With Langley City Council meetings wrapped up for the year and Christmas just around the corner, I will be taking a break from blogging. I’ll be back blogging on January 5th.
I hope you are able to spend some time with the people who are important in your life this holiday season.
Do you love Langley City and are looking for a way to help contribute to making our community the place to be? Do you have a passion for improving our environment and parks, enhancing community safety, making our community more accessible, ensuring buildings have great design that fits the context of our city, growing economic opportunities, providing more opportunities for the arts and artists, or helping people discover our history?
If you answered yes, volunteering on a Langley City Council committee may be a good fit for you. You can have a direct say in influencing the direction of your community and get to meet other like-minded folks.
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| Environmental Sustainability Committee members at Community Day operating the waste sorting station. |
I was involved in various versions of Langley City’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, and it helped influence my decision to eventually run for City Council.
If you’d like to learn more about how to volunteer for a Langley City Committee, please visit Langley City’s website. You must apply by January 9, 2026.
Yesterday evening, Langley City Council gave final reading to our 2026-2030 Financial Plan Bylaw, adopting the budget for next year. I’ve posted about the cost drivers for maintaining current service levels, one-time capital projects for 2026, and enhancements to municipal services for Langley City.
This is the last budget for this term of Council. The next budget will occur after the 2026 municipal elections. We do a lot of talking as politicians about what we think is important; a budget is what really separates “just talk” from action. With these two things in mind, I wanted to share where we’ve invested over the last four budget cycles.
In total, the budget has grown by about $13 million or 38.5% over the last four years. $6.6 million, or about half of that, is to maintain current service levels. Of the $6.6 million, about half was to maintain current policing levels.
Langley City Council has invested significantly in public safety, including getting more “boots on the ground” to meet the needs of our growing community.
We have funded 9 new suppression firefighters and one new fire prevention officer. This has enabled us to go from operating one 24/7 firefighting crew to two 24/7 firefighting crews.
We have funded 5 new police officers with a focus on the arrival of SkyTrain and one new bylaw officer position.
We’ve also stood up our own Emergency Program, with people ready to respond when disaster strikes.
This is an additional $2.8 million in public safety investments.
One of the basic responsibilities of a municipality is investing in infrastructure such as roads, paths, parks, water, and sewers. Langley City Council has increased our transfer to reserve accounts to pay for these projects from $1 million to $2.4 million annually over this term, an increase of $1.4 million to help slowly bring down our infrastructure debt.
We’ve also invested $1.2 million to support purchasing land to help prepare for the arrival of SkyTrain. We invested $410,000 to expand our recreation and cultural offerings, including extending Al Anderson Pool operations from 4 months to 6 months.
Council has also invested $197,000 in back-office support, such as IT and HR. To address some of the long-term social challenges in our community, including homelessness, we’ve set up a new department for $180,000. We’ve also hired additional people to help maintain our urban forest for $140,000.
There are some smaller items we’ve invested in as well, such as funding the annual McBurney Plaza aerial display and enhanced Christmas lights in our Downtown for $35,000, which bring a little joy to people's lives, and I wanted to call those out.
The following interactive chart shows the breakdown of investments over this term.
When you look back on this term, our budget shows Council’s commitment to public safety, investing in the basics, and preparing for the future while maintaining the current services that people need. These investments will also ensure that the City is in a healthy financial position for the next Council.
In the same meeting, Council also adopted an updated fees and charges bylaw, solid waste fees, and an updated Intermunicipal Business License bylaw.
The Metro Vancouver Regional District is responsible for air quality in our region. As part of this responsibility, the Regional District monitors air quality and issues alerts and warnings when conditions are compromised.
The summer is typically when we have air quality warnings, either due to wildfire smoke or local air pollution. This summer, the Regional District issued seven warnings, including one on August 24th due to local pollution and wildfire smoke, and on August 26th due to local pollution. Between September 3rd and 7th, the Regional District issued warnings due to wildfire smoke.
The following chart shows trends in air emissions warnings over the last two decades.
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| Number of air quality warning days in the Lower Fraser Valley airshed. Select the chart to enlarge. |
Of note, this year saw the second-highest forested area burned on record in Canada due to wildfires, with 8.9 million hectares burned as of the end of September. The Regional District's goal is to issue zero local emissions warnings, though there hasn’t been a year without one since 2019. Ground-level ozone is harmful to human health and is what triggers these local emissions warnings. Ground-level ozone is created when emissions, primarily from internal combustion vehicles (marine and ground), interact with sunlight.
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| The future end (or start) of the Expo Line in Langley City. Select the image to enlarge. |
As you may know, I am a bit of a transit nerd, so I was absolutely thrilled when the folks from Transportation Investment Corporation invited me for a tour of the Langley City Centre Station construction site. I had no choice but to say yes.
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| I was having a good look around the construction site with our tour guides. Select the image to enlarge. |
It was an extremely rainy day yesterday, but even in the pouring rain, ironworkers were still busy at work.
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| Ironworkers are building columns to support the Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station. Select the image to enlarge. |
One thing I learned from the tour is that much of the infrastructure supporting the SkyTrain stations and guideway is underground. For example, in the Serpentine River valley, they have to drive pilings down 100 metres (about the same height as a 30-storey building) to reach firm ground. Langley City is also on mucky ground, so they have to pile-drive down to about 30 metres (about 9 stories).
The station columns themselves are also connected together below ground to prevent them from shifting or twisting.
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| The interconnected columns for the Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station. Select the image to enlarge. |
Work is currently underway on Fraser Highway to support the SkyTrain in Langley City. They are running the power ducting and cabling to support the SkyTrain. This work is expected to be finished next summer. Next year, you will start to see sections of guideway along Industrial Avenue in Langley City. The first guideway section will be near 203rd Street and on the old ICBC site at Fraser Highway and Production Way.
There will be impacts on travel patterns, and you may notice vibrations from pile driving as guideway construction kicks into high gear. To stay up to date on construction, you can sign up for email notifications on the project’s website.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime project in Langley City, and it will have a profound impact on our community by connecting people to more opportunities. For the City’s part, we have been preparing for SkyTrain’s arrival for close to a decade; we will be ready for opening day.
Langley City Council and staff are continually looking for ways to improve, and one area of focus is updating our Community Grant policy. The City provides up to $168,000 in community grants to nonprofit and neighborhood groups annually, funded by casino revenue we receive. On Monday night, City staff proposed updates to the policy for Council's consideration. At a high level, the updates include setting a $10,000 cash limit per application, providing $500 grants to neighborhoods (informal groups of Langley City residents) to host community-building events, and streamlining the application process. While Council was generally supportive of these changes, they want to see further streamlining of the process for low-dollar-value grants and an increase in the cash limit. Staff will take Council’s feedback to provide a revised policy for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Council addressed some land-use matters, including giving final reading to adopt an update to our Official Community Plan. You can read more about this in a previous post.
Council also gave third and final reading to adopt an update to our zoning bylaw to allow a medical clinic with an in-clinic pharmacy, no larger than 1,076 square feet, at 20334 56 Avenue. Our zoning bylaw prohibits a new pharmacy from being located within 400 metres of another pharmacy. As this medical clinic with a pharmacy would be within 400 metres of another pharmacy, it needed an exemption. The applicant stated that this would not be a full-service retail pharmacy and would be a service for their medical patients. Council required that the pharmacy's operating hours match those of the medical clinic. The applicant also agreed to keep the pharmacy exterior signage to the minimum required by the College of Pharmacists. We need more doctors in our community, and the restriction around pharmacy provides assurance that this isn’t a sneaked-in full-service retail pharmacy. You can read about the public hearing in a previous post.
Council also gave first, second, and third reading to update our intermunicipal business licensing bylaw. It added “health care professional or health care service provider who only provides services by visiting clients in their homes” to the program. This allows mobile businesses from Pitt Meadows and Delta, east to Hope, to operate with only one business license in participating municipalities, not up to 12.
Council referred a letter from the Metro Vancouver Regional District seeking feedback on a regional land-use change from Agricultural to Employment lands at the corner of 64th Avenue and 152nd Street in Surrey to staff for comment back to the Regional District. You can learn more about this in a previous post.
Last night, Langley City Council considered several matters that form the 2026 budget for our municipality. Council gave third reading to the 2026-2030 Financial Plan last night. I’ve posted about the financial plan extensively over the last few months, and I invite you to read a previous post for more information. One of the recruiting discussion points is the thought that the City should use the previous year’s end-of-year surpluses to fund ongoing operating costs.
Local governments must run balanced budgets and cannot run an operating deficit. Because we set tax and utility fee rates once a year, municipal financial plans must be budgeted conservatively. If revenue comes in under budget, it would have a significant impact on a local government's operations. Langley City Council used to approve the budget in February/March of the budget year. This means that any new position wouldn’t be hired until partway through the year. The City also collects fees, gets interest from reserve accounts, and receives grants. These revenues are variable and can be hard to predict. Between mid-year hiring, temporary staffing vacancies, and revenue variability, all these factors can lead to an operating surplus. Between 2013 and 2024, we had surpluses that ranged from $160,000 to $5.3 million. To help reduce surpluses caused by job vacancies and get hiring started earlier, the 2026 budget process is now underway, with adoption expected in December rather than March (as in previous years). Surpluses are hard to predict and cannot be relied upon to fund permanent expenditures or to reduce taxes. Council’s policy is to allocate any surplus to our capital reserves for one-time projects to be invested back into the community.
Council gave first, second, and third readings to a bylaw to adopt the 2026 solid waste fee. The City provides garbage and organics collection services to detached homes and non-strata townhomes. The flat fee for 2026 is $432.00, an increase of $41.00 or 10.5% over 2025.
Council gave final reading to adopt the water fees for 2026. You can read more about this in a previous post.
Finally, Council adopted other various fees and charge increases to keep up with inflation for 2026. You can read more about these fees and charges on the City’s website.
As a note, all bylaws require three readings and an adoption. With the exception of zoning bylaws and amendments to a zoning bylaw, there must be at least a day between the three readings and adoption. Council can choose to have three readings at once or split them apart.
As I posted in early November, Langley City Council and staff are always looking for ways to improve, including how we run our meetings. We are currently looking at ways to improve our decision-making process and have asked staff to review Best Practices for Efficient and Effective meetings to identify improvements we could potentially incorporate. As part of the process, City staff asked Council what areas we should focus on. They are as follows:
Order:
Focus:
Efficiency
Equality
Decorm
Safe Meeting Environment
As I noted in my last post on this topic, these focus areas can also be useful if you are in a strata or non-profit and looking to improve the decision-making process for the organizations you are part of. Langley City staff will now be looking at best practices, approaches, or tools that Council could incorporate. Council would then have the opportunity to decide if, and to what extent, we want to incorporate them.
Back in 2022, the Langley Housing & Homelessness Table created an action plan, which called, among other things, for a public awareness program to help people understand the experiences of people who are victims of gender-based violence. In September, Council also received a presentation from Battered Women’s Support Services and their #DesignedWithSurvivors campaign.
Council passed a motion to incorporate gender-based violence public awareness, prevention, and education into the upcoming National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6th. There will be an event at McBurney Plaza between 10am and 11am on Saturday, December 6th, which will include a moment of silence to honour women who have died due to gender-based violence.
Currently, a private member's bill, M216 - 2025: Professional Reliance Act, is making its way through the provincial legislature. Sometimes, local governments require a peer review of construction designs due to risk. For example, Langley City used to accept certified geotechnical designs for building parkades without double-checking them. As you may recall, we had a cave-in or partial cave-in during the construction of two parkades in December 2022 and August 2024. One almost took out an adjacent building. As a response, the City now requires a peer review of these designs to reduce real risk to public safety. Bill M216 would strip local governments of the ability to require peer review or challenge designs. This bill will make our communities less safe. As such, Council approved the City to submit input to the BC Legislature about this dangerous bill.
Council also addressed some financial matters. As part of the budget process, Council needs to set the fees for water, sewer, and solid waste collection services for 2026. Council gave first, second, and third reading to update the water fees. The water fee is increasing by $0.17 per cubic meter to $2.06 per cubic meter. The flat base fee of $75.00 remains. The average detached homeowner will see their water charges increase to $754.80 in 2026, an increase of $56.10 or 8% over 2025. The average strata homeowner will see their water charges increase to $466.40, an increase of $32.30 or 7.4% over 2025.
Council also gave first, second, and third reading of a bylaw to update various fees and charges to account for inflation. You can view these fees on the City’s website.
As I’ve been posting about, Council gave third reading to both the Official Community Plan update and the new zoning bylaw. Council also adopted our 2026 meeting schedule. You can view the schedule of meetings on the City’s website.
As I’ve been posting about, Langley City Council is in the process of adopting a new tree protection bylaw. As part of the process, Council gave first and second reading to the new proposed bylaw at Monday’s Langley City Council meeting. The proposed bylaw focuses on the protection of trees on city-owned or managed property, trees during redevelopment, trees in environmentally sensitive areas, and significant trees on all property throughout the City. A significant tree is a tree with a trunk diameter of 75cm or more.
For any trees in the categories noted above, if someone wants to remove a tree, they will need to obtain a tree permit. A tree permit would only be issued for one of the following conditions:
In BC, a tree protection bylaw cannot limit someone building to the permitted density on a property, so the tree protection bylaw would not apply to trees in the footprint of a proposed building. The proposed bylaw also specifies how to protect trees during redevelopment.
The bylaw allows the removal of a tree that is in imminent danger of falling and injuring persons or property without a permit, though evidence of an emergency must be submitted to the City after the fact.
If a protected tree is removed, the proposed new bylaw requires it to be replaced with 2 to 6 new trees, depending on the context.
If someone removes a protected tree without a permit or in violation of the bylaw, they can be fined $3,000 per tree.
As I’ve noted previously, the City is hosting an open house on the proposed tree protection bylaw tomorrow from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
Last night, Langley City Council held two formal public input opportunities.
The first was a public hearing to receive feedback on a proposed rezoning that would allow a medical clinic with an accessory pharmacy at 20334 56th Avenue. Langley City’s zoning bylaw prohibits new pharmacies within 400 metres of an existing pharmacy, and this proposed medical clinic with an accessory pharmacy would be located within that distance. You can read more about this in a previous post. Langley City Council received four letters from local pharmacy owners regarding this rezoning. Their primary concern was that the proposal would be a full-service, retail pharmacy. Some suggestions in the letters included restricting the pharmacy’s use to clinic-based dispensing, preventing the development of stand-alone retail operations, ensuring access to the pharmacy is available only via the medical clinic, limiting the pharmacy's footprint, and limiting signage, among other suggestions. At the public hearing, the applicant noted that they would limit the pharmacy's footprint to about 1,076 square feet and would consider additional restrictions. Of note, former City Mayor Ted Schaffer expressed his opposition to rezoning, and former City Mayor Peter Fassbender expressed his support for the rezoning at the public hearing. As this was a public hearing and per BC Law, Council is no longer able to receive any further feedback on the proposed rezoning.
Langley City Council also provided a formal opportunity to provide feedback on the 2026 - 2030 Financial Plan. Two people provided their input. The Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce always provides feedback, and this year was no different. They ask that Langley City Council find further ways to reduce the budget, such as by reallocating end-of-year surplus to ongoing operating costs or eliminating unfilled staff positions. Another resident had a specific question about the proposed increase in solid waste costs for 2026 and also asked about reallocating end-of-year surplus to ongoing operating costs.
The use of surplus comes up from time to time, which is why Council adopted an “Allocation of Operating Budget Surpluses” policy last year. The short of it is that year-end surpluses are directed into our reserve account for one-time capital projects. The following excerpts are from the policy:
The City does not budget for a deficit or plan for surpluses. The City shall adopt a balanced budget whereby operating revenues are equal to operating expenditures for each year.
Operating budget surpluses represent one-time funding that, by its nature, cannot be relied on to recur on an ongoing basis.
As operating budget surpluses are non-recurring in nature, they shall not be applied to the following year’s operating budget to fund ongoing expenditures, and/or to reduce the following year’s tax rate.
Langley City’s Magic of Christmas Festival is back this Saturday, December 6th, at Timms Community Centre in Downtown Langley City.
Find your last-minute Christmas gifts at the annual Holiday Artisan Market, which runs from 10am until 5pm inside Timms Community Centre. This market is hosted by the Langley Arts Council.
Outside, from 2pm until 6pm, there will be live music, family-friendly games and activities, an opportunity to meet Santa, and food trucks. One activity is “Ride the Holiday Pandas,” which kids will love.
One of the new food vendors this year is “Soda Rebel,” which offers dirty soda. If you’ve watched a certain reality show that takes place in Utah, you will know what this is about.
For more information about the Magic of Christmas Festival, please visit Langley City’s website. I look forward to seeing you this Saturday!
Last December, Council adopted a new Urban Forest Management Strategy. In short, the strategy is to protect and enhance trees, forests, and soils to ensure the long-term health and resiliency of our urban forest.
Previous mapping by the Metro Vancouver Regional District showed that Langley City was on the lower end of the urban tree coverage scale compared to other municipalities in the region. In Langley City, this lack of tree cover is most pronounced in the northern parts of our community, which have industrial and commercial lands. This leads to the urban heat island effect, where these areas are hotter, and air quality worsens, both of which are harmful to human health. Expanding the urban forest is the best way to combat this effect.
Three of the “quick wins” noted in the strategy include updating policies and regulations to increase tree protection and the growth of the urban forest, proactively managing city-owned trees to maintain their long-term health, and planting more trees. As such, the City is working on a new Tree Management Bylaw.
In the summer, the City held an open house to get feedback about what people would like to see in a Tree Management Bylaw. The City is holding another open house on:
Date: Thursday, December 4, 2025
Time: 5:30PM-7:30PM
Location: Timms Community Centre
For more information, please visit Let’s Chat, Langley City!
The Langley Christmas Wish Breakfast is an annual tradition hosted at Newlands Golf & Country Club. This event supports the Langley Christmas Bureau, which provides Christmas hampers to people in Langley City and Township.
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| Members of Langley City Council, Santa, and Mrs Claus. Select the Image to Enlarge. |
The Bureau is 100% volunteer-run and relies on the generosity of individuals and businesses, with back-office support and space provided by Langley City.
With everything going on in the world these days, it is heartening to see people coming together to ensure that everyone in Langley can have a Merry Christmas!
If you’d like to support the Langley Christmas Bureau, please visit https://www.langleychristmasbureau.com
When Langley City Council normally gets together in the CKF Room, it is to hold a meeting, but last night we got to do something a little different. The Waceya Métis Society offered to hold a hands-on mitten-making workshop for Council. Of course, we accepted. Each member of Council sat beside a member of the Waceya Métis Society, who provided advice on how to assemble our mittens.
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| Members of Waceya Métis Society, Langley City Council, and some Langley City staff making mittens. Select the image to enlarge. |
As you can imagine, mittens are an important article of clothing for Métis people in the winter. The mitten blends both Indigenous and European design elements. Our mittens were made out of real Hudson's Bay Company blankets and rabbit fur. Making mittens for family and friends is a Métis Christmas tradition. You can read about it in the book Métis Christmas Mittens, which is available at the library.
The mittens have a colourful floral design to help find them if they're dropped in the snow, and a red heart to show they were made with love. Often, Métis families would leave homemade mittens in a box at the door of their home for anyone who needed a pair.
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| A properly made mitten (not the ones I made). Select the image to enlarge. |
It was a bit of learning for me as I made two left-handed mittens by mistake, but I did learn how to make a blanket stitch. It was an honour to take part in this Métis tradition and to have good conversations. Every Council member was gifted the book Métis Christmas Mittens.
Earlier this week, I posted about Langley City’s proposed 2026 budget and noted that there are opportunities to provide feedback.
As a first step, I invite you to learn about the budget in the following posts:
You can then head over to Let’s Chat, Langley City! You can learn more about the budget and fill out a survey about the proposed budget. The survey is open until December 2nd.
The City is also holding an in-person open house where you can talk informally with City staff about the proposed budget, share any feedback, and ask questions.
The open house will be on:
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Langley City Hall
You can also formally provide your feedback at the following Langley City
Council meeting:
Monday, December 1, 2025
Starts at 7:00 PM
Council Chambers
Langley City Hall
On Monday, Langley City Council received a presentation from Dr. Patrick Thomas from Project Black Feather. Project Black Feather is a joint program between the City, Township, and Langley School District to reduce the likelihood of young people going down a dangerous path of gang and gun violence. This program was funded by the federal government’s Building Safer Communities Fund. This program uses various clinical interventions to help improve the outcomes for young people. Now, many programs offer interventions, but this program is unique in that it tracked and quantified changes for people who were part of the program. The following slide from the presentation showed the various aspects that the program addressed.
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| Slide showing Project Black Feather Epigenetic Stacked Interventions. Select the slide to enlarge. |
The program to date has helped over 400 young people, with over 150 experiencing positive changes, including addiction recovery and reduction in gang-affiliated behaviour. A full report on this program will be released in a month or so, with more details. Federal funding for this program is coming to an end. When some members of Langley City Council were in Ottawa this fall, we flagged this with MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who is chair of the Liberals' Pacific Caucus. We will be following up, as this is a program the federal government should continue funding.
Council also received an update from Superintendent Dosange of the Langley RCMP Detachment. We know that providing positive after-school activities for young people helps improve outcomes. He outlined some of the activities their youth section of the Detachment has hosted, including hockey programs in partnership with the Canucks, and their partnership with the Langley School District.
As I posted about earlier, Council is going through the process of adopting a new zoning bylaw with associated updates to our Official Community Plan. On Monday, people had the opportunity to provide formal feedback. We received one email from a resident expressing concern about a proposed change allowing RV parking in people's front driveways during the summer. This is already happening in our community. A couple attended the public hearing and asked a question about flexibility in siting carriage homes on people’s properties.
Over the past month or so, Langley City Council has been reviewing the proposed 2026-2030 Financial Plan, which includes a base level of service, proposed enhancements to services and infrastructure investments, as well as the proposed one-time capital projects for 2026.
As I mentioned earlier, maintaining the same services as today would require a 3.57% or approximately $1.6 million property tax increase. As our population grows, we need to increase services to keep up with demand; otherwise, service actually declines.
For example, if eight people eat one piece of pie, they get a lot more than if 16 people try to eat the same pie. If we want people to have the same amount of pie, we need to bake another pie. This is why service level enhancements are important.
Every year, City senior management provides a list of potential enhancements. Rarely do all the proposed enhancements make their way into the final approved budget.
Last night, Council gave first and second reading to the 2026 - 2030 Financial plan with the following service level enhancements:
2 Additional Firefighters - $400,000
2 Additional RCMP Officers - $320,000
Extending Al Anderson Pool to Open April 13 - $68,900
Increasing the Annual Amount Contributed to Capital Projects - $224,000
These enhancements total $944,000, representing a 2.25% increase in property taxes.
In total, the proposed 2026 budget will include a $2.54 million or 5.82% property tax increase.
The 2026 budget is bare-bones with increased investment in public safety and the basics.
If you would like to provide feedback on the budget, please visit Let's Chat, Langley City! There will also be an in-person open house next week. For more information, please visit the 2026 Financial Plan webpage.
Council still needs to hold a formal public hearing on the budget, and consider third reading and final adoption of the budget over the next month.
In the last episode, we explored how Langley Prairie was built on connection — from the portage routes of the First Peoples to railway lines and the ambitions of early settlers.
However, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine for Langley Prairie property owners; they felt ignored by the Langley Council of the day, which refused to invest in basic infrastructure for their community, like sidewalks, sewer lines, and streetlights. One bold vote forever changed the map in the 1950s.
This is the story of how Langley Prairie became Langley City and its fight to have a voice.
Over the past few years, Langley City’s Corporate Officer and Council have been updating our processes and procedures as part of our overall “Achieve Organizational Excellence” core focus area for the City. As you can imagine, meetings are important to local governments as this is how business gets done. How we manage these meetings and ourselves during them is important. While I normally don’t post too much detail on process improvement work at the City, I’ve attended and participated in enough government, strata, and non-profit meetings (spicy and not) over the years to know that this information may be useful for many other community members. Better-run meetings lead to better outcomes.
There are key things to consider for meetings to be successful and to protect the rights of different people or stakeholders.
Majority Viewpoints: The majority viewpoint is what moves forward.
Minority Viewpoints: People with a different viewpoint from the majority viewpoint have the right to be heard and to present their views.
People Absent from the Meeting: People must be informed of when and where a meeting will take place with adequate notice and have the right to know the outcomes of a meeting.
All Individuals Attending a Meeting: Following the correct procedure, everyone who has the right to participate in a meeting can participate, put forward recommendations, and vote.
The Organization for which the Meeting is Held: The organization has the right to good governance and well-run meetings.
Now, I know these fundamental principles seem super basic, but I’ve seen meetings go off the rails because these principles aren’t followed. I’ve attended strata meetings where people didn’t have the right to fully participate, where people didn’t accept the outcomes of a vote, and when things degraded into yelling matches.
Now diving a little deeper, there are some best practices to help ensure your meetings will run smoothly.
Order and Efficiency: Have an agenda and follow it. Add suggested timings for each topic to ensure the meeting runs on time. The meeting chair must ensure that the meeting runs on time and adheres to the fundamental principle.
Focus: Ensure that you have a focused discussion that avoids repetition or rehashing. Focus on the topic at hand.
Equality: Ensure that everyone has the opportunity to share a view, and also limit the time someone can speak on each topic. This protects both majority and minority viewpoints.
Decorum: Do not yell, use crude language, question someone's motives, or interrupt someone who is sharing a viewpoint that you don’t support. When you feel the temperature rising in a room, it is okay to ask for a quick break to help cool things down.
You may find yourself in a meeting where someone is intentionally creating chaos and disruption. I’ve seen this happen in strata meetings I’ve attended in the past. By incorporating some of the recommendations outlined in this post into your meetings, you can help ensure that they run as smoothly as possible, allowing for good discussion and informed decision-making. If you want to learn more, I suggest you read the book “101 Boardroom Problems and How to Solve Them.”
Langley City Council committed to continuing the process of improving our meetings at the October 20th meeting.
As part of the annual budget, Langley City staff provide a breakdown of the average property taxes paid by apartment and townhouse owners, as well as by detached house owners, by municipality for the previous year. In Langley City, unlike some other municipalities, we also include property tax and utilities on the same invoice for residential properties. While Langley City has always provided a breakdown of the average city-controlled property tax paid, this year, City staff also included city-controlled utilities in the breakdown.
About 70% of residential properties in Langley City are apartments and townhouses. The following shows the average municipal-controlled property taxes and utilities paid in 2025 for apartment and townhouse property owners by municipality.
| Municipality | Property Tax | Utility Fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of North Vancouver | $1,617.62 | $1,704.70 | $3,322.32 |
| Maple Ridge | $1,751.16 | $1,503.16 | $3,254.32 |
| Vancouver | $1,818.55 | $1,380.00 | $3,198.55 |
| New Westminster | $1,933.09 | $1,131.26 | $3,064.35 |
| Port Moody | $2,237.62 | $806.00 | $3,043.62 |
| Langley Township | $1,480.47 | $1,549.16 | $3,029.63 |
| White Rock | $1,924.01 | $994.00 | $2,918.01 |
| Coquitlam | $1,805.82 | $1,055.00 | $2,860.82 |
| Surrey | $1,568.18 | $1,014.76 | $2,582.94 |
| City of North Vancouver | $1,692.04 | $875.00 | $2,567.04 |
| Port Coquitlam | $1,522.06 | $975.00 | $2,497.06 |
| Richmond | $1,522.70 | $900.00 | $2,422.70 |
| Delta | $1,857.76 | $528.00 | $2,385.76 |
| Langley City | $1,353.94 | $854.14 | $2,208.08 |
| Burnaby | $1,283.92 | $755.77 | $2,039.69 |
About 30% of residential properties in Langley City are detached homes. The following shows the average municipal-controlled property taxes and utilities paid in 2025 for detached property owners by municipality.
| Municipality | Property Tax | Utility Fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Rock | $4,879.21 | $1,945.00 | $6,824.21 |
| New Westminster | $4,614.88 | $2,071.52 | $6,686.40 |
| Port Moody | $4,792.21 | $1,280.00 | $6,072.21 |
| District of North Vancouver | $3,876.34 | $2,027.40 | $5,903.74 |
| Vancouver | $3,349.81 | $2,040.00 | $5,389.81 |
| City of North Vancouver | $3,738.52 | $1,643.44 | $5,381.96 |
| Coquitlam | $3,728.24 | $1,335.00 | $5,063.24 |
| Richmond | $3,611.15 | $1,332.00 | $4,943.15 |
| Maple Ridge | $3,421.45 | $1,503.16 | $4,924.61 |
| Surrey | $3,172.33 | $1,556.97 | $4,729.30 |
| Burnaby | $3,358.25 | $1,358.71 | $4,716.96 |
| Pitt Meadows | $3,189.19 | $1,397.72 | $4,586.91 |
| Langley City | $3,194.31 | $1,372.98 | $4,567.29 |
| Delta | $3,341.40 | $1,115.00 | $4,456.40 |
| Langley Township | $2,835.13 | $1,549.16 | $4,384.29 |
| Port Coquitlam | $3,004.11 | $1,160.00 | $4,164.11 |
Some points to clarify. Average means that some people will pay more and some will pay less in property taxes and utility fees. Additionally, one of the benefits of living in Metro Vancouver is that you can live in a community that suits your needs. Each community offers different amenities, which can impact property tax rates. A municipality with a higher or lower property tax rate does not necessarily mean one is better than the other. Some municipalities do not participate in the survey, which is why they are not in the tables. Finally, the utility rates do not include solid waste because there is a wide variance in the service provided in the region. For example, Maple Ridge does not provide solid waste services; you must contract for them yourself. In Langley City, we only provide the services to detached houses and non-strata townhouses. For all-in data, please check out a previous blog post.
Langley City Council addressed a series of council-initiated motions at its regular meetings on October 20th and November 3rd.
Council voted unanimously to have staff do no work or action on the topic of amalgamation, but to pursue opportunities to share services with neighboring municipalities where it makes sense. Council also voted unanimously to send a letter to the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to inquire about the next steps to designate Langley City as a HEART & HEARTH community, which would enable additional provincial resources to house people with support services, as Langley has the third-highest unhoused population in Metro Vancouver.
Council voted to refer a motion on the European Chafer Beetle, an invasive species that is killing grass in our region, and associated repair of boulevard grass to the Environmental Sustainability Committee. Council also voted to refer a motion about litter management to various committees that are already working on litter management. As a reminder, if you do see a mess resulting from European Chafer Beetle or litter, please use the City’s Request for Service tool.
Council voted to defer deciding on a motion to study reducing speed limits on local streets until after Council adopts a new Transportation Plan, which is scheduled for consideration this year. This new plan will also speak to reducing speeds on local streets. Council wanted to ensure we weren’t duplicating staff efforts. Similarly, Council voted to defer deciding on a motion to request that City staff develop a framework to establish a Community Safety Officer department until after Council hears back from our Citizens' Assembly, which will make recommendations on how to enhance community safety in a month's time.
Langley City currently has a simple traffic calming policy where a resident needs to gather signatures from 10 or 50% of residents (whichever is less) in an area that would benefit directly from traffic calming, which is at a minimum the block on which traffic calming is being requested. This is a low barrier, but a barrier nonetheless, to ensure that there is some level of support for traffic calming before City staff will take further action. When I was on Council back in 2020, we implemented the current process, as the City was handling traffic calming requests in an ad hoc manner, which was putting a strain on staff time and frustrating residents. Some Councillors wanted to change the policy, including by removing the need to gather signatures. After a robust discussion, Council voted to maintain the current policy.
Two other motions were not seconded (on council meeting seating arrangements and consulting contracts), which means they weren’t debated, and another was withdrawn (on yard waste collection).
Langley City Council adopted our current Official Community Plan back in November of 2021; the previous Official Community Plan dated back to the 1990s. Our current zoning bylaw dates back to 1995, when I was in Grade 6, and is outdated. Following the adoption of our current Official Community Plan, Langley City staff began work on creating a new zoning bylaw. The Official Community Plan articulates what we want our City to be, while the zoning bylaw defines what is allowed today. The City has held several open houses and provided in-person and online feedback opportunities regarding the zoning bylaw over the past few years. I’ve posted about these open houses and the feedback received.
On Monday, Langley City Council gave first and second reading to our new proposed zoning bylaw. There will now be an opportunity for people to provide formal written and in-person feedback at an upcoming council meeting. After, Council will consider third reading of the bylaw and then, at a subsequent meeting, final reading to adopt it.
At a high level, the new zoning bylaw aligns with our Official Community Plan and provincially mandated height, density, and parking requirements.
For our lowest-density residential zone, which permits detached homes, ‘plexes, and two-storey carriage homes (accessory dwelling units), it now encourages sloped roofs and a third-floor setback to reduce the boxiness of newer homes in this zone. These changes are compliant with provincial law and will still comfortably allow up to four to six units per lot as the new zoning bylaw increases the allowed lot coverage from 33% to 36% in this zone.
Childcare centres will now be permitted in all townhouse, apartment, commercial, and industrial zones within our community, with separation distances in our Historic Downtown and in industrial areas.
The new zoning bylaw codifies our Townhome and Plexhomes Best Practices Guide, which Council approved in 2023, including provisions for enhanced outdoor amenity spaces or local park improvements around new townhouse complexes.
As you may know, due to provincial law, Langley City cannot set minimum residential parking requirements in most areas north of the Nickomekl River, as they are within provincial Transit-Oriented Development Areas. The City is allowed to set minimum EV requirements. As such, the new zoning bylaw will require that all residential parking spaces be wired up for chargers, and 10% of residential parking spaces in buildings have EV chargers. Bike parking requirements have been increased within Transit-Oriented Development Areas. The new zoning bylaw will also allow people to park their RVs in their front driveways between May 1 and September 30 (this is currently not allowed).
To support below-market and non-market rental units, the minimum parking rates for these units outside of Transit-Oriented Development Areas are reduced to 0.7 and 0.5 spaces per unit. These parking reductions, combined with new density bonus provisions in the new zoning bylaw (which allow for slightly higher apartment densities in exchange for below-market rental units), will enable the private sector to construct these units.
Within Transit-Oriented Development Areas, the new zoning bylaw will require 2.5% of units in townhouses and apartments to be rental units priced 20% below local market rental rates, with the option to provide a cash equivalent that the City would put into an affordable housing fund.
The new zoning bylaw will also require that 5% of units in new apartment buildings must include 3 or more bedrooms.
The new zoning bylaw will also enable new uses in commercial uses, such as storefront-based vehicle rental, small-scale recycling, arcades, billiard halls, and containers modified for commercial or recreational use, such as pop-up coffee shops. The new zoning bylaw will not permit “spas” in our community, although current “spas” will still be allowed to operate in accordance with provincial law as non-comforming uses. If a “spa” closes, a new one wouldn’t be allowed to open.
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| Proposed land-use changes to the Official Community Plan to align with the provincial government's Transit-Oriented Development Area. Select the map to enlarge. |
Running alongside the new zoning bylaw approval process is an update to the Official Community Plan. The proposed update aligns the zoning bylaw zones with the Official Community Plan’s land-use designations, codifies the Townhome and Plexhomes Best Practices Guide into the Official Community Plan, and resolves inconsistencies between the Official Community Plan and the provincial government’s Transit-Oriented Development Areas. Council gave first and second reading to update our Official Community Plan.
There has been a significant amount of public input, council input, and staff work over the last four years to develop this new zoning bylaw. I look forward to hearing and reading formal feedback from the community as we continue along this journey.
There is a saying that there can be too much of a good thing, and that was the case in Langley City when it came to retail pharmacies. For retail commercial areas to thrive, they need a mix of shops and services. While pharmacies are an important part of our community, about a decade ago, you could close your eyes and walk in any direction and likely find yourself in one in Downtown Langley (I am slightly exaggerating). As a result, Council updated our zoning bylaw to require that any new pharmacy must be at least 400 metres away from an existing pharmacy.
Langley City Council received a rezoning application to allow an exemption to the separation requirement for a new medical clinic proposed at 20334 56 Avenue, which is an office building. The medical clinic applicant wants to provide an in-house pharmacy to service their clients. It would not be a standalone pharmacy; it would support their comprehensive medical care services model. The pharmacy itself would be about 900 square feet. After some questions from Council, Council gave first and second reading to a zoning bylaw update to allow this exception. There will be an opportunity for public input at the next regular Council meeting, prior to Council's consideration of third and final readings for approval.
Council also provided an opportunity for people to provide input on some proposed changes to the 2025 budget. No one provided written or verbal input. Council gave final reading to the amended 2025 financial plan. You can read more about this in a previous post.
Every year, Council must appoint our representatives for the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board and the Fraser Valley Regional Library Board. Council approved the same representatives as last year. Councillor Albrecht will be Langley City’s representative on the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board with Councillor Wallace as the alternative. For the Library Board, Langley City’s representative will be Councillor Wallace, with Councillor Mack as the alternate.
With the new cart system for garbage and organics collections in Langley City, each address that receives City collection services gets one 240L garbage cart and one 240L organics cart. Only detached homes and non-strata townhouses receive this service. Most people in Langley City have private collection services as they live in apartments and strata townhouses. People can upsize or downsize their carts or purchase additional carts from the City. Generally, yard waste is placed in the organic cart; however, at certain times of the year, such as fall, more yard waste is generated. As a pilot this fall, from October 6 to October 31, the City allowed people to put out extra yard waste next to their organics bin in paper yard waste bags. Last night, Langley City Council approved a staff recommendation to extend this extra yard waste pickup pilot until November 30, 2025.
Langley City staff will gather the data from this pilot to determine if it should be made permanent going forward. The neighborhoods with the highest utilization of the extra yard waste pickup are Uplands/Mossey Estates and the Simonds neighborhood west of 200th Street. This makes sense, as these are the areas with the largest lots in our community. If the program becomes permanent, Council would need to consider whether it is a fall-only or a fall and spring program, the duration of the program per season, and how people will pay for the additional collection. Do all people who receive City collection services pay for it, or only those who put out our extra paper yard waste bags? This year, the cost of the pilot is being absorbed into the current City budget.
Of the approximately 3,600 addresses that received City collection service, 112 addresses are waiting for a larger 360-litre organics cart, and 83 are waiting for a larger 360-litre garbage cart. City staff expect these carts to be delivered sometime in December.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a method that enables people with limited or no ability to communicate to use pictures to express their thoughts and feelings. This system was originally developed to assist individuals with autism, although it can be used by anyone. One of the members of Langley City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, Andrea Castro, has developed a PECS board that can be installed at playgrounds and other public spaces. The Accessibility Advisory Committee asked Council to approve the City to apply for a grant to install one of these PECS boards at Douglas Park or City Park. Council approved this request.
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| An example of a Picture Exchange Communication System board. Select the image to enlarge. |
There are many community events in Langley City, and some do a better job than others of managing waste, including reducing waste, composting, and recycling. Zero Waste Strategies look at a hierarchy to eliminate waste and prevent it from ending up in landfills. The top of the hierarchy aims to prevent waste generation in the first place, followed by reducing waste, reusing, and then recycling or recovering energy from waste. The bottom of the hierarchy is sending waste to a landfill. Langley City’s Environmental Sustainability Committee asked Council to direct staff to develop a phased Zero Waste Strategy for all events held in the City, with the first phase focusing on large City-run events, such as Community Day. Expansion to other events could be considered in future years. As a note, Langley City had waste sorting stations at Community Day. Council approved this request.
At the same meeting where Council approved these two committee recommendations, Council also gave final reading to implement the 2026 permissive tax exemptions. You can read about these exemptions in a previous post.
On September 29th, Council received a presentation from United Way about its 100 More Homes program in Penticton on homelessness response and coordination. Council passed a motion requesting that City staff provide more information about this program, including whether it would be beneficial for Langley City and any associated funding requirements. Staff provided a report back to Council recommending that Langley City continue its leadership role with the new coordinated access system for people experiencing homelessness, and to invite United Way to collaborate through funding and research contributions to this system.
Finally, Council released the phase two engagement summary for the upcoming zoning bylaw update. Some of the key takeaways from the engagement are:
The current gravel trail between 53rd Avenue and Michaud Crescent was once part of the former BC Electric Interurban Railway, which connected passengers and cargo from Vancouver to the Fraser Valley. This section is now a very popular walking and cycling path. Gravel paths can create accessibility changes. At its meeting on Monday, October 20th, Langley City Council awarded a tender to B.A. Blacktop Infrastructure Inc. for $413,481.36 (excluding GST) to pave that gravel trail and widen it from 2.5 metres to 3 metres. This will enhance accessibility.
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| Baldi Creek Trail |
As part of the same contract, they will also shift the roadside barriers on Fraser Highway between 208th Street and Old Yale Road to improve walking and cycling safety. There will be no changes to the vehicle travel lanes. This will make it safer to connect to Derek Doubleday Arboretum and the Township’s multi-use path on Fraser Highway.
To oversee the project, ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. was awarded $30,205.00 (excluding GST) as part of the tender. A $62,000.00 contingency was set aside in case of unforeseen issues. If the contingency is not used, it will be placed back into the City’s reserves and be available for other projects.