Can You Design a Below-Market Rental Building in Langley City? Inclusionary Zoning Calculator

Inclusionary zoning is a tool local governments can use to help create below-market-priced housing. The short version is that municipalities can require that a certain number or percentage of units be priced below market in certain types of housing projects. Typically, a municipality would require that these units go for 10% to 20% below market. Inclusionary zoning works well in places where you can build taller buildings, market prices are higher, and as a result, developers have a higher profit margin. It would be hard to achieve inclusionary housing in wood-framed, 6-stories buildings today in Langley City without the support of provincial and federal funding programs.

Screenshot from Metro Vancouver's Housing Calculator

The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently launched its inclusionary zoning calculator. It allows you to adjust the number of units in a building, site area, market prices, the bedroom mix, the percentage of below-market units and discount level, adjust parking requirements, and even commercial units to create a mixed-use building. For someone who is not a housing expert, the tool is educational, showing how things like density, parking, and market price can impact the number of below-market units that can be built.

I tried to see how many units at 20% below market rents would be possible in Langley City's low-rise land use (up to six-stories apartments.) It was zero. I had to adjust it to Langley City's mid-rise and higher land uses, areas within 800 metres of the new SkyTrain stations, for projects to become feasible in the calculator.

Inclusionary zoning is one tool municipalities can use to support creating below-market housing. Langley City is working on inclusionary zoning policies for our community, which I believe will support creating below-market housing near our two SkyTrain stations.

Check out the calculator and see what sort of building with below-market pricing units you can create.

District Energy Systems in Metro Vancouver: Low Carbon Heating and Cooling

Most buildings in our region have independent heating and cooling systems. However, some areas have district energy systems where heating and cooling are centralized, with buildings connected through a network of water or steam pipes. Even with conventional energy sources, district energy systems are more efficient than having each building with an independent system. Downtown Vancouver has one of the oldest district energy systems in the region.

The following map shows all the district energy systems in Metro Vancouver.

Map of Current District Energy Systems in Metro Vancouver. Select the map to enlarge.

These district energy systems can and do use heat from wastewater. The Metro Vancouver Regional District is developing a district energy system to use heat from its Burnaby Waste-to-Engery facility. These systems can also use geothermal energy for heating and cooling. These additional energy sources further improve the energy efficiency of these systems, lowering GHG emissions as a result.

The regional district will study the potential for new district energy systems throughout Metro Vancouver. These systems are now called thermal energy networks.

As shown on the following map, Langley City is where all the wastewater from both the Township of Langley and the City flows. Langley City would be a perfect location for a new district energy system, especially when factoring in SkyTrain and the resultant transit-oriented development.

Map of Current District Energy Systems with Wastewater Enegery Recovery and Regional Sewer Mains. Select the map to enlarge.

The regional district plans to have the study completed in 2026.

April 14 Council Meeting Notes: Supporting More Depot Recycling Options

Langley City has two recycling depots: Langley Bottle Depot and Willowbrook Recycling. On Monday, Langley City Council held a short public meeting where we heard a presentation from the owner of Willowbrook Recycling.

They were previously a Recycle BC depot before the pandemic, which meant they accepted paper, containers, foam packaging, glass, and flexible plastic. They now want to become a Recycle BC depot again and asked that City Council provide a letter of support. While Langley Bottle Depot is already a Recycle BC depot, we must make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to recycle. Langley City Council approved sending a letter of support to Recycle BC for Willowbrook Recycling and forwarding our support letter to the City of Surrey and Township of Langley Councils, as we know the depot service people in those communities as well.

An Overview of the Proposed TransLink Investment Plan

Over the past several months, the Mayors' Council and provincial government have been negotiating a funding proposal to prevent cuts to TransLink, moving towards some modest transit system expansion and maintaining regional road network funding.

The funding proposal includes the following high-level transit services investments:

• Introducing new routes or enhancing existing routes that serve the Gloucester, Tilbury, and Campbell Heights industrial areas
• Introducing a new bus route along 68th Avenue in Surrey
• Upgrading the 335 route, which serves Guildford, Fleetwood, and Newton, to frequent transit network status (a bus every 15 minutes or better, all day, every day)
• Providing better transit access to regionally significant parks and beaches during the summer
• Addressing overcrowding on bus routes throughout the region
• Increasing frequency of bus routes throughout the region in areas underserved by transit
• Increasing HandyDART service
• Continuing with planning and design for bus rapid transit

The following map shows the proposed transit improvements as part of this proposal.

Map of proposed transit service improvements. Select map to enlarge.

TransLink also funds the regional road network and provides funding for municipalities to improve walking and cycling access. The proposal includes increasing funding by 70% to keep the regional road network in a state of good repair. For example, 200th Street is TransLink-funded.

The proposal includes $103 million in municipal funding programs until the end of 2026 to support improving walking, cycling, bus priority, and the overall regional road network.

The proposed funding for this plan is coming from a:

• 5% overall fare increase in 2026, then about 2% per year after
• $1.50 increase to the YVR AddFare, then about 2% per year after
• 8% transit property tax increase in 2025 and a further 22% increase in 2027
• Increase in the parking tax from 24% to 29%
• $312 million operating grant from the provincial government

As you may know, last year, we discussed cutting transit service by about 50% due to funding challenges. This proposal solves about half of TransLink's funding challenge and modestly increases transit service. In 2027, we will need another investment plan to solve the other half of the funding challenge and provide enough revenue to operate bus rapid transit and increase transit services significantly so more people can access fast, frequent, and reliable transit services.

The TransLink Mayors' Council must adopt this proposed Investment Plan at its April 30th meeting. Please visit the TransLink website for more information on the 2025 Investment Plan.