New Audit: 15% of Buildings in Metro Vancouver Parks Slated for Removal

The Metro Vancouver Regional District Parks System is one of the jewels of our region. There are 354 buildings within regional parks with a total assessed value of $267 million that are maintained by the regional district. Another 40 are managed by other organizations within regional parks. Some of the buildings are for public use, such as washrooms, picnic shelters, and concessions. Others support park operations, and others are special-purpose, such as caretaker homes, heritage buildings, or vacant buildings. The regional district recently completed an audit of all buildings they managed within their parks.

There is a cost to maintaining buildings, and the park system's goal is to protect nature and connect people with nature. With this in mind, the regional district considered which buildings should be maintained, kept for now, or removed through sustainable deconstruction practices. The regional district assessment found that 74% of its buildings should be maintained, 11% should be put on the keep-for-now list, and 15% should be removed.

Example of a derelict barn that is slated for removal.

Some buildings support wildlife, including bats, barn owls, swallows, swifts, river otters, and skunks. For any building slated for deconstruction that supports this wildlife, additional measures will be implemented to ensure the wildlife isn’t affected, including providing replacement habitat, such as owl nesting boxes.

For example, in Aldergrove Regional Park, the following buildings have been slated for removal in the audit:

• Barn
• Horse Feed Storage Shed
• Louck's Big Barn
• Main Barn Rental Outbuilding
• North Shed Rental Outbuilding
• Rental House Rental House
• Storage Shed Rental Outbuilding
• Storage Shed 1
• Rental Outbuilding
• Storage Shed 2
• Tackroom Shed

As for next steps, the audit will help guide the maintenance of buildings within the parks and also which buildings will be removed over time.

July 13 Council Notes: School Site Acquisition Charges, Regional Land Use

Langley City and Township are in the same school district. School Districts can apply a district-wide School Site Acquisition Charge to all new residential housing projects to help offset the cost of purchasing land for new schools to accommodate student growth. There cannot legally be a separate rate for Langley City and the Township of Langley. As required by provincial law, the School District No. 35 Board of Education must prepare an annual School Site Acquisition Charge report that outlines student population growth over the next decade, the school sites to which the funds will be allocated, and the charge rate. This must be approved or denied by both Langley City and Township Councils.

In the most recent report, the City is expected to see 785 additional students over the next decade, and the Township is expected to see 6,561 additional students.

The School Site Acquisition Charge will be used to help purchase the following sites:

• South West Latimer Sport Field/Playspace - 5 ac
• North East Gordon (Jericho) Sport field/Play space - 5 ac
• Williams Elementary - 10 ac
• Smith Elementary - 10 ac
• Willoughby Slope Middle - 15 ac
• Brookswood Fernridge Middle - 4.6

These sites are in the Willoughby and Brookswood areas of the Township. The School District believes that the additional student in Langley City can be accommodated on existing school sites in the City with expansions, such as the recently completed 200-student expansion at Nicomekl Elementary.

In the long term, the City believes that a new school site will be required in the northwest section of our community due to the SkyTrain. The City will work with the Board of Education to identify a potential future site.

For each new unit of housing, the School Site Acquisition Charge is as follows:

Apartments - $600-$800*
Townhouses - $900
Detached Houses - $1,000

Langley City Council approved the School District No. 35 Eligible School Sites Proposal.

Any change to regional land-use requires the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board to consult with all local governments in the region. The City of Surrey is looking to remove 2.7 acres of Employment land near the Pacific Highway Truck Crossing to accommodate 20 single-detached houses. The Board sent a letter to Langley City Council noting this. Council asked City staff to send a response back.

*The lower number of units per hectre, the higher the rate.

New Mural Coming to Douglas Park Washroom Building

Over the years, the City has installed murals on several park washroom buildings throughout our community, such as the Inturban-themed mural in Linwood Park and two murals in Rotary Centennial Park. On Monday night, Langley City Council approved $12,000 from the City’s Public Art Fund to install a mural on the new Douglas Park washroom building.

The City will now put out a call to artists. The mural should illustrate the diversity of park users, events, and activities that take place at Douglas Park, and it should wrap around the four sides of the building.

Still on the topic of murals, Langley City regulates private murals in our community that would be of a more commercial nature. A Bread Affair currently has a mural on its building on the Langley Bypass and is looking to have it repainted with a fresh design. As per the City’s bylaws, it must be reviewed by the Arts, Recreation, Culture and Heritage Committee and approved by Council. On Monday, Council approved the mural. As this is a private mural, it is not funded by the City.

Langley City Council Gives Approval in Principle to $661,601 in Property Tax Exemptions to Non-Profits and Houses of Worship for 2027

There are two ways that Langley City Council provides financial support to non-profit organizations in our community. One is through our community grant program, and the other is through permissive property tax exemptions.

The community grant program is funded through casino revenue, while the permissive property tax exemption program is funded through property taxes. On Monday, Langley City Council gave approval in principle to grant $661,601 in permissive tax exemptions for the 2027 tax year. Without these exemptions, the City would be able to lower property taxes overall by about 1.5%.

While Council has not contemplated removing a non-profit organization's permissive tax exemption, it has not approved any additional permissive tax exemptions since 2022. Personally, I consider this a legacy program and am not supportive of its expansion.

Houses of Worship receive a statutory property tax exemption from the provincial government for the land on which their physical buildings occupy. The City also grants a permissive tax exemption for the remaining portions of the land they own.

The following table lists the permissive tax exemptions for the 2027 tax year.

Organization	Amount
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver	75,196
Vineyard Christian Fellowship	68,617
Langley Seniors Resource Society	62,168
Langley Lawn Bowling	52,358
Langley Care Society	41,650
Town & Field Church	41,396
Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary	40,547
Vancouver Global Mission Church	40,170
Anglican Parish of St Andrew's	36,006
Church of the Nazarene Canada Pacific District	32,365
Langley Community Music School	29,658
Encompass Support Services Society	27,709
Inclusion Langley Society	23,965
Bridge Community Church	23,620
Langley Food Bank	23,097
Langley Community Services Society	13,101
Langley Stepping Stones	11,532
New Apostolic Church Canada	9,088
Langley Hospice Society	5,784
Council of the Salvation Army	3,574

Council will need to adopt the 2027 permissive tax exemptions at its next meeting.