March 23 Council Notes: Delegated Development Permits, Fire Safety, and Urban Containment Boundary

Earlier this month, I posted about proposed changes to enable certain development applications to be processed through Langley City staff without going through the Council approval process. Property subdivision proposals are currently being delegated to City staff, and on Monday, Council gave first, second, and third reading to approve in principle the delegation to staff for small residential projects (with 6 units or fewer), small commercial projects outside the Downtown, and development variance permits. Most townhouse projects, all apartment projects, and most commercial and industrial projects will still follow the Council approval process for a development permit. If a rezoning is required, all projects must go through the Council approval process. This change will speed up smaller projects, such as allowing someone to build a coach home, a garden suite, a triplex, or a small expansion to a strip mall along the Langley Bypass.

Council adopted a modernized fire safety bylaw in alignment with the updated provincial Fire Safety Act.

Our Fees & Charges Bylaw and Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw are being updated to reflect both the delegated development permits and the updated fire safety bylaw.

Map of Regional Urban Containment Boundary. Select the map to enlarge.

In June 2025, the Mayors of Delta, Surrey, and the Township of Langley wrote to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board asking for changes to the Regional Growth Strategy. One of the key objectives of our Regional Growth Strategy is to preserve rural and agricultural lands through an urban containment boundary. With certain exceptions, expanding the urban containment boundary requires a 2/3 weighted vote of the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board, a high threshold. The high voting threshold reflects the fact that preserving green space and preventing urban sprawl has been a key tenet of successive regional growth strategies for a generation. The Metro Vancouver Regional District is seeking feedback from member jurisdictions about this request. Langley City Council approved sending a letter to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board suggesting that “the decisions on these proposed changes to Metro 2050 be postponed and instead advanced forward and considered as a part of the process to develop the next RGS,” given that they are such significant changes to the Regional Growth Strategy.

Council Provides Feedback on Proposed Affordable Housing Reserve Fund

As I posted, Langley City now has a new zoning bylaw. One of the requirements of the new zoning bylaw is that all new residential projects within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain stations must 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. Under BC law, a builder may either provide these units as part of a residential project or pay a cash-in-lieu amount to the municipality.

Outside these SkyTrain areas, the City now also has density bonusing that applies to low- and mid-rise, and mixed-use areas. These areas are all generally north of the Nicomekl River. Density bonusing allows a builder to have a higher density than otherwise permitted in exchange for 13% of the building’s units being affordable. These affordable units must be rented out for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building, or the builder must pay a cash-in-lieu amount. The density still must be within the permitted land use. For example, in our low-rise areas, the maximum height would still be 6 stories, even with density bonusing.

Council is now developing an Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, which is required to accept cash-in-lieu payments per provincial requirements. At this Monday’s Council meeting, City staff noted that the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund can not only receive revenue from these cash-in-lieu payments, but that Council can also designate other revenue sources for the fund, such as a portion of the MRDT accommodation tax, which is charged when people stay at a hotel or short-term rental.

The City must set the cash-in-lieu payment rates to cover the true costs of building affordable units by BC law. The proposed rates are $400 per sq. ft. for woodframe projects and $500 per sq. ft for concrete or steel residential projects.

Council would receive and consider applications from non-profits or government-owned housing providers who would like to use the funds.

Council's primary feedback was that the cash-in-lieu rates should be reviewed frequently to ensure they reflect the true cost of building affordable units, that the funds be used to deliver 20% below market rates units that would otherwise not be built (ie, not used to offset the costs for an affordable housing projects that was already going to be builts), and that it wouldn’t be used to offset City fees and charges. The clear takeaway was that Council wanted to see more affordable units built near SkyTrain and in density bonusing areas.

Staff will now take Council's feedback and develop an Affordable Housing Reserve Fund bylaw and policy for Council's consideration at a future meeting.

Council Denies Development Permit for 8-lot Subdivision in Mossey Estates

On December 9, 2024, Langley City Council received an application for an 8-lot subdivision at 20525 and 20541 46A Avenue. At the time, it required both rezoning and a development permit, as 4 of the proposed new lots would be in an environmentally sensitive area. Council at the time had significant concerns about the proposal and referred it back to City staff to work with the application to develop an updated proposal. On May 12, 2025, the application came back to Council for consideration with no changes. At the time, Council voted against rezoning or issuing a development permit for the proposal.

At that time, Council had concerns about the impacts of removing mature trees within the environmentally sensitive area and the design related to the slope, as this proposal is also in a natural hazards area.

Since that time, Council adopted a new zoning bylaw in compliance with provincial legislation, which simplified our detached/’plex home zoning. As a result, the 8-lot subdivision no longer requires rezoning but still requires a development permit due to the property's slopes and its location within an environmentally sensitive area.

Council received an updated application last night seeking approval of a development permit for that 8-lot subdivision.

Trees within the environmentally sensitive area of 20525 46A Avenue.

The updated application did address the natural hazard area concern by providing a terrace retaining wall, though the majority of Council was concerned not only about the removal of the 83 trees required as a direct consequence of this subdivision application, but also the knock-on impacts to the overall environmentally sensitive area adjacent to this proposed subdivision, the lack of habitat compensation within the neighbourhood, and that overall, the subdivision application did not consider the topography or mature trees to Council’s satisfaction. As a result, Council did not issue a development permit last night for the subdivision.

Proposed Changes to Beef Up the Securing of Vacant Properties and Buildings

Over the last year, housing project activity has slowed in Langley City and throughout Metro Vancouver. While we’ve always had some lots with non-occupied buildings, demolished buildings, or simply vacant, the number has increased recently. Langley City currently has a Community Standards Bylaw that requires one of the following for these lots:

• Securing windows, doors and other openings of vacant buildings
• Installing fencing
• Activating a security alarm system
• Deploying security guards
• Installing exterior lighting, other measures and devices

One key challenge with the bylaw is that it requires only one of those measures. On many of these properties, we are seeing trespassing, unsafe occupancy of vacant buildings, illegal dumping, property damage, and fires, among other unsafe activities. The current approach isn’t working.

Council will hear from City Staff today regarding proposed updates to our Community Standards Bylaw.

A key proposed change is that all vacant properties must be fenced, and all vacant buildings must have windows, doors, and other openings secured. The proposed changes include beefed-up, prescriptive rules for securing vacant buildings. The default fencing type is proposed to be chain link, with the option to use temporary construction fencing for up to 3 years for projects with active development applications, provided the fencing is bolted together.

The proposed changes also make it clear that the City can require the remediation of hazardous or nuisance conditions on a property.

Council will have their say on the proposed changes today.