Last Monday, Langley City Council gave first and second reading, which if approved, would allow the construction of a 26-unit townhouse project between 45A Avenue and 46 Avenue on the east side of 208th Street in the Uplands Neighbourhood.
|
| Render of the proposed project at 20815 45A Avenue & 4560, 4570 and 4580 208 Street. Select the image to enlarge. |
In BC, anyone can build up to four housing units on a lot. Langley City has a minimum lot size of 5,995.69 sq. ft. for our regular detaching housing zone. Many larger lots in our community can be subdivided if the resulting new lots meet the City's minimum lot size requirements. Building up to four units and subdividing a lot does not require the approval of Council. The minimum parking requirement is 1 to 1.5 parking spaces per unit, in alignment with provincial standards.
Langley City Official Community Plan allows for townhouses and 'plexes at a slightly higher density than the provincial minimum along the 200th Street and 208th Street corridors. The City requires increased parking and the implementation of our Townhome & Plex-Home Best Practices Guide in exchange for this slightly higher density.
If the builder followed the "by right" provincial minimums, they could build 24 housing units with 36 parking spots for this proposed project. Council would have no say.
Because they are choosing to go through our rezoning process for 26 housing units, they must provide 52 residents parking spaces (2 per unit) plus six additional visitor parking spaces. They must also setback the townhouse units further away from the existing properties to the east and preserve some of the trees on the site. The townhouses themselves must also step back in height on their eastern edge. The project must include at least 50% of the units with side-by-side garages (this proposed project has 58%.) The project must contribute $36,000 to help improve a nearby park (in addition to regular contributions and fees.) The project also cannot allow balconies facing to the east. The project must widen the sidewalk on 208th Street along the project.
|
| Tree management plan for the proposed project. Select the image to enlarge. |
With two additional units, the City can achieve a significant number of additional benefits for the neighbourhood.