A Video Series on Homelessness: Geographically distributed housing and mental health services

People experiencing homelessness has always been a concern, now more than ever. I put together a video series to answer some of the common questions people have asked me about homelessness.

Throughout the series, I will highlight some solutions to prevent homelessness and give people a path out of it. While these solutions require action by the federal and provincial governments, local governments have a role in advocating and helping coordinate solutions in our community. This role is what Langley City is now taking on.

This third video answers the question, "Why is it important to have housing and mental health services geographically distributed?"

January 13 Council Meeting Notes: Cat Bylaw, Mimium Parking, Emergency Program, and Motions

On Monday, Langley City Council held our first meeting of the year and our first meeting in our upgraded Council Chamber.

Langley City’s Council Chamber under renovation last year. Select the image to enlarge.

The upgraded chamber received a significant technology upgrade, replacing an outdated analogue audio/video system with a new system. The new system includes improved audio and video, so people attending or viewing meetings in person or remotely will have a much easier time seeing and hearing the meeting. The new system also has improved accessibility features for people with hearing limitations.

At the same time as the technology upgrade, the City changed the room's layout to be more practical for meetings, moving away from the previous “Judge Judy” layout.

The first presentation Council received was from a group of community members who wanted the City to adopt a bylaw requiring people to spay or neuter their cats and limit the number of cats a person can own to a reasonable number. This bylaw update would provide a tool to limit people from hoarding cats, which is unhealthy for the cats. The group noted that stray and feral cats are a big concern in Langley.

Langley City Council asked City staff to include updating our Animal Control Bylaw for potential inclusion in our rolling strategic plan. I look forward to further discussion on this.

The second presentation for Council was from the group Strong Towns Langley. They presented why the City should consider removing on-site parking minimums, especially for commercial properties. As SkyTrain is coming to town, due to provincial regulations, most residential areas north of the Nicomekl River already have no minimum on-site parking requirements (beyond accessible parking). I told the presenters that Langley City is updating our zoning bylaw, which regulates parking, and that the City has already reduced on-site parking requirements and will consider further adjustments in the updated zoning bylaw.

Next, Langley City Council heard from Melanie LaPointe, who helps manage the City's Emergency Program. This new program was established after the Township of Langley elected to dissolve the previous joint emergency program. You can learn about the Langley City Emergency Program on the City’s website.

Langley City Council is moving forward with our Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety. You can read more about this in a previous post. The motion to move forward with the Assembly had a transcription error, so Council did not approve the terms of reference for the Citizens’ Assembly. As a housing-keeping matter, the Council approved the terms of reference on Monday.

Council also discussed two Councillor-submitted motions.

The first was on the application of Langley City’s new Tenant Relocation Policy. Council approved a beefed-up policy back in July 2024. You can read more about this in a previous post. The discussion around the motion focused on which projects would be subject to this beefed-up policy and which projects would be subject to the older policy. Staff confirmed that any new redevelopment of a purpose-built rental building submitted from July 22, 2024, forward would be subject to the beefed-up policy. Two active redevelopment applications that were submitted before July 22nd are subject to the older policy. Council reaffirmed our support for the new beefed-up Tenant Relocation Policy.

The second motion concerned Langley City’s news release, “Langley City Rejects Langley Township’s Unfair RCMP Cost-Sharing Demand.” The motion called on the City to withdraw the release and apologize to the Township. The majority of Council did not support this motion.

For more details on these motions, please view the agenda for the January 13 meeting, including a video of the meeting.

A Path Forward for Policing in Langley

As you know, Langley City and Township have been without a Police Servicing Agreement since the end of 2022, and starting in May of this year, we will no longer have an agreement covering how we share the costs of the Langley RCMP detachment and support staff.

Most people in Langley know about the challenges of the Surrey policing transition, including the lack of consensus on service delivery and associated costs. On Vancouver Island, the Township of Esquimalt and the City of Victoria share a police service similar to the City and Township of Langley. These two communities have had a long-term disagreement on policing since 2003. I know our community does not want to see ongoing disagreement on policing in Langley.

I believe that our shared RCMP detachment is the best way to provide policing services for Langley City and the Township of Langley, as it ensures the best value for taxpayers in both our communities.

To date, Langley City and the Township of Langley have stated our positions based on our individual analyses of policing costs and delivery for both communities. While I believe both communities want a fair agreement, our positions remain far apart.

Public safety is paramount for both Langley City and Township. I believe the only way for our communities to move positively towards new policing agreements that will be fair for both communities will be to have an independent and impartial facilitator work with Langley City and Township to review all the facts and help us reach new policing agreements.

With that goal in mind, I believe the BC Policing and Security Branch must immediately appoint an independent and impartial facilitator to ensure Langley City and Township have an objective review of the facts to help us develop new and comprehensive policing agreements that both Langley City and Township Councils can review by the end of May.

I will be asking Langley City Council to call on the province to appoint this facilitator.

We must ensure adequate and effective policing in Langley. We must end the back-and-forth debate about the real facts and reach a mutual, fair, and agreeable solution that will serve both communities.

A Video Series on Homelessness: A Fragemented System

People experiencing homelessness has always been a concern, now more than ever. I put together a video series to answer some of the common questions people have asked me about homelessness.

Throughout the series, I will highlight some solutions to prevent homelessness and give people a path out of it. While these solutions require action by the federal and provincial governments, local governments have a role in advocating and helping coordinate solutions in our community. This role is what Langley City is now taking on.

This second video answers the question, "Can you explain what emergency/stabilization services are available South of the Fraser?"