Langley City Council’s Ottawa Advocacy Missions: Enabling More Housing Near SkyTrain

In April 2024, Langley City Council had its first advocacy mission to Ottawa. Last week, we had our second advocacy mission. It was a whirlwind of meetings with Members of Parliament, political staff, and the federal civil service.

Councillors Paul Albrecht, Rosemary Wallace, Leith White, and I waiting for the train from the Ottawa airport. Select the image to enlarge.

Councillors Paul Albrecht, Rosemary Wallace, Leith White, and I represented Council on the mission.

We had two main matters that we want the federal government to assist us with, and some secondary matters.

Because of the Langley Regional Airport, we have a 150-foot or about 15-storey high limit for buildings in Langley City, except for a few parcels of property near Willowbrook Mall. These rules, called Airport Zoning Regulations, came into effect in the 1970s.

Councillors Paul Albrecht, Rosemary Wallace, Leith White, and I waiting in the Nav Canada lobby for our meeting. Select the image to enlarge.

Meeting with Nav Canada staff about airport safety. Select the image to enlarge.

With SkyTrain coming to town, we can expect to see more 15-storey concrete buildings around the Langley City stations. What is somewhat counterintuitive is that units in mid-rise buildings generally sell at a higher average price point than those in taller buildings. The reason is that a significant portion of a concrete building's cost is incurred below ground, and these costs are spread across fewer units in mid-rise buildings. To enable more affordable market-priced units and also more below-market-priced units, the City wants to allow taller buildings around a larger area near Willowbrook Mall. This requires the support of Nav Canada, which operates Canada's civil air navigation system, and Transport Canada.

We met with staff from Nav Canada and learned about their concerns. They also showed us their new approach for ensuring the safe operation of airports, which could permit us to move away from the current one-size-fits-all 150-foot height limit in the City. Any changes also require the support of Transport Canada.

Walking between meetings in Downtown Ottawa. Select the image to enlarge.

We met with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transportation, MP Mike Kelloway. After showing him some maps and explaining what we were trying to achieve, he offered to provide us with help as we work through the process of hopefully having the federal government update the airport height limits in Langley City, which would allow more housing in the Willowbrook area. He wanted us to keep him cc’ed and in the loop.

A photo with MP Mike Kelloway after our meeting with him. Select the image to enlarge.

The next major matter we wanted the federal government’s support with is growing Langley City’s food tech sectors in partnership with KPU and the private sector. Many people are unaware that Langley City has some major food tech players in our community, including CKF for packaging and processors such as Bimbo Canada. We have an opportunity to expand the number of good-paying jobs in our community with this vision. I’ll post more about this tomorrow.