made based on this feedback to create the final Plan Vision Statement.
    

This is where we get into the technical part of the update. We will be looking at how our land is used and how we can best use it to meet the needs of our growing City. We will begin by developing land use possibilities based on what we learned in Phase 1 of the project and community mapping workshops. The land use possibilities will be included in the environmental review process. The review process will produce a draft Environmental Impact Statement that will be available for public review and comment.

  Develop land use possibilities

• Analyze existing and future conditions
• Develop Place Types
• Community Mapping Activities
  • Gather community input during community mapping activities on land use and development preferences to create draft land use possibility maps
• Refine and finalize the land use possibilities so that we can study their potential environmental impacts.

  Study the Environmental Impact

• The City is studying how possible land use and development choices could affect the environment. We will summarize the potential impacts of each of the land use possibilities in a draft report called a draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS.
  

  Community Feedback on Draft Environmental Report (February 2025 - April 2025)

• Once the report is published, community members will have 60 days to provide comments.
• The City will be actively involving the community in multiple ways, responding to questions, and listening to your feedback.
• The feedback you provide will shape the final plan for Vancouver’s growth and development!

  Framework for Updated Zoning Code

• A draft framework for the updated zoning code (the City's development regulations) will also be issued for public comment at this time.

 Create Preferred Land Use Possibility Map (April 2025 - June 2025)

• Based on the environmental report, feedback from community members, City policy priorities, and direction from City Council, a preferred land use possibility map will be created that combines features from both land use possibility maps.

The policy development/implementation phase will focus on reporting back and demonstrating how community input was reflected in plan policies and code development. Materials prepared will identify the connections between the community’s vision and feedback on land use possibilities and comprehensive plan policies and implementation measures.

  Develop Goals, Policies, and Actions (May 2025 - June 2025)

• The draft plan goals (developed from the adopted Goals Framework) will serve as the basis for development of policies and actions.

  Finalize Updated Zoning Code (May 2025 - June 2025)

• Zoning determines what can be built where. A draft zoning code (the City's development regulations) will also be issued for public comment at this time.

  Draft Comprehensive Plan (July 2025 - August 2025)

• The draft Comprehensive Plan will pull together all of the vision statements, goals, policies, and actions, the future land use map, and exhibits.

   Final Environmental Report (September 2025 - November 2025)

• The City will share final environmental report, called a final environmental impact statement (EIS), that describes the potential environmental impacts of the draft map and plan.

This is where three years of work and engagement come together, and the final plan, map, and development regulations are presented to the City Council for adoption.

  Adoption of final Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code (December 2025)

• Final plan will include updated land use map, goals, and policies