June 10 Council Meeting Notes: Public Hearing for Apartment Proposal in Brydon Area. Construction Tenders Awarded.

Last night’s Langley City council meeting started with a public hearing for a proposed 5-storey, 115-unit apartment building located in the Brydon Crescent area as shown in the following images.

Location of proposed building at 5443, 5453, 5461, 5469 Brydon Crescent. Select map to enlarge.

Rendering of proposed building from Brydon Crescent. Select image to enlarge.

At the public hearing, the proponent of this project provided a presentation to people attending about the proposed building. Some of the highlights include that the proposed building will include six 3-bedroom units which provide housing options for families. It is also proposed to include nine adaptable units which support people with limited mobility.

The proposed project was originally going to include two electric vehicle charging stations from day-one with other parking spots in the building roughed-in for charging stations in the future. The Advisory Planning Commission strongly encouraged the project’s proponent to include additional day-one charging stations. At the public hearing, the proponent noted that they are now planning to include four charging stations from day-one.

The City’s current high-density residential zone (RM3) requires that buildings be setback 7.5 metres from the road. New best practice calls for buildings to be setback closer to the street to improve community safety by providing more “eyes and ears” on the street, and to create a stronger link between private property and the public realm. This proposed building will be allowed to be setback 6 metres from the road. As a note, Langley City is currently updating its zoning bylaw.

In addition, each of the 1st floor units are proposed to have a private stairway to connect the units to the street. This creates a further link between the public and private realms which support building a safer community.

One common concern that I hear from residents in our community is that construction traffic and crew parking on the street causes disruptions. The proponent presented their traffic management plan at the public hearing. Some members of council also reminded them that they need to find off-street parking for construction crews.

Council did receive an email from a resident in the area concerned about the green space along the west side of Brydon Crescent being removed as a result of this project. City staff confirmed that this green space is a protected area and will not be impacted by any proposed housing project in the area.

Later during the meeting, council approved the following:

• Funding an emergency replacement of the fire hall backup power generator for no more than $50,000
• Awarding a contract to Trenchless Construction Inc. in the amount of $484,695.00 (excluding GST) to replace the sanitary sewer under 203rd Street between Fraser Highway and Logan Avenue.
• Awarding a contract to Watershed Designs Inc. in the amount of $1,452,717.60 (excluding GST) to replace the Logan Creek culvert as shown on the following map.

  

  Map showing the location of the Logan Creek Culvert Replacement Project, just north of the Twin Rinks Arena. Select image to enlarge.

Throughout the rest of the week, I will be posting about other items addressed at Monday night’s council meeting.