Live Work Units in the City of Langley

A few weeks ago, we sent off a letter to the City of Langley expressing our concerns about the proposed redevelopment on Park Avenue and Douglas Crescent. On main concern was that this development proposal is residential only. We believe that this development, at a minimum, should contain live/work units. We believe this is in the spirit of the Downtown Langley plan which states:

Park Avenue: As reflected in the name, this special design district recommends a higher quality compact 4 storey development fronting on Douglas Park. Park Avenue would be “calmed” for local access so the development is almost an extension of the park and associated recreation activities. The development program will include:
-4 storey residential development built in clusters with green centre courts;
-Retail commercial or office fronting on Douglas Crescent; and
-Retention of historic Federal Building located at the corner of Douglas Crescent and 204th Street.

We are concerned because Page A2 of the Downtown Langley Master Plan Feasibility Study stated that the development at the corner of Fraser Highway and 201A Street would have 16 Live/Work units on the ground level. I do not believe any units where built. They are about 600sq. foot one-story apartments. They do not appear to be suitable for live/work. We are concerned this is happening again on Park Avenue.

Anyway, we received a reply from the City. You can download the letter from the document archive, but I wanted to highlight the following:

The subject proposal is consistent with the high-quality residential character envisioned for the Park Avenue special design district. At the same time, the site’s C1 zoning allows for a range of commercial land users, some of which can be incorporated in a live-work configuration such as in The Muse development at 20238 Fraser Highway. While the integrity of the ground floor retail component is essential to the success of the Core Area on the north side of Douglas Crescent, the City believes that great flexibility is appropriate in the Park Avenue area where the primary goal is to create a desirable residential district in close proximity to Douglas Park.

Looking like we will have to push for live-work at the public hearing...