Vancouver Comprehensive Plan 2011-2030 - City of Vancouver

Resource Education Center Wetlands is owned bythe City. The City adopted the Lettuce Fields SubareaPlan to protect and restore about 250 acres ofwetlands, improve stormwater management, andprovide public access and environmental education.The plan has been implemented and the BurntBridge Creek Greenway is now a restored wetlandarea with public trails providing access to the openspace. Vancouver has worked with WDFW, theColumbia Land Trust and property owners toobtain easements protecting the Wood’s Landingarea. Just upriver from the I-205 bridge, Wood’sLanding is the largest Columbia River chum salmonspawning site between the river’s mouth andBonneville Dam.Several City departments work together and withcitizens and other agencies to provide innovativeenvironmental education to the public. The WaterResources Education Center carries out manyprograms to increase people’s knowledge aboutwater. The Vancouver Urban Forestry Commissionand the City implement the “NeighborwoodsProgram” to develop citizens’ understanding of thevalue of trees in protecting air and water qualityand neighborhood livability. The City of Vancouverpartners with Clark County, Clark College, ClarkPublic Utilities, the Vancouver and EvergreenSchool Districts and the Washington Department ofFish and Wildlife to provide educational opportunitiesat the Columbia Springs campus and surroundingopen area.In addition to the protection provided by the StateEnvironmental Policy Act (SEPA), the City hasdeveloped regulations to protect wetlands, streams,lakes, and shorelands, waterbodies, groundwater,surface water, fish and wildlife habitats, and treesand other vegetation (VMC Titles 20 and 14). Theregulations include a requirement that floodplainsand steep terrain be evaluated for potentialhazards. Implementation of the regulationsincludes development review, inspection,enforcement and education.Direction for the futureEnvironmental quality is an essential element ofthe city’s livability. By integrating the naturaland built environments, Vancouver will create asustainable urban environment with clean air andwater, habitat for fish and wildlife, and comfortableand secure places for people to live and work.Vancouver is committed to protecting andenhancing the environment as the City meets itsother community, economic development, housingand infrastructure goals. In decisions and actions,Vancouver will seek to balance various goals, notjust make tradeoffs, and identify ways to meetmultiple objectives. The goals are to providehealthy ecological communities with a richbiodiversity and to protect public health and safety.ImplementationEnvironmental protection and enhancement, basedon the “Best Available Science” (as defined in theGMA), are important factors in Vancouver’s landuse planning, zoning and development regulations.Development that cannot reasonably avoid criticalareas must minimize and mitigate potentialimpacts to prevent a net loss of environmentalfunction. The GMA requires critical area regulationsto be updated as necessary to maintain consistencywith state law. In 2005 the City consolidatedand streamlined its critical areas regulations in theCritical Areas Protection Ordinance which provides4-8 | Environment Vancouver Comprehensive Plan 2011-2030