April 13 Council Notes: Affordable Housing Fund, Securing Vacant Properties, Development Process

Last month, I posted that Langley City Council is looking at updating its Community Standards Bylaw. The short version is that the new proposed updated bylaw will have stronger requirements for fencing and securing vacant buildings and properties. It will also allow the City to take remedial actions if a property owner fails to comply with the bylaw (at the property owner's cost). Council provided some feedback about the proposed bylaw last month. As a result, City staff added buildings that “may be in a derelict state or state of disuse” to the vacant building definition in the bylaw and provided more examples of acceptable secure fencing. Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw.

Examples of Secure Fencing

Council gave final reading to adopt an updated bylaw that enables certain development applications to be processed by Langley City staff without going through a Council approval process. This process only applies to resident projects with 6 or fewer units, small commercial projects, and minor development variance applications. Council also gave final reading to update its Fees and Charges Bylaw as a result.

Council is in the process of creating an affordable housing fund, which is needed as the City now requires all new residential projects within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain stations to have at least 2.5% of the units available for rent for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building. As previously posted, two things are required to enable the fund: a bylaw and a Council policy. Last night Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw. The bylaw includes language to ensure that the fund will be used only to create non-profit or government-owned below-market, non-market, subsidized, and special-needs housing units. If the bylaw receives final reading and is adopted, Council would then consider adopting the enabling policy.

Spring Extra Yard Waste Collection in Langley City

If you receive organics collection service from the City, between April 13 and May 22, 2026, you can put out an unlimited number of paper yard waste bags to help with spring yard and garden maintenance. These paper yard waste bags can only contain yard waste and must be placed by your organics bin on your regular collection day.

You will know if you have a City-provided organic collection if your bin looks like the one in this post. This is a pilot program to help the City understand how many households put out extra bags, how many extra yard waste bags each household puts out, and when the peak yard waste collection times are. This will help the City plan for future fall and spring peak yard waste periods with the recent induction of the collection system.

For more information about the pilot, please read the City’s news release. For general information about organics collection, please visit the City’s website.

Reducing Odorous Air Contaminants in Metro Vancouver

Many people don’t know that the Metro Vancouver Regional District is responsible for regulating air quality in our region.

The Regional District is in the process of updating its air quality fee bylaw, which sets fees based on the amount of regulated air contaminants released. The goal of the bylaw is to use these fees to encourage facility owners to reduce the contaminants they release into the air.

Not surprisingly, the top air quality complaint the regional district receives is about odours. The following graph shows the number of complaints received since 2011.

Number of air quality complaints by complaint type from 2011 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

The jurisdictions with the most complaints are consistently Vancouver, Burnaby, Delta, Richmond, Surrey, and the Township of Langley. Interestingly, complaints from Vancouver have been steadily increasing, while those from other jurisdictions have been fairly consistent.

Number of air quality complaints received each year by jurisdiction from 2021 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

Given the number of complaints around odours, the proposed updated bylaw includes a list of odorous air contaminants and associated fees with the aim of reducing the release of these substances.

If you are interested in learning more about air quality and proposed changes to its regulation in our region, please check out the Metro Vancouver website.

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue 2025 Annual Report

Langley City was part of the now-defunct Central Fraser Valley Regional District, along with the Township of Langley and what is now Abbotsford. There are a few vestiges of this past, including the fact that Langley City has received services from the Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society since 1978.

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society Vehicles. Source: Facebook

The Society covers Langley City, Township, and Abbotsford, and its recently released annual report noted that its volunteers responded to 38 incidents in 2025, with about 2 in Langley City. When you think of search and rescue, you likely picture wilderness areas or natural disasters, and while the Society's largest response was to the Sumas Prairie flooding in December 2025, they also search for people who go missing in urban settings like Langley City.

The Society is 100% volunteer run with about 31 active members on average. Its 2025 total expenses were $134,904, funded through all three municipalities, among other sources.

The two capital projects in 2025 were for a new water rescue boat and savings for a new command vehicle.

Beyond search and rescue operations, the Society also does public outreach, including at community events and through its wilderness survival education for young people.

For more information about Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society, please visit their website.