In Langley City, we have a few large properties in our downtown that will be undergoing redevelopment over the next few decades. The first property is the location of Fitness Unlimited. You can read more about that site in a previous post. The second large site is the Langley Mall, right by City Hall. In a typical redevelopment project, City Council considers the rezoning and the development permit together.
Zoning addresses the density, height, general layout of buildings, public space on a property, and permitted uses. A development permit addresses the design and details of a building, landscaping, and private common spaces.
Because these are such large sites with redevelopment occurring over several decades, Council initially considers approving the overall zoning for a large property and considers issuing a development permit for each building separately as they come forward.
The following rendering shows the proposed site layout.
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| Overall site plan of 5501 204 Street and 20300 Douglas Crescent. Select the image to enlarge. |
Overall, the buildings will have ground-level retail, including space for a grocery store. The proposed rezoning will also accommodate office spaces and residential units. Overall, the proposed rezoning will allow buildings up to 15 stories. The rezoning would enable approximately 1,900 new housing units to be built. This site will be a 5-minute walk to the new Langley City Centre SkyTrain station.
The site will have new public access roads and public park space.
One of the questions I've heard from the community is if the grocery store will be shut down due to the redevelopment of the Langley Mall site. The applicant noted that because this will be a multi-phase project, they are planning to move the grocery store to one of the new phases before the redevelopment of the section of the mall with the grocery store.
Typically, Langley City has separation distances for certain uses, such as beauty/wellness centers and pharmacies. As this site could accommodate up to 1,900 housing units, the rezoning will specifically allow up to 8 beauty/wellness centers (salons/barber shops) and three pharmacies on the site.
Langley City is working on several policies, such as inclusionary zoning to require a certain percentage of below-market rental units and a policy to require a certain number of three-bedroom units. This project will be subject to those policies when Council adopts them.
The Langley Mall was originally a greenhouse farming operation; as the site redevelops, it will include design elements to show the history of the site and Langley City.
Langley City Council gave first and second reading to the rezoning bylaw for this site on Monday.
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