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Vancouver City Council · Apr 13, 2026 · 43:28–43:44 · Watch on CVTV ↗

During a discussion on a comprehensive plan update, a resident raised concerns about a proposed two-year time limit for rebuilding non-conforming single-family homes destroyed by events like fires in medium-scale districts. Council members debated the rule, suggesting potential exemptions for natural disasters while also acknowledging that strict timelines on non-conforming uses are standard zoning tools meant to encourage increased density and desired land-use changes.

Keywords: comprehensive plan zoning density

What was said

42:27 that reflected what a score of like one to five could be. And I think that really will help. Even if we don't accept everything that they recommended, I think that type of more detailed scoring rubric moving forward this year for all of the criteria is going to be a lot more helpful. And our meeting in May will be to further refine and make some final decisions on the criteria and the application process. And then June we'll finalize it. And I can bring information back to everyone in June. So that's that update. And then maybe weighing in a little bit on, I just lost it. - A stubborn two year. - Well, I can weigh in on that too. But just from being an urban planner standpoint, when it comes to having what we consider conforming and non-conforming uses, which is what staff

43:26 was bringing forward. When you have a zoning plan such as ours where we're trying to create change in our community, where we're trying to increase density, or just change uses ultimately in a particular area in the city, it is very useful to have a time limit on what we would consider non-conforming uses be it a single family structure on a single lot, perhaps in those zones where we want to be more dense. And so having a limit, be it two years, three years is important in order to encourage the new uses to be built on that site. So I guess I'm not as concerned about the time limitation at two years, but be interested to see if there's any particular magic to that number when it comes to the ability for a property owner to react and rebuild in case of fire or other damages that are outside of their control.

44:24 Speed limit, that was the one, thank you. Oh my gosh, there was something you said, Bart. So I just wanted to tie back to that 20 mile an hour speed limit, I was at a Lincoln neighborhood meeting, I think it was about a month or so ago, and they also raised the question of lowering speeds in the neighborhood, in the Lincoln neighborhood, but that 20 miles an hour actually ties to safety.


Evidence (1 match)

direct keyword 43:28–43:44 comprehensive plan, zoning, density
st it. - A stubborn two year. - Well, I can weigh in on that too. But just from being an urban planner standpoint, when it comes to having what we consider conforming and non-conforming uses, which is what staff was bringing forward. When you have a zoning plan such as ours where we're trying to create change in our community, where we're trying to increase density, or just change uses ultimately in a particular area in the city, it is very useful to have a time limit on what we would consider n

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