City Manager Update: January 2025

Welcome 2025

The new year is here and as we move forward into 2025, I am confident in the bright future of our growing community. As a City, we look to the inspiration, hope and potential that the new year brings. It is a fresh start, a chance for the City to further our work on enhancing livability, equity and inclusion, innovation, sustainability and resilience, and building community trust and relationships.

We will do this with the introduction of new initiatives and by moving to the next phase of our many ongoing projects, such as our next Comprehensive Plan, which is slated to be adopted this year. We're also advancing major development projects, continuing to take aggressive climate action measures and boosting our efforts to address the homelessness crisis. I want to update you on a couple of those fronts:

In November 2023 we declared a homeless emergency in Vancouver to help expand and expedite our response to our community's homelessness crisis. The declaration allows us to immediately issue emergency orders that streamline typical public processes and other decision-making protocols.

In December, we opened select City-owned properties as emergency winter weather and severe weather shelters. The winter weather shelters will remain open through March of this year.

Adding shelter capacity is a critical part of our ongoing homelessness emergency response.

2025 will also be the year we finalize plans for our bridge shelter. The facilities will provide those experiencing homelessness with a place to stay and receive supportive services to "bridge" the space between living outside and the next step on their journey to permanent housing.

More than three years ago, the City started the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan to guide Vancouver's growth and development through 2045. The updates respond to shifting growth, demographic, economic and social trends, market conditions, community priorities and other factors since 2011, the last time the plan was updated.

Washington's Growth Management Act requires the City to adopt an updated plan and make corresponding changes to its zoning code this year. Using the input taken from widespread community engagement over the last couple of years about realizing a shared vision, in Q1 of 2025 we'll begin drafting the new code language.

We'll release the draft plan and open a public draft code comment period mid-year, then complete the final plan to be adopted by the end of 2025.

Learn more and stay informed on Be Heard Vancouver.

2025 will be a big year for major projects that have been in the planning stages for some time. This month, we started construction on the Main Street Promise project in downtown Vancouver. We are investing in making Main Street safer, more accessible, and connected for businesses, residents and visitors. The street, sidewalks, street lighting and adjacent outdoor spaces will be reconfigured to help improve access and safety, grow the sense of community and drive economic prosperity.

We're also planning to break ground this spring on the Waterfront Gateway Project a 6.4-acre City-owned property strategically located between two important centers of redevelopment - the Columbia River waterfront and the historic downtown core. It is one of the largest undeveloped properties in the area, creating a major opportunity for housing and economic growth. Construction will kick off this year on a 94-unit affordable housing project.

Another project, our Heights District Development, will also see construction in 2025. This new district will be a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood that is located in the heart of Vancouver - a place where a mix of services and amenities are within a 15-minute walk. The project's Grand Loop, a unique urban amenity looping around the former Tower Mall area, is slated for groundbreaking during the first half of this year.