There are two fundamental documents which guide what can be built in a community, and how development can proceed. They are the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw. A zoning bylaw can dictate land-use including what businesses are allowed to operate, where buildings can be located, the size of buildings, landscaping, and parking requirements among other things.
Langley City staff are in the process of updating our zoning bylaw. One of the major drivers for updating the zoning bylaw is to modernize it, and make it easier to read. Some of the high-level changes being proposed include:
Multifamily Residential Zones
Revised provisions for building siting, massing, height, increased amenity space, requiring balconies, requiring 5% of apartment units to be adaptable housing, and allowing fee simple rowhouses.
Single Family Residential Zones
New or revised provisions for minimum house size so that a house can’t be smaller than 1,000 sq. ft, limiting accessory building size to no larger than 645 sq. ft. in most cases, and limiting the impervious surface area on a lot to 60%.
The proposed zoning bylaw will allow RVs to be parked or stored in a building, outside if it is to the side or back of a house, or anywhere on a lot between the beginning of May and the end of September.
Sustainable Development
New provisions to require electric vehicle parking, surface parking space shading by requiring a tree canopy, limiting impervious surface areas, and increasing landscaping soil depth.
Downtown Zone
New provisions for the downtown C1 zone to allow brew pubs, craft brewers, and vintners as permitted uses, and to limit drive-thrus.
Langley City is hosting an open house on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at City Hall between 2pm and 4pm, and between 6pm and 8pm to get your feedback and provide more detailed information on the proposed changes.
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