Langley City’s Citizens’ Assembly Recommendations: Resilient Neighbourhood Networks

Community safety has been at the top of mind for many Langley City residents and businesses for as long as I’ve lived in this community. While it is important that we continue to invest in basic public safety resources such as police and fire, it is clear that we need to do something different to help move from a reactive to a more proactive public safety model. Council wanted to do this in a way that directly involves our community, giving them the resources they need to develop a made-in-Langley-City solution to create a safer community.

Langley City convened a Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety. 29 people were selected to serve on the assembly via a lottery process that also ensured the assembly members were a representative sample of our community's demographics.

What is Langley City's Citizens’ Assembly? Select the image to enlarge.

Over the last year, they got to work and presented their recommendations on Monday night, which Council endorsed. The Assembly made seven recommendations, and I wanted to outline them over the next week or so.

The first recommendation was to stand up Resilient Neighbourhood Networks (RNNs). Safety starts at the neighbourhood level. People need to both be safe and actually feel safe. Strong neighbourhood-level connections between people are a proven way to build trust, reduce fear, and foster a sense of ownership in their community. When people come together, it also gives them the opportunity to actively improve their neighbourhood's safety, whether through emergency preparedness, first aid training, neighbourhood safety walks, learning from first responders, or social gatherings to build neighbourhood cohesion. This helps shift towards a more proactive safety model.

The City will support the creation of the RNNs and will pilot them in several neighbourhoods this year, starting now. The City will be sending out information on how people can get involved.

I will be posting about the next recommendations next week.

February 9 Council Meeting Notes: Liquor at the Seniors Centre, Development, First Responder Radios, and a Mural

On Monday night, Langley City Council held a public hearing on a proposed update to the zoning for 20605 51B Avenue, the location of the Langley Senior Recreation & Resource Centre. The Langley Senior Resources Society is seeking to add Liquor Primary Establishment as a permitted use at the centre to enable more flexibility in their ability to serve alcohol in their hall for various events, as their catering and hall use continue to grow. The only person to provide feedback was Kate Ludlam, who is the society’s executive director. She was, of course, supportive of the proposed zoning change.

Council gave first, second, and third reading to a road closure bylaw to enable the sale of a small section of cul-de-sac right-of-way located at 200A Street and 45th Avenue, which is no longer required.

Council also gave first, second, and third reading to a bylaw that will enable the City to require radio amplification equipment to be installed in new and existing buildings where there are dead zones for first responders' radio equipment. If given final reading by Council, all new buildings in areas with concrete walls will have this equipment and the City will work to get this equipment installed in older buildings in areas with concrete walls where there are known radio dead zones.

Due to an oversight in calculating the depth of the first floor’s brick façade at 20769 Fraser Highway, the building technically encroaches up to 17cm into the City's right of way in some areas. Council approved an easement agreement to enable a Section 219 Restrictive Covenant for the property to authorize the encroachment.

Council issued a development permit for a triplex at 5135 208A Street and also approved the Assistant Fire Chief Graham Wing to attend the 2026 Fire Department Instructor Conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Rendering for approved triplex at 5135 208A Street. Select the image to enlarge.

Council gave final reading to updates to our Fees & Charges Bylaw and Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw to reflect charges and fines resulting from our new Tree Protection and Management Bylaw.

Finally, Council approved a motion to enable the Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society, in partnership with Expressive Youth Project, to install a mural funded by the Canada Council for the Arts in Council Chambers.

BC Builds Affordable Rental Mixed-Use Project at 49th and 200th Approved

On Monday, Langley City Council approved an update to our Official Community Plan, zoning bylaw, and issued a development permit to enable the construction of a rental mixed-use project at 49th and 200th. The project will have 302 rental units, of which 30% (91 units) will be rented at 20% below Langley City market rents for the life of the building. The affordable units are secured through a housing agreement, which Council also approved last night. The ground floor will contain a child care facility, commercial retail space, a community kitchen, church offices, and meeting spaces.

The project is possible due to funding and support from the provincial government through their BC Builds program, a land donation from the Church of the Nazarene, and a land contribution from Langley City.

You can read more about the project in a previous blog post.

As part of any rezoning, the City requires the payment of developer costs charges. These charges are mandatory and help pay for sewer, water, drainage, parks, roads, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities, and police facilities required to accommodate growth.

Some municipalities, like Langley City, also have Community Amenity Contributions, which are voluntary contributions that local governments seek to further help fund infrastructure to support population growth. Langley City has a guiding policy for this, but at the end of the day, it is optional, negotiated, and cannot be a requirement to grant approval of a project. This was recently upheld in a BC court.

Council’s guiding policy would suggest a Community Amenity Contribution of $1,208,000 as cash in lieu. The project’s applicant instead proposed to provide amenities in the form of a Community Hub that would enable at least 25 hours a week of City-run programs, including cooking and food security programs, various recreation activities (music classes, social clubs, low-intensity fitness, etc.), and after-school care on the site. This would be like a mini rec centre or neighbourhood house. Also, the project will include a greenway trailhead as part of the contribution. Council agreed to this proposal.

One of the changes to the project since it received third reading for rezoning in April of last year is its exterior design. The change was to the building's cladding and the layout of the windows and balconies. While the original proposal was a metal cladding which many commented felt too institutional, the updated design uses cement fibre-board cladding, which is typical for residential buildings in Langley City and looks less institutional.

Rendering of BC Builds project at 19991 49 Avenue, 19990 50 Avenue, and 4951-4975 & 4991 200 Street. Select the image to enlarge.

The project will not have motor vehicle access via 49th Avenue; there will only be right-in, right-out access on 50th Avenue. Primary motor vehicle access will be via the Grade Crescent/200th Street intersection.

Metro Vancouver Governance Model: Changing the Board Structure

A few weeks ago, I posted about proposed changes to the governance model at the Metro Vancouver Regional District based on recommendations by Deloitte earlier last year. The Regional District is currently working through these recommendations via its Governance Committee. One of the more complex areas that may require provincial collaboration is any change to the board's makeup, which currently has 41 Directors who are elected representatives: 39 appointed by their municipal councils, 1 by Tsawwassen First Nation, and 1 directly elected in Electoral Area A.

Directors were recently polled about what works and what doesn’t at the board level.

What works:

• The Regional District governance model is fundamentally sound.
• Strong commitment and engagement from Directors.
• Broad regional representation is valued and legitimate.
• Collaboration across jurisdictions has historically delivered results.
• Governance fundamentals and processes are largely in place.

What is a challenge:

• Board size can be unwieldy and inefficient (with 41 people in the room, discussing a single matter can take hours).
• Fiduciary duty to Metro Vancouver is difficult to balance with municipal obligations (municipal political expectations conflict with regional responsibilities).
• Board culture and turnover can inhibit constructive deliberation (who is elected matters, and every four years, there is normally a large turnover due to local government elections).
• Volume, structure, and timeliness of Board materials limit effective preparation (the agenda can be large and highly technical).
• Committee structure and meeting processes can be duplicative (committee decisions are often re-assessed at the board level).
• Perceived lack of subject matter expertise on Boards with high-risk exposure

Given my experience on TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and my involvement at the regional level through my role as mayor, I fully agree with both what works and the current challenges.

The governance committee will be looking at how to possibly restructure the board to most effectively accomplish the following objectives:

• Governance effectiveness (including proportionality, transparency, accountability, risk, and resilience).
• Stakeholder impact (including building public trust).
• Municipal representation
• Transition readiness (including ease of implementation and support from municipal and provincial governments).

Having a good governance structure is important, but even the best governance structure cannot prevent people who are only in it for power or self-interest from making decisions that are not in the region's best interest. I’ve also seen how challenging governance structures, such as those at TransLink, can deliver solid decisions when we all work together, as with the unanimously approved Investment Plan.

I look forward to seeing the committee's recommendations on possible changes to the board.