Thursday, August 5, 2021

July 26 Council Meeting: Official Community Plan sent to Metro Vancouver for Approval. Other Housekeeping Matters.

On June 28th, Langley City Council hosted a public hearing about the community’s proposed new Official Community Plan. Council received 35 written submissions for the public hearing, and approximately 28 members of the public attended the public hearing.

Langley City staff proposed around 25 changes to the draft Official Community Plan based on the feedback received. Council asked staff to incorporate these changes at its July 12th meeting.

Langley City Council gave third reading to the proposed new Official Community Plan on July 26th. Third reading incorporated these 25 changes, plus 14 other changes resulting from a legal review of the proposed new Official Community Plan.

While most of the legal review changes were mainly housekeeping, some rationals for policies in the Official Communty Plan (OCP) were strengthened, such as:

Building General Form & Character Guidelines -“To implement the strategic directions and policies of this OCP that aim to create walkable, human-scale, attractive, and safe neighbourhoods.”

Hazard Guidelines - “Where landslip and erosion may impact the safety of people, property, and buildings.”

Environmentally Sensitive Area Guidelines - “Where healthy riparian habitat, watercourses, and tree stands are key to achieving the OCP’s key directions and policies related to mitigating the impacts of climate change and enhancing biodiversity.”

Under provincial law, municipal Official Community Plans must be approved by Regional Districts and be consistent with its Regional Growth Strategy. The Official Community Plan contains “regional context statements,” which link it to the Regional Growth Strategy.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District Board is responsible for approving Official Community Plans. Because Langley City staff have been working with regional district staff on the Official Community Plan, they are confident that the regional district board will likely approve it. The earliest this process could complete is October 29th.

If the regional district approved the Official Community Plan, Langley City Council could then give final reading to adopt it.

Council also adopted two policies around annual inspections for road markings and speed bumps primariliy as “a useful tool for defending lawsuits alleging your local government was negligent.”

E-Comm Wide-Area Radio Network

Langley City uses E-Comm 911’s dispatch network for our Fire Rescue and Police services. As such, we have a rotating seat on the board, which we share with White Rock and the Township of Langley. Langley City’s term on the board is complete, and Langley City accepted White Rock’s appointment to the board for a two-year term. The Township of Langley’s four-year term will start in 2023.

Council approved applying to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Municipal Asset Management Program for a grant to participate in a collaborative project with other municipalities to improve asset management, which will help keep our water, sewer, and other infrastructure in a state of good repair.

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