Building Emissions Rising in Metro Vancouver

The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently published a report on building emissions focusing on greenhouse gases. Buildings are the second largest source of GHG emissions in our region. It found that while per capita emissions are slightly declining, actual emissions are rising.

GHG and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions by Building Type. 2010 through 2022. Source: Metro Vancouver 2022 Emissions Inventory.

Between 2010 and 2022, GHG emissions from residential buildings increased by 11.5% and from commercial buildings by 20.7%. Nitrogen oxide, which harms human health, has also been increasing. Using conventional natural gas for heating and hot water is the primary driver of building GHG emissions.

We must move from conventional natural gas to renewable natural gas and fully electric heating and hot water systems. Of course, this must be done while maintaining affordability.

I've discussed this in the past for detached and strata housing; energy-efficient retrofit programs are needed to help reduce emissions and save people money. Modern buildings are significantly more energy efficient than older buildings, but over 2/3rds of housing units in our region were built in the 20th century.

Retrofitting these buildings, such as installing electric heat pumps for heating and hot water, will help reduce GHG emissions. There are some rebate programs, but commercial and strata buildings can fall through the cracks of these programs, leaving out a huge section of our building inventory. For example, 61% of housing units in Langley City are apartments.

While newer buildings become more efficient and have lower emissions, more work needs to be done to help homeowners, stratas, and commercial building owners reduce their buildings' emissions.

Working on the Basics: $3m Sewer Replacement Program

On Monday, Langley City Council awarded PW Trenchless Construction Inc. a tender for $2.98 million to complete several sanitary sewer projects throughout the community.

The following map shows the locations of the projects, including replacing the sewer line along 198th Street between 53rd and 56th Avenue.

Location of Sewer Project. Select the Map to Enlarge.

The sewer pipes will be renewed using “pipe busting.” This process involves running a new pipe through an older pipe, helping minimize the disruption on the street.

The project also includes an additional $156,180 awarded to Binnie & Associates Ltd. to help manage it. The project has a $315,000 contingency in case of unforeseen issues. In an older community like Langley City, even with the best planning, unexpected things can happen when working underground.

July 7 Council Notes: $27,000 Donation Received for Oneway Project, RCMP Update, New Waste Collection Program

On Monday, Langley City Council received our quarterly RCMP update from the Officer in Charge of the Langley Detachment Superintendent Dosange. He provided a brief overview of some of the policing initiatives they are working on in the City over the summer, including working with the BC Lions, where youth will train with CFL players to compete in a tournament later this month. The first event was at HD Stafford and helped get young people who live in both the City and Township engaged in positive activity.

You'll also see the police on bikes in our parks and trails over the summer. One of the major police concerns is people using e-scooters (both kick scooters and ones that look like mopeds) unsafely. The police are launching an education campaign around these mobility devices, including positive reinforcement and partnering with 7-Eleven to give out free coupons.

The police continue to partner with bylaws, including for trespassing matters. They will also ramp up the promotion of the Block Watch program in partnership with the City's Crime Prevention Committee.

On the crime stats, Dosange noted that things are stable in the City, though he did note an increase in auto theft, which he believes will be reduced shortly. A handful of people cause most criminal activity; once arrested, the crime will drop significantly. These people are also known as prolific offenders.

Later in the meeting, the Langley Foundation presented a $27,000 cheque to Langley City to purchase trees and street furniture for the Fraser Oneway project. The Langley Foundation is a local charity that supports improving pedestrian paths and trails, preserving and illuminating history, and enhancing green spaces. This generous donation will help offset some of the cost of the Oneway project.

Council also received an update on the rollout of the new waste collection program for people in detached houses and non-strata townhouses. City contractors are delivering bins this month, and the new collection system starts August 1st. More information is available on the City's website.

City staff presented to Council some proposed updates to our minute-taking policy to align with best practices. Council also updated who on Langley City staff attends the E-Comm Annual General Meeting as voting members on behalf of the City. E-Comm is a local government-owned organization that provides 911 and first responder radio services.

Langley City's Rolling 2026 - 2031 Strategic Plan

Every year, Langley City Council updates its strategic priorities plan. This plan outlines the City's mission, values, and core focus areas over the next five years. It also includes specific actions that Council would like to take. This plan is meant to be a living document as priorities may change and the City completes specific actions.

There are five top priorities for 2026, which layer onto the current work the City is doing within the strategic priorities plan.

Redevelop 20411 Fraser Highway: Partner with a developer to create a new mixed-use building that will include market and non-market homes at the entrance to the Fraser Highway Oneway.

Create a Standards of Maintenance Bylaw: A standard of maintenance bylaw sets the safety and quality standards that residential and commercial landlord must achieve on their properties.

Tenant Relocation Plans Policy: Last summer, Langley City Council approved a new tenant relocation policy, which set tenant compensation, relocation support, and the ability to return to a building after a redevelopment at a discounted rate. Council would like to see further refinements to the policy.

Amenity Cost Charges (ACC) Bylaw: The provincial government introduced ACCs to replace voluntary Community Amenity Contributions from developers. Local governments can use ACCs to fund infrastructure, including municipal buildings such as fire halls and recreation centres, that are required due to growth.

Develop Long-term Staffing Plan: As our community is growing and needs change, to continue to meet the needs of residents, businesses, and Council, the City will hire external support to develop a staffing plan.

The plan also has additional new initiatives that the City may take action on over the next year if time and resources are available. The City will continue to action on existing priorities that are in progress, such as the Innovation District strategy in partnership with KPU.

You can learn more by reading the plan.

McLellan Substation and Brydon Lagoon Impacts

As you may know, BC Hydro is upgrading and expanding the McLellan Substation just west of Brydon Lagoon in Surrey. As part of the upgrade, BC Hydro will be removing a significant number of trees on their property. While this project is entirely within Surrey, it will impact Brydon Lagoon. As such, Langley City staff, as well as Langley community organizations such as the Langley Field Naturalists, have been talking to BC Hydro to find ways to minimize the impacts.

I wanted to share the latest map showing the tree-clearing area and where BC Hydro will retain trees.

Map that shows McLellan Substation upgrade area, including tree removal and retention areas. Select the map to enlarge.

As you can see, BC Hydro's current plan is to retain the section of trees (550 m2) on the southeast part of their property and a two- to six-metre buffer on the east edge of their property line.

I also understand that BC Hydro plans to do further landscaping and natural restoration after they complete the substation expansion.

More information about this project is available on their website, including information about how to reach out to BC Hydro.

Our Air is Cleaner Than Ever, Saving Lifes

Sometimes, it seems that all we get is bad news regarding the environment, but there is a lot of good work going on, such as cleaning up our air, water, and land. One area where we have made a lot of progress is cleaning up the air. Metro Vancouver is part of the Lower Fraser Valley airshed, and the Metro Vancouver Regional District completes a comprehensive inventory of air pollutants every five years.

They recently shared trends of air emissions from 2000 to 2020. The bottom line is that “today’s cleaner air saves the lives of approximately 580 Metro Vancouver residents each year, compared to air quality in 2001.”

The following tables show the reductions of certain emissions types.

Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Nitrogen Oxides Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Except for fine particulate matter emissions from wildfires, PM2.5 emissions are also declining.

Fine Particulate Matter Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

Of course, more work needs to be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

GHG Emissions Trend in the Fraser Valley 2000-2020. Select the chart to enlarge.

What Does It Cost to Build an Apartment Parking Spot?

Parking is one of those topics that people can feel very passionate about, whether people believe we have too much or too little parking. In Langley City today, most of our community north of the Nicomekl River does not have minimum parking requirements for residential use per provincial law as they are within provincial designated transit-oriented areas.

Building residential parking, especially in apartments, is expensive. Many numbers have been used over the years to quantify the cost of underground parking. The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently commissioned a study to determine the cost per stall.

The cost ranges from $117,382 to $137,721 per apartment stall. It might seem surprising initially, but parking is more expensive per stall in communities with higher per-unit parking requirements. This cost does make sense. Building a two-storey underground parkade is far more expensive than a one-storey parkade. With new six-storey wood-frame apartments in Langley City, parkades range from one to two stories.

The regional district also updated its apartment parking utilization study. Below are the results for South of Fraser Communities.

Municipality	Residential Stall/Unit (Sampled)	Residential Stall Utilization	Visitor Stall Utilization
Delta	1.39	72%	47%
Langley City	1.27	75%	57%
Langley Township	1.37	63%	41%
Surrey	1.31	70%	40%
White Rock	1.8	59%	35%

The parking utilization for residential parking demand was surveyed between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, and visitor parking demand was surveyed between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

While Langley City Council does not control residential minimum parking requirements in most areas designated for apartments, there are still a few small areas outside the provincial designated transit-oriented areas that we do. A reduction in our residential parking to one parking space per unit for apartment buildings in these areas could reduce per-unit costs around $30,000, helping with affordability while providing adequate parking based on actual utilization.

To clarify, the study did not look at parking costs or utilization for townhouses, 'plexes, or detached homes.