June 27 Meeting Notes: RCMP Budget, Apartment Project on 53rd, Fall Election

On Monday, Langely City Council gave first and second reading for a bylaw which would enable the development of a 5-storey, 93-unit rental apartment located at the corner of 53 Avenue and 201A Street. City staff will now schedule a public hearing about the proposed project.

Rendering of proposed apartment project at 20121, 20131, 20141, 20151, 20161, 20171 53 Avenue. Select the image to enlarge.

Council gave final reading for two bylaws for this fall’s local government election. These bylaws enable mail-in voting and update the procedures around using the automated vote-counting machine. You can read more about these bylaws in a previous post.

At its last meeting, Council deferred voting on providing the approval in principle for the City’s portion of the Langley RCMP’s proposed 2023 budget until we had a chance to talk to the Officer in Charge of the detachment. The proposed budget included a request for six additional police officers for a cost of $1.3 million extra per year. This cost would guarantee a 4% property tax increase in 2023. As I posted previously, this was a big ask without details around the six additional police officers.

Council heard from the Officer in Charge, who told us that he would be providing Council with a business case and staffing options for six additional police officers in the fall for Council to approve, modify or deny.

Based on this information, Council voted in favour of the approval in principle for the RCMP budget, noting that the approval is the maximum 2023 budget for the police. Council will debate the budget request in the winter as part of overall City 2023 budget discussions.

June 27 Meeting Notes: Council Approves $430,344 for Designing Water, Sewer, and Roadway Projects

Projects to renew water and sewer lines, repave streets, or put in new sidewalks require detailed design and preparation before the first shovel goes into the ground. This preparation work can take months to years to complete, depending on the complexity.

Langley City Council approved issuing a contract to ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. for $430,344 to complete the detailed design work for the following projects.

Location of projects that are being designed. Select map to enlarge.

Site 1 – 20500 46A Avenue
Design the extension of the existing sidewalk and curb

Site 2 – 205 Street and 48 Avenue
Design sidewalk near HD Stafford Middle School

Site 3 – 206 Street/53A Avenue – Douglas Crescent to 51B Street
Design of watermain, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and roadworks, including sidewalks and bike lanes

Site 4 – 49 Avenue – 196 Street to 200 Street
Design of watermain, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer and possible roadworks, sidewalk, and bike lanes

Site 5 – 48 Avenue – 196 Street to 200 Street
Design of watermain and possible sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and roadworks, including sidewalks

Site 6 – 202 Street/ 203 Street/ 47 Avenue/ 46 Avenue
Design of watermain and roadworks and possible sanitary sewer and storm sewer

Site 7 – Grade Crescent – 200 Street to 208 Street
Design of watermain and possible sanitary sewer and storm sewer

Site 8 – Fraser Highway – Production Way to 208 Street
Design of watermain at Fraser Highway and possible storm sewer

Site 9 – 200 Street – 44 Avenue to 49 Avenue
Design of watermain and possible sanitary sewer and storm sewer

This design work will allow the City to properly budget and schedule the completion of these projects in future years.

Restoring Ecosystems in Metro Vancouver Regional Parks

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks serve several purposes, including enhancing and restoring native ecosystems. At the latest Regional Parks Committee meeting, Regional District staff highlighted some active restoration work within the regional parks system.

The following map shows restoration efforts throughout our region.

Regional Parks Ecological Restoration Project for 2022. Select map to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver

The following map shows some of the reforestation work, replacing areas of old farm fields in Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley.

Campbell Valley Reforestation/Hedgerow Enhancement. Select map to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver

Current Grass Field in Campbell Valley Regional Park Restoration Area. Select the picture to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver

For more information, check out the Regional Parks Committee June 8th presentation.

Langley City Wants Your Feedback on Our Transportation Future

Langley City is significantly updating its Master Transportation Plan. The new plan will be called Transportation 2045.

With SkyTrain coming, more people moving to our community, and no room to expand roads, we need new approaches to giving people easy, convenient and safe access to work, shops, schools, friends, and fun.

If you walk, roll, bike, take transit, or drive through Langley City, the City wants to hear from you.

Last fall, the City received public feedback to understand how people get around in our community and people’s top concerns. You can read the full feedback report for more information.

Based on what the City’s project team heard, they worked on developing a set of goals, strategies, and projects for Transportation 2045. The City now wants your feedback on them.

You can view the draft vision, then complete a 15-minute survey. You must complete the survey before July 1st.

Complete the Survey