March 22 Council Meeting: EV Charging, Street Garbage Bins, Pets, and Reducing GHG Emissions from Buildings

On Monday, Langley City Council gave final reading to a suite of bylaws to improve the protection of watercourses, including streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, drains, ditches, and sewers. While the new bylaws cover all people and businesses that operate in Langley City, they have special provisions focused on construction sites. For more information, please read my previous post, “Langley City’s strict new watercourse protection bylaw.”

Council also approved two motions from our Environmental Task Group.

THAT Council direct staff to investigate installing a user pay Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station at City Hall and other civic facilities that is accessible 24 hours a day to the public.

THAT Council request staff to include a budget in 2022 to retain a consultant to complete a streetscape and park waste audit and provide options to improve waste diversion.

Council had a robust discussion about garbage bins on our streets. There was general agreement that the City needs to replace the current silver ad-supported containers.

Right now, all materials put into street garbage bins end up in landfills or incinerated due to the high contamination of recyclable materials with garbage. Council wants to increase the amount of material diverted from the waste stream.

Council also passed a motion calling on the federal government to provide sustainable funding for the Centre for Equitable Library Access and the National Network for Equitable Library Services. These organizations offer specialized library services for the visually impaired and print disabled. The federal government was thinking of cutting their funding.

Council received a letter from a resident asking that we lobby the province to prohibit “no pets” clauses in rental contracts. Council asked staff to investigate if this was possible.

New Westminster Council sent a letter to all municipalities. The letter called on the province to support laid-off hotel and tourism industry workers’ right to return to their jobs when the pandemic eases. Langley City council endorsed this letter.

Council also received a letter from Victoria City Council calling for all municipalities in BC to join the Help Cities Lead campaign. The campaign calls for the province to allow municipalities to implement new measures to reduce GHG emissions from buildings. Building energy use is a significant source of GHG emissions in our province. Council asked staff to request the Help Cities Lead campaign deliver a presentation to Council.