Metro Vancouver Housing Supply Challenge Started in the 1990s

Everyone knows that there is a housing shortage in Metro Vancouver. All municipalities now have provincially mandated housing needs reports. I posted about Langley City's report in December.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently completed a Regional Housing Needs Report. There were a few things that stood out to me.

One thing is that this housing shortage we find ourselves in today, while certainly exacerbated in the last few years, really started back in the early 1990s. This period is when governments were cutting funding to housing programs. Interestingly, it was also in the early 1990s when the province started the process of shutting down Riverview Hospital without providing adequate facilities in other locations. Decisions made in the past (good and bad) can impact people for generations.

Metro Vancouver Housing Completions per 1,000 Population, (1970 to 2024) and Required Level of Completions to Meet 20-Year Housing Need (2022 to 2041). Select chart to enlarge.

Region-wide, we need to increase yearly housing completions by 22,668. We need to double the current rate in the South of Fraser - East (where Langley City is located). The following chart shows the sub-regional breakdown.

Estimated Annual Shortfall in Housing Completions, Metro Vancouver Sub-Regions, 2022 to 2026. Select chart to enlarge.

Regional District staff made the following overall observations:

• Housing development levels must double to address regional housing pressures.
• The federal and provincial governments must significantly increase their loan and funding programs to build more affordable rental housing.
• Overall, we need more purpose-built rental housing.

Certainly, municipal governments have taken our lumps for being a barrier to getting housing built (some deserved and others not), though we will continue to need to invest in ways to build housing more efficiently to meet the growing demand, such as modular construction.

Please read the April 3 Metro Vancouver Regional Planning Committee agenda for more information.

Proposed Regional Parks Bylaw Update: E-Bikes, Alcohol in Parks, and Dog Leashes

The Metro Vancouver Regional District is proposing several changes to the bylaw regulating regional park use. I wanted to highlight some of the proposed changes.

Right now, e-bikes are technically not permitted in regional parks (outside of roadways), even in areas where human-powered-only bikes are permitted. The proposed update will allow e-bikes to be used wherever traditional bikes are permitted.

The District is also looking to allow electric kick scooters on designated trails and greenways.

Regarding dogs, the Regional District is looking at reducing the allowed leash length from 5 metres to 2.5 metres to ensure that people can keep their pets under control better. The District is also looking to make Codd Wetland Ecological Conservancy Area a no-dog area.

The proposed bylaw changes also include an update around requirements for camping in regional parks for people who are experiencing homelessness. People experiencing homelessness will be allowed to camp in grassy areas that are not in ecological conservancy areas, park reserves, or any other ecologically sensitive areas.

The Regional District also proposes extending their pilot program, allowing people to consume alcohol in specific areas of regional parks from Friday, May 16, 2025, to Monday, October 13, 2025.

The areas are:

• Boundary Bay Regional Park at Centennial Beach
• Brunette Fraser Regional Greenway at Sapperton Landing
• Campbell Valley Regional Park at the 8th Avenue Picnic Area/Order of Canada Grove
• Capilano River Regional Park at the Cleveland Dam Picnic Area
• Derby Reach Regional Park at the Day Use Area adjacent to Edgewater Bar campground
• The Iona Beach Regional Park Picnic Area

Please read the latest Regional Parks Committee agenda for more information.

March 24 Council Notes: Traffic Lights, Committees, Surety Bonds

Yesterday, I posted about the proposed BC Builds Affordable Rental Mixed-Use Project at 49th Avenue and 200th Street, and today, I will post about the remaining items addressed at Monday's Langley City Council meeting.

Council approved a contract worth $689,700 to Crown Contracting Ltd and $5,300 to W.K. Williams Engineering Consultants Ltd. to upgrade various traffic signals throughout the City. The City is also setting aside a $68,970 contingency for this project.

Council also changed who chairs and co-chairs our Crime Prevention Committee. Councillor Albrecht will chair the committee, and Councillor Solyom will co-chair. If you would like to volunteer for this committee, please visit Langley City's website.

When people build a project in any municipality, they must provide bonds or deposits to the municipality. For example, you must pay a deposit for landscaping in new projects to ensure that the landscaping survives at least a year. Any landscaping that dies after one year needs to be replaced. This deposit is returned after this one year and after the City verifies that all landscaping is alive and to the original plan.

Some municipalities are piloting allowing surety bonds instead of cash deposits. Instead of a builder having to give cash to a municipality for a deposit, they would take out an "insurance plan" that would be paid out to a municipality if a builder didn't meet their obligations. Surety bonds could help lower the cost of housing project construction. Council passed a motion asking that we consider exploring a surety bond program as part of our upcoming strategic planning.

BC Builds Affordable Rental Mixed-Use Project at 49th and 200th

Last night, Langley City Council gave first and second reading to three bylaws, which, if approved, would allow the construction of a BC Builds housing project between 49th Avenue and 50th Avenue on the west side of 200th Street.

Rendering of the proposed project at 19991 49 Avenue, 19990 50 Avenue, and 4951-4975 & 4991 200 Street. Select the image to enlarge.

BC Builds is a provincial government program that provides grants and low-interest loans to build rental housing for people who make middle-income levels, such as teachers, nurses, tradespeople, and small business owners. The specific household income brackets for renting in a BC Builds project are:

• $85,870 - $136,210 for a studio or one-bedroom
• $138,770 - $201,030 for a two-bedroom or large

BC Builds projects must have at least 20% of their unit available at 20% below market rents.

To make these projects viable, BC Builds partners must contribute free or low-cost land. The Church of the Nazarene is leading this project and is contributing land. Langley City is also contributing land for the project. Even though the Church is leading the project, there are no and cannot be any religious requirements/preferences/obligations to rent in the building.

The project, if approved, would have:

• 302 apartments (60 of these units will have below-market rents)
• A secular childcare facility (with approximately 49 infant/toddler/preschool spaces and approximately 24 after-school spaces. No preference is given to people who rent in the building or church members.)
• A new church and community hall
• A greenway plaza and connection to a future trail to be extended to Conder Park
• 6,458 sq. ft. of commercial space for shops or services

Langley City's Official Community Plan must be amended for this project to move forward. While the Official Community Plan envisions a mixed-use project like this proposal around 49th Avenue and 200th Street, the height limit was 3 stories, which needs to be increased to 6 stories. 6-stories height is proposed only to be allowed when "20% of the total unit count being rented at a minimum of 20% below market rent rates, and secured by Housing Agreement for the life of these buildings" and only a project touches 49th Avenue and 200th Street on the northwest corner.

The next step will be a public hearing at 7 pm on April 7th at Langley City Council Chamber. This public hearing is when people can formally provide written or verbal feedback on this proposal. You can find out more information on Langley City's website.

I will post more information about the project's specifics after the public hearing.

Langley City Film Festival - Film Submissions Open

Langley City will host its 2nd Film Festival on October 18th and 19th. This year's themes are "The Emotion of Sound" and "The Natural Environment."

This short film festival has youth and general filmmaker categories. Young filmmakers can submit films between 30 seconds and 5 minutes, while general short films can be between 2 minutes and 20 minutes. Prizes range from $500 to $1,000. Filmmakers must reside in BC.

You must have created any submitted film between May 1st, 2023, and May 1st, 2025.

The deadline to submit a film is May 1st.

For more information, including how to submit your film, please visit Langley City's website or events@langleycity.ca.

The following trailer is from the 2023 festival.

Accommodating Population Growth Requires a Plan, Invest Langley City

In February, BC Stats released the last population estimates for municipalities in BC. While looking at the year-over-year changes is interesting, there is value in looking over a more extended period. I wanted to look at the population growth of municipalities in the South of Fraser over the last few decades.

The following is the change in population between 2004 and 2024 by municipality:

• Surrey - 80%
• Langley Township - 73%
• Langley City - 44%
• White Rock - 32%
• Delta - 26%

One of the challenges with fast growth is keeping up with services. Building new cultural and recreation facilities takes time and considerable finances. For example, it is easier for Delta to plan for and build these facilities than Surrey. Surrey is always in catch-up mode.

Langley City's growth is "middle of the road" for South of the Fraser communities, but we still must invest in facilities to keep up with growth. We will need to expand basic facilities like our operations and maintenance yard as well as recreation and cultural facilities. With SkyTrain, population growth will accelerate, which is why Langley City Council is creating our Invest Langley City vision. This vision will outline when and what we need to build to ensure that our residents and businesses continue receiving a high service level. I'll be sharing more about this vision as it progresses.

Langley City's Citizen's Assembly on Community Safety: First Offical Meeting

On Saturday, Langley City held the first meeting of our Citizen's Assembly on Community Safety. The Assembly will be looking into how we can meaningfully improve safety in our community and shift response away from emergency services, which is reactionary to proactive solutions. The Assembly will have experts, researchers, and facilitators to support their work.

A Citizen's Assembly differs from a regular City Committee in several ways. One difference is that the Citizen's Assembly membership reflects the makeup of people in our community and is a form of direct democratic process.

A regular City Committee has people appointed by Council from the community who are passionate about a topic, representatives from organizations working within the topic area, and members of City Council. The Arts, Recreation, Culture and Heritage Committee has specific membership requirements. For example, one person on that committee must be from the performing arts community, and another must represent heritage.

The Citizen's Assembly also has significantly more financial and staffing resources behind it as the Citizen's Assembly will be putting forward solutions for a complex challenge.

Council met the 29 people who are the Citizen's Assembly. The City hosted a welcoming ceremony. After the ceremony, the Citizen's Assembly got to business.

There has been a lot of interest in the Citizen's Assembly. You can follow along with the Assembly as the City will post information online. You can also sign up for email updates on the City's website. There will be opportunities for broader public participation throughout the process.

The City put together a small video from the welcoming ceremony.

Langley City's 70th Anniversary Celebrations

Saturday, March 15, was Langley City's 70th birthday, and we will be celebrating our history throughout the year. The festivities started last week with a cake cutting which included Eric Vogel, the grandson of Langley City's first mayor, Hunter Vogel.

Council also thought it would be fun to recreate one of the first Langley City Council pictures.

Langley City's First Council in 1955. Select the image to enlarge.

Re-creation of First Council Photo with Current Langley City Council in 2025. Select the image to enlarge.

The table, chairs, and gavel are original. The story is that these pieces of our history were almost thrown into the trash but were saved at the last minute. They are now in the small museum at the fire hall.

The City has set up a 70th Anniversary webpage. You can stay updated on 70th Anniversary events and activities by visiting the page. The City has also posted historic photos of Langley Prairie, the community's original name, on the page.

For example, an online contest is running right now where you could win prizes such as a 70th Anniversary Langley City Hat, a rec pass, or Downtown Dollars.

I look forward to celebrating the City's 70th anniversary throughout this year!

Langley City Habitat Compensation Areas

Langley City's Official Community Plan maps out Environmentally Sensitive Areas in our community on a scale of low to high.

Low areas include grass fields and some treed areas. Low to moderately low areas can be developed, though subject to requirements such as replacing any lost habitat at a ratio of 2:1.

Moderate to high areas cannot be developed. These areas include all stream and river areas, including the Nicomekl River floodplain.

Langley City staff recently presented a report to Council that outlined some proposed habitat compensation areas. These are where enhancement or restoration would have to occur if a low or moderately low area in another part of our community was developed.

The proposed areas include:

• Nicomekl Park/208 Street Causeway
• East Powerline Trail
• Uplands Dog Park
• Brydon Park
• Hunter Park
• Nicomekl Floodplain and Trail System
• Boulevard Tree Plantings

Council asked staff to identify further areas in our industrial and Langley Bypass parts of our community that could benefit from habitat compensation.

Going through the Nicomekl River District Neighbourhood planning process several years ago, I learned that many areas of the Nicomekl River Floodplain have been altered in the past. The grassy areas are remnants of past farms, and the floodplain is full of invasive plants such as the Himalayan blackberry. There is a significant opportunity to restore the floodplain as it is a continuous habitat area that runs throughout our whole community.

For more information on compensation areas, please read the full report.

Hunter Vogel - The First Mayor of Langley City

Saturday, March 15, 2025, is Langley City's 70th birthday! We had a cake-cutting event with Eric Vogel, the grandson of Langley City's first mayor, Hunter Vogel. It is rumoured that Hunter Park (in the southern part of the City) is named after our first mayor.

Eric gifted me a copy of Hunter's book "The Key and the Pork Barrel." You definitely won't find this book in the library.

Updated Design for the Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station

Langley City's Advisory Design Panel, which includes folks from our community, architects, and landscape architects, provides feedback on the design of building projects in our community. They also provided input on the design of the Langley City Centre SkyTrain station.

Based on the feedback from the Advisory Design Panel and other feedback received, South Fraser Station Partners (the station builder) updated the design.

The updated designs are below.

Render of Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station with proposed design changes. Select the rendering to enlarge.

Illustrative Landscape Plan of Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station. Select the rendering to enlarge.

View of the Langley City Centre SkyTrain Station from the transit exchange showing wall design. Select the rendering to enlarge.

There is also a Propulsion Power Substation on Industrial Avenue, which will supply power to the SkyTrain tracks. The original design was a blank concrete box. The updated design is below.

Rendering of proposed SkyTrain Propulsion Power Substation on Industrial Avenue near 201A Street. Select the rendering to enlarge.

Please look through the Langley City Centre Station Design Submission #2 package for more information.

March 10 Council Notes: Housing Matters, Electric Kick Scooters, Budget

At its Monday night meeting, Langley City Council gave third reading to a rezoning bylaw which would enable the construction of a 10-unit "phase two" extension of a townhouse project at 5080 & 5096 208 Street. You can read more about this project in a previous blog post. After the applicant finalizes the project's details and pays the required fees and deposits to the City, Council will consider the final reading of the rezoning bylaw and issue a development permit.

Council gave final reading to approve our 2025-2029 Financial Plan or 2025 budget. You can learn more about the ongoing operating part of the budget and the one-time capital part of the budget in previous posts.

Council received a recommendation from our Accessibility Advisory Committee to consider creating a micromobility devices plan. While micromobility devices vary, the term generally refers to electric kick scooters in BC. These devices cannot be used on public sidewalks and streets unless you are in a "pilot" community. Langley City is not a pilot community. While several members of Council expressed that the committee's recommendation was broad and may have exceeded the committee's mandate, Council agreed to consider this recommendation during our upcoming strategic planning sessions.

Council also approved a recommendation to update our Environmental Sustainability Committee membership to include a seniors representative.

Like many municipalities, Langley City must submit reports to the province on its housing target order for net new completed housing units. Our community's cumulative ordered targets are:

Year 1: 251
Year 2: 541
Year 3: 890
Year 4: 1,318
Year 5: 1,844

Langley City is required to submit a six-month report to the province. We had a net increase of 237 units, or 94% of the province's one-year target for our community.

The 6-month net increase in units by bedroom count is:
Studio: 43
One-Bedroom: 123
Two-Bedroom: 56
Three-Bedroom: 14
Four or More Bedrooms: 1

As a note, the net number is new units minus demolished units.

Langley City Council also approved seeking grants from the Union of BC Municipalities for $40,000 to purchase supplies for Emergency Support Services and $39,870.25 for supplies for our Emergency Operation Centre.

Climate and Metro Vancouver's Water Supply

The water in our region comes from the North Shore and Coquitlam Mountains. We depend on snowpack levels and their melt rate to provide enough water to Metro Vancouver during summer. Climate change is impacting our water supply and how we manage it. The Region District publishes a report that outlines annual weather and climate patterns. The following experts are from a report covering 2024.

An overview map of the Metro Vancouver watershed, including weather monitoring stations (orange triangles.) Select the map to enlarge.

Temperature Trends: This year was the third warmest year on record at the Vancouver Airport since 1936 (behind 2015 and 2023). Despite being a warm El Niño year, the coldest temperatures ever recorded occurred during the January deep-freeze. The Orchid Lake weather station in the Seymour WSA dropped to a low of -22.7°C on January 12. December was a stand out month, averaging 2.7 degrees warmer than normal.

Precipitation Patterns:
Annual precipitation amounts were well above normal in 2024. At the Vancouver Airport, this was the wettest year of this century, and among the top 10 wettest years since records began in 1937. October was an exceptionally wet month, which included the record-breaking October 19-20 atmospheric river. The summer months were quite dry, but each month saw at least one moderate rainfall event. July was the driest month, with no rainfall recorded until July 29.

Snowpack:
This was a very poor snowpack year. There was almost no mountain snowpack until the end of February. Conditions did improve in March, but average snow water equivalent values were only half of the historical average at the start of the melt season. Fortunately, relatively cool and damp spring weather slowed snowmelt and kept reservoirs full for longer than expected.

Drought and Wildfire Risk:
Drought was a concern again in 2024, but it was not as exceptional as the previous few seasons. The Lower Mainland basin was at drought level 3 (adverse impacts possible) for most of the summer. There were fewer days in high and extreme fire danger this year than the previous few years. Fire danger was high for most of July; however, well timed storms provided relief when conditions were becoming very dry.

The short of it is that climate change is making it more difficult to predict how much water we will have available for use. Water conservation will continue to be an increasingly important action that we must all take during the summer.

For more information, please read "Water Supply Areas – Climate Report 2024 Annual Weather and Climate Summary" on page 101 of the March 12, 2025, Metro Vancouver Water Committee Agenda.

Volunteer for a Langley City Committee

Langley City Council is looking for people to volunteer for some of our committees. These committees advise Council on various topics and can also do on-the-ground work. For example, the Accessibility Advisory Committee is working on audits to find areas where there may be barriers for people with a disability. Crime Prevention Committee members attend or host community events to raise awareness about how to make our community safer.

The following committee has vacant positions. Some of these positions have specific requirements.

For more information and to apply, please visit Langley City's website.

Environmental Sustainability Committee:
Promoting environmental awareness, education, and best practices throughout the City of Langley.

-One Post-Secondary Institution student representative
-One Member representing Indigenous Peoples

Arts, Recreation, Culture and Heritage Committee:
Provides advice on the implementation of various arts, recreation, culture and heritage initiatives.

-One Multi-Cultural Organization representatives
-One Heritage representative (anyone passionate about heritage)
-One Member representing Indigenous Peoples

Crime Prevention Committee:
Share messaging about crime prevention and promote community connectedness through community engagement.

-Two Community Members at Large representatives
-One Social Services Representative

Socio-Cultural and Economic Development Advisory Committee
Provides advice on social, cultural, and economic growth.

-One Social & Cultural Diversity, Inclusion, Equity Perspective Representative

The Importance of the Neighbourhood Park

I recently read a report called "The 2024 Canadian City Parks Report." One of the sections of the report contained data on what kind of parks people visit regularly. About three-quarters of Canadians visit local or neighbourhood parks regularly. The next most popular outdoor public space people use is trails at around 40%. It got me thinking about Langley Prarie Park, which is tucked away behind the Varsity Condos on Fraser Highway.

Iris Mooney Park

I was on the Parks, Environment, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee (over a decade ago) when we discussed this park. I remember that the City wanted to put a lot of stuff into the park, but residents in the area just wanted a simple park with some benches and a walking loop. The City went with the simple design.

Having access to high-quality, if even simple, public parks is critical for people's health, happiness, and social cohesion. I live in the Brydon Neighbourhood, and I see how Brydon Park is a hub where kids play with other kids in the neighbourhood, and people get to talk to their neighbours.

Langley City's goal is to ensure everyone is within a five-minute walk of a park or green space.

There are some gaps. In my neighbourhood, people on Brydon Crescent need better access to park space. The City plans to build a pedestrian bridge to connect the southwestern section of Brydon Crescent to the trail between 53rd and 200th Street, enabling better park access.

Map showing sections of community within a 5-minute walk of a park. Areas without colour overlays are outside of the 5-minute walk zone. Select the map to enlarge.

More broadly, there is a lack of parks or greenspace in our Downtown/Northwestern part of the community. The City has identified the need for this space in our Park, Recreation, and Culture Plan.

While having destination parks, such as City Park or Sendall Gardens, is good, it is our neighbourhood parks that people visit the most and what builds community. As more people live Downtown and near Willowbrook Mall, we must build (and the City does plan to build) neighbourhood parks in these areas to ensure that everyone in our community is within a 5-minute walk of a park.

Your Input Needed on Langley City's Public Parking Strategy

With the pending arrival of SkyTrain, continued growth, and an increased number of people visiting our community for shopping, work, or recreation, Langley City is developing an on-street and publicly-owned lot parking strategy. The strategy will apply to all areas north of the Nicomekl River.

Based on research, such as from the late Donald Shoup, we should not have more than 85% of parking spaces full on any given block. This percentage works out to about one free space in every block, which prevents people from driving in circles looking for parking.

On average, in Downtown Langley today, we have about 60% utilization at the busiest times, though there are hot spots. The following map shows utilization when parking demand is the highest. The Fraser Highway One-Way exceed 85% utilization on Saturdays from the last morning until the afternoon.

Existing Typical Saturday Peak Parking Demand. Select the image to enlarge.

There are many ways to manage parking, including adjusting time limits, making it easier to find areas with ample available parking, and implementing parking permits, resident-only parking, or paid parking. The City has yet to determine what, if any, solutions we would need for our community.

An example of a solution could be to let people know there is always ample parking at Timms Community Centre/City Hall, just across the street from the Fraser Highway One-Way.

If you travel to Downtown Langley City (whether walking, cycling, taking transit, or driving) or living in Langley City, the City wants to hear from you.

Please consider taking Langley City's Parking Survey. It will take about five to ten to complete. You could also win a $50 Visa gift card. The deadline in March 9th.

For more information on parking in Langley City, please view the Public Parking Strategy presentation.

Derby Reach Proposed Campground Expansion

Derby Reach Regional Park is a popular destination for day trips and overnight camping. The current Edgewater Bar Campground, which has 38 campsites that can accommodate tents and RVs, is usually booked for the camping season within a week of reservations opening. The Metro Vancouver Regional District wants to expand the campground with 30 additional campsites.

The following image shows the proposed layout for the campground expansion.

Proposed concept site plan for the Edgewater Bar Campground expansion. Select the image to enlarge.

The proposed expansion will occur in the current grassy space so that it won't impact the forested and bog areas.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District will be completing planning work this year, and their current target is to include the expansion within the regional district's 2026 budget.