Train Whistling at Crossing in Langley City

Every so often, I see a request asking the City to do something to stop train whistling in our community. I understand this request as one of the busiest rail corridors in the country goes through Langley City. I also hear training whistling from time to time.

Back in 2004, Langley City and Canadian Pacific Railway (which operates the tracks through the City) signed a whistle cessation agreement. This agreement requires that, normally, when a train goes through the City, it should not sound its whistle at crossings. This process is regulated by Transport Canada. Even with a whistle cessation agreement in place, you will still hear train whistles in our community, as a railway crew will sound a whistle if they feel there is a safety concern.

Because of how sound travels due to certain times of the day and cloud cover, you might hear the train whistle from crossings that are outside of Langley City as well.

Safety is always a priority, so while the City has an official whistle cessation program, there will be occasions when train whistles sound in our community.

Have Your Say on the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board Structure

I’ve been posting about proposed changes to governance at the Metro Vancouver Regional District. About a year ago, Deloitte Canada made 47 recommendations to improve governance at the Regional District, which provides services to over half of BC's population. The Regional District has a Board Governance Review Tracker where you can learn more about the implementation of these recommendations.

One of the larger recommendations is to review the size and structure of the Regional District Board to improve decision-making. The Regional District is actually four separate legal entities: the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the Greater Vancouver Water District, the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation. Today, these entities operate effectively under a single board.

Today, there are 41 directors appointed by their respective municipalities, treaty First Nation, or directly elected in the case of Electoral Area A. There is a formula that determines how many directors each member jurisdiction has and how much weight each director carries based on population. This system is meant to balance having a voice at the table for each jurisdiction, no matter the population, while also ensuring population-based representation.

The Regional District is reviewing potential changes through the lens of governance effectiveness, size/scalability, member jurisdiction representation, public accountability, and ease of implementation.

Proposals include keeping the status quo, reducing the size, or including appointed non-political members on one or more of the four legal entities' boards.

One of the more interesting proposals for me is the inclusion of a smaller Major Projects Committee, which could have delegated authority on the most complex projects, such as wastewater treatment plants, and could comprise a blend of elected and externally appointed directors with technical expertise. The main board would still have ultimate control over the budget, but a committee such as this would be best practice.

Over the next month, the Regional District is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the governance structure. You can learn more, including how you can participate, by visiting the Metro Vancouver Regional District's Governance Review webpage.

Langley City Council received a presentation by Heather McNell, the Deputy CAO of the Regional District, on Monday about these proposed changes.

Langley City 2025 Year-End Financial Housekeeping

As part of the year-end financial reporting process, some of which I posted about yesterday, Langley City must update the 2025-29 Financial Plan to reflect the actual revenue and expenditures for the year.

The following table shows the differences between the Council-approved 2025 budget and the final results at year-end.

Table from Financial Plan 2025 – 2029 Amendment Number 2. Select the table to enable.

Council also had to update the capital budget to reflect additional grants the City received to offset the cost of some projects, as shown:

56 Ave (200 St to 203 St) Repaving - $48,362.89 TransLink Grant
Emergency Operations Centres Equipment and Training - $39,870.25 Union of BC Municipalities Grant
Bicycle Infrastrucutre - $16,258.00 TransLink Grant
Community Emergency Preparedness - $13,565.30 Union of BC Municipalities Grant
Emergency Management: Indigenous Engagement - $2,000 Union of BC Municipalities Grant
Fraser Highway Oneway Tree Replacement - $27,000 Grant from Langley Foundation

2025 Audit: Langley City Financially Healthy

Every year, local governments must have their financial statements independently audited. Langley City engaged Kristine Simpson from BDO Canada as our auditor. As is normal, the auditor found that our financial statements were accurate.

Early this year, I posted about net financial assets (or debt). This is a key metric that shows a local government has the finances to continue delivering services and investing in infrastructure. In 2025, Langley City had $51.3 million in net financial assets, a slight decrease of $0.3 million from 2024. This is still a positive indicator.

Another key metric is accumulated surplus. This metric shows how much money the City has in its savings accounts to fund infrastructure projects, and how much in tangible assets, such as roads, land, and buildings, the City has on the books. The City increased its accumulated surplus by $27.4 million to $405.9 million in 2025. About $5.1 million was transferred to reserve savings accounts. The remainder was the “on the books” value of new or renewed infrastructure. Generally, if the “on the books” value is increasing, it means a local government is maintaining or expanding infrastructure such as roads, pipes, parks, and facilities. If the number is going down, it means that a local government is not keeping up.

Every year, the operating budget will have a variance between what is budgeted and what is actually spent. Local governments in BC have to budget conservatively because they cannot run a deficit. One of the primary drivers for Langley City’s $5.1 million surplus was labour costs. When new positions are added that take time to hire, such as additional firefighters, or people leave their jobs, it temporarily reduces labour costs.

Some of the areas where the City exceeded budgeted cost were on recreation programs due to increased demand, snow removal, streetlight and signal repair, park maintenance, garbage removal, vandalism repair, homeless camp cleanup, and legal fees. Again, there was an overall surplus in 2025.

Downtown Langley Business Owner, Young Entrepreneur, Lifelong Citizen Join Langley City First Team

Langley City First is proud to announce three new endorsed candidates joining Mayor Nathan Pachal, Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace on the team.

From Left to Right: Mike Solyom, Rosemary Wallace, Shawn Caldera, Nathan Pachal, Jeff Jacobs, Heather Jenkins, Paul Albrecht

“I’m extremely excited that Heather Jenkins has agreed to be part of the team,” said Rhianna Reddekopp, who founded Langley City First. “She is the amazing business owner of 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market, a Downtown Langley institution.”

“I’ve served with her on the Downtown Langley Business Association Board and know that Heather has a solid understanding of business, governance, and working as a team player in making our city a better place.”

Over the last 28 years, she has won many awards, including Business of the Year, Environmental Hero, and 25 years of Langley Readers’ Choice.

Langley City First is also proud to have Shawn Caldera join the team. After building his successful business, Shawn started helping others create economic development strategies for the digital economy. He currently works for a large digital content creation firm.

“Shawn puts people first and is about building community. I see him regularly out and about in Langley City as he leads local residents in recreational events,” said Reddekopp.

Jeff Jacobs has agreed to be part of the Langley City First Team. Jeff is a lifelong resident of Langley City. He is a long-time municipal worker and labour movement leader, has volunteered on Langley City’s Crime Prevention Committee for many years, and has run for a council seat in the 2022 civic election, narrowly missing out.

“We are proud to have Jeff on the Langley City First Team to bring his experience and expertise to Langley City Council in this upcoming election,” said Reddekopp.

“I’ve watched our city grow into a thriving community over the years,” said Jacobs, “I want to ensure that Langley City becomes a hub for interactive, innovative, and sustainable activities for everyone who lives and visits.”

As a registered Elector Organization, Langley City First has a united team in this fall's civic elections that is committed to defending and advancing the following values:

• Building A City for the Future
• Enhancing Green Space
• Investing in Safety and Livability
• Fostering Community Connection
• Creating a Resilient Community with Appropriate Infrastructure and Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
• Supporting a Team Where Independent Voices Work as a Cohesive Team

Langley City First believes in our community, its people, its businesses, and its potential, and we are committed to moving the city forward through collaborative leadership, safe communities, and responsible growth for today and future generations.

I wanted to reshare this post from Langley City First. To learn more about the team and its values, please check out the Langley City First website.

May 11 Council Notes: FIFA Viewing Parties, Zero Waste, Community Safety Awareness Committee

The BC government is providing grants to local governments throughout the province to host FIFA World Cup viewing parties. Langley City received a $40,000 grant from the province, and the City must provide $10,000 as a condition of the grant. Council approved holding 4 viewing parties outside Timms Community Centre. These will be family-friendly parties with food, music, hands-on activities, and community partners that celebrate and showcase the diversity of our community. A Team Canada game and the final game will be two of the dates.

It is event season in Langley City, and one of the action items is to improve how we handle waste at these events. If you've been to previous Community Day events, you might have seen some waste-sorting stations as demonstrations, run by volunteers.

Council adopted a new Zero Waste strategy, which could see this waste-sorting approach rolled out to all community events over time. This year will focus on Community Day and three outdoor movie night events. Based on the learning from these events, the next phase will apply to large events on City land, such as the Arts Alive Festival or Bard in the Valley, potentially in 2027. Future phases could see this rolled out to all outdoor community events based on what we learn in earlier phases.

Me with Volunteers at a Waste Sorting Station at Community Day.

Council also approved an update to the terms of reference for the Crime Prevention Committee, which includes renaming it the Community Safety Awareness Committee to align with the recommendation from the Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety. The Committee's new mandate includes:

• Advancing knowledge sharing around community safety initiatives and resident engagement
• Participating in the Resilient Neighbourhood Networks program
• Contributing to the Social Streets Program and Village Cafés Series to learn and share information with community members
• Continuing to partner with the RCMP, business community, and residents to promote safety programs such as Block Watch and Business Walks

The committee has also been given a $2,500 annual budget to support their work; any further funding would require council approval.

Council also adopted the 2026 Tax Rate Bylaw. You can learn more about this in a previous post.

Pleasantdale Creek Salmon Sign

I grew up in the Okanagan, and I remember one of the things I learned at an early age was about the salmon lifecycle. I remember going on field trips to see salmon spawning on the Adams River salmon run and to see some of the work being done back in the day to restore creeks for salmon in and around Vernon. Salmon are a keystone species for our ecosystem. Happy Salmon means a healthy environment.

Many people know that the Nicomekl River and its tributaries are salmon-bearing. I’ve seen salmon making their way up creeks and through culverts, including near the 196th Street overpass.

I also remember, as a kid, painting salmon logos on storm drains because whatever drains from a road or driveway ends up in a creek and eventually into the Nicomekl River.

Sign that will be installed along Pleasantdale Creek. Select the image to enlarge.

About a year ago, Council received a request from the Nicomekl Enhancement Society to install signage indicating where they release salmon. Council referred this work to its Environmental Sustainability Committee. Last night, Council approved getting a sign installed at Pleasantdale Creek.

The sign will be located just south of the 49A Avenue trailhead.

Metro Vancouver’s Water Supply for This Summer

As you know, Metro Vancouver is in stage 2 water restrictions, which means you cannot water lawns, top up or fill decorative water features (such as a fountain), or use your personal pressure washer or garden hose to wash impermeable surfaces, such as a concrete patio. The current lawn water restriction does not apply to municipal public spaces, such as sports fields. This is to ensure the water supply lasts throughout this summer.

According to the Regional District, there are a few reasons for these year's restrictions. One is that snowpack is at 44% of its historic average as of the beginning of this month. The second is that the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel project means one of the main water supply connections will be out of service this summer. The third is that Environment Canada is predicting a hot, dry summer.

Graph of Capilano Watershed, Average Snow Water Equivalent. Select to enlarge.

The good news is that water reservoirs and the alpine lakes, Palisade, Burwell, and Loch Lomond, will be full by the end of spring.

With a hot summer predicted, the region will likely enter stage 3 restriction sometime in early June.

For more information on water restriction stages and impacts, please visit Metro Vancouver’s website.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Memorial and March

Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are at a significantly higher risk of becoming a victim of violent crime than other people in Canada. In Canada, thousands of Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing over the years. In BC, this violence includes the horrific Pickton farm murders and Highway of Tears, which is the Highway 16 corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert, where a disproportionately high number of Indigenous women have gone missing or were murdered.

People marching down the Fraser Highway One Way. Select the image to enlarge.

A lack of action by governments and the justice system has led to increasingly urgent calls for change. Jaime Black, who is a Métis artist, started the REDress Project in 2010 as a response to this crisis and to raise visibility. According to Black, the colour red is the only colour that spirits see. “So (red) is really a calling back of the spirits of these women and allowing them a chance to be among us and have their voices heard through their family members and community.”

Red dresses hanging in various locations are a symbol of the movement. You may have seen these red dresses throughout Downtown Langley City over the last week.

I, among other people, was called to be a witness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Memorial and March, which took place in Downtown Langley City on Tuesday this week. A witness’s role is to hold onto knowledge of significance, carry the burden of that knowledge, and pass on the knowledge.

The memorial started with drumming, song, and ceremony. We heard from survivors of violence and family members who have lost sisters, aunts, and nieces. We then march along Douglas Crescent and Fraser Highway. We finally heard teaching from Elders of Kwantlen First Nation.

For those of us in government, we were challenged to take action as this violence still continues to this day, and to continue to bring visibility to this crisis.

New Fire Trucks for Langley City in Service

Over the last few years, Langley City Council has approved the renewal of the City’s aging fire truck fleet (the technical term is "apparatus") for Langley City Fire Rescue Service. This included an investment of $737,525.61 for a mini pumper that can respond to small fires, medical calls, and vehicle crashes, $1.8 million for a new pumper engine (which would be the typical fire truck you’d see), and $3.5 million for a new 100' platform fire truck to respond to fires in tall structures ensuring we remain prepared for the arrival of SkyTrain. In total, this works out to $6 million.

New Tower 1 Apparatus. Photo Source: Langley City.

It is important that we invest in fire safety in our growing community. This equipment complements the 9 new suppression firefighters and one new fire prevention officer that Council approved over the last few years, enabling the City to go from operating one 24/7 firefighting crew to two 24/7 firefighting crews.

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Are Gems (Even if Not Hidden)

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks are among the best-maintained parks I’ve been to and offer unique experiences, diverse ecosystems, and areas to explore. I know that many people rediscovered or discovered the regional park system for the first time over the last 6 years or so.

A friend of mine made it a mission to visit every publicly accessible regional park, and they accomplished that goal.

The Regional District publishes an annual report on the parks system, and I want to highlight some of the work done in 2025.

The Regional District completed a restoration of Imperial Trail in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, opened a new three-kilometre regional greenway in Campbell Valley Regional Park, and opened Widgeon Marsh Regional Park to public access. The Regional District added 3.5 hectares to its parks system by expanding Widgeon Marsh Regional Park and Widgeon Marsh.

There were 14.7 million visits to regional parks and greenways in 2025, which is significantly higher than pre-2020 levels.

Annual visit to Metro Vancouver Regional District Parks from 2005 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and Crippen Regional Park on Bowen Island received a record number of visitors in 2025. While it is great that people enjoy our parks, it can also create localized capacity challenges, such as on Bowen Island, which is only accessible by BC Ferries or private boat.

The following table shows the number of visits to each park/greenway in 2025.

Park Name	2025 Visits
ƛéxətəm Regional Park	386,900
Pacific Spirit Regional Park	3,888,800
Boundary Bay Regional Park	1,148,200
Capilano River Regional Park	1,097,000
tәmtәmíxʷtәn/Belcarra Regional Park	927,500
Campbell Valley Regional Park	887,600
Derby Reach Regional Park	881,700
Tynehead Regional Park	604,600
Lynn Headwaters Regional Park	578,400
Grouse Mountain Regional Park	545,300
Kanaka Creek Regional Park	528,000
Aldergrove Regional Park	464,600
Crippen Regional Park	429,400
Burnaby Lake Regional Park	422,900
Deas Island Regional Park	362,800
Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway	292,300
Iona Beach Regional Park	287,900
Pitt River Regional Greenway	229,700
Brae Island Regional Park	227,900
Minnekhada Regional Park	188,900
Surrey Bend Regional Park	130,800
Delta South Surrey Regional Greenway	63,200
Seymour River Regional Greenway	53,600
Glen Valley Regional Park	49,700
Barnston Island Regional Park	11,500

For more information, please check out the 2025 Regional Parks Annual Report.

RCMP Auxiliary Program in Langley - Call for Volunteers

At the last Langley City Council meeting, we heard from the Officer in Charge of the Langley RCMP detachment, Superintendent Harm Dosange. One of the key things he raised with Council was ramping up the RCMP Auxiliary program for his detachment.

There was a previous RCMP Auxiliary, but it was paused back in 2020 due to safety concerns. An updated program has been rolling out throughout detachments in BC over the last little bit. The new program has three tiers of Auxiliary volunteer members, based on the level of training.

In Langley, the RCMP Auxiliary program is not only a good opportunity for those who want to volunteer to help make their community safer, but it also helps our community meet its public safety objectives.

Some of the major responsibilities include helping out during community and special events, including traffic and crowd control. Program members also take part in disaster planning and emergency preparedness in cooperation with members of the Langley City Emergency Program (which you can also volunteer for), search for missing people, and perform home and business safety checks, safety talks and related activities.

To learn more about the program's tiers, please visit the RCMP. The Langley RCMP is hosting two information sessions on May 13th and May 21st about the program. Please email langleyauxiliaryprogram@rcmp-grc.gc.ca for more information.

2026 Lower Mainland Local Government Association Conference

Last night, today, and tomorrow, elected representatives from local governments across the Lower Mainland are at the annual Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) conference and annual general meeting in Whistler. About 190 people are attending the conference, including members of Langley City Council, Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, Rosemary Wallace, Leith White, and me. Paul is the current president, and I am the Metro Vancouver Regional District representative on the LMLGA board. Paul delivered opening remarks last night to kick off the conference, and then we heard from former Lieutenant Governor of BC, Janet Austin, on the role of local government and the lack of funding for it.

Paul Albrecht, the president of LMLGA, delivers the opening welcome.

Today and tomorrow, there is a series of educational panels. Some of the highlights included a panel on “Lessons Learned from Municipal Council Conflict”, which I will be moderating. Other sessions include how we can help build sustainable and inclusive government, the top concerns of people in BC, and how to strengthen citizens' participation in local government decision-making.

One of my favourite parts of the conference is the resolution session, where we debate motions submitted by local governments throughout the Lower Mainland that typically call on the provincial government to take action. Resolutions endorsed by the LMLGA membership inform our advocacy efforts to the province and are forwarded to the Union of BC Municipalities for debate by all local governments at its conference in the fall. Langley City has a resolution calling on the province to develop consistent rules for micro-mobility devices, such as mobility devices for people with disabilities, e-scooters, and the like.

One of the fun traditions is that each local government provide a small item that represents their community for a door prize. Langley City’s door prize is the book “On the Trail: 50 Years of Engaging with Nature” by the Langley Field Naturalist.

I always learn something new at the conference that can be applied back in Langley City.

April 27 Council Notes: Affordable Housing Fund and Community Standards

As I posted about a few weeks ago, Langley City Council now requires that, within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain station, at least 2.5% of all new housing units built be made available for rent for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building. Under BC law, a builder can either provide this as part of their housing project or pay an in-lieu cash amount to the City, which must be deposited into an affordable housing fund. The in-lieu cash amount must reflect the market cost of building a housing unit.

Langley City Council has now adopted an Affordable Housing Fund bylaw and a new Affordable Housing Reserve Fund policy, which, among other things, guides how Council should use these funds. Council wants to prioritize any funds received towards constructing new below-market affordable housing units (rents 20% below Langley City market rates), and this is reflected in the policy. The funds could also be used for below-market:

• Seniors-focused housing units
• Indigenous housing units
• Family and youth housing units
• Special needs, accessible housing units
• Co-op housing units
• Temporary shelter and transitional housing units

The bylaw and policy include an annual reporting and in-lieu cash fee adjustment to reflect market costs.

Langley City Council also adopted a new Community Standards Bylaw that focused on securing vacant and redevelopment-ready property. You can learn more in a previous post.

The new Council after the fall municipal election will likely have to decide on major service changes, such as around street waste management. Council passed a motion asking staff to include a clearly defined “status quo” option, along with proposed new service options, to help Council make decisions on new service options. Sometimes this is called a baseline, and I’ve seen it used at TransLink in my role on the Mayors’ Council. It is usually presented in a table format.

Langley City 2026 Resident Property Tax Increasing Under $100

In December, Langley City Council passed the City’s 2026 budget. While you can read my previous posts on the ongoing service enhancements and capital projects, the short of it is that the budget included:

• Funding 2 Additional Firefighters
• Funding 2 Additional RCMP Officers
• Extending Al Anderson Pool to Open April 13
• Increasing the Annual Amount Contributed to Capital Projects
• Maintaining Current Service Levels

Council approved replacing the end-of-life City Operation Centre in the 2026 capital budget.

This required increasing the city’s expenditures by $2.54 million, resulting in an overall 5.82% property tax increase across all property types.

While the budget has been passed, Council still must pass an annual tax rate bylaw to enable property tax collection by the beginning of July.

Council gave first, second, and third readings to the 2026 tax rate bylaw last night. The tax rate bylaw sets the mill rate. To learn more about mill rates, please read a previous post I wrote titled, “One residential mill rate causes uneven property tax changes in Langley City. Find out why.” One important thing to note is that mill rates should never be used to compare efficiencies or service costs between municipalities; you need to compare average municipal taxes and utility fees.

The bottom line is that detached home (single-family) owners will see their annual property tax increase by 3.12% or $99.55, on average, compared to last year. Attached home (apartments and townhouses) owners will see their annual property tax increase by 6.15% or $83.35 on average.

I believe that local government continue to deliver excellent value for money. For example, my strata fees increased by $1,020 per year this year for the same level of service. I live in a 1,600 sq. ft. townhouse.

Population Growth Stalls, Transit Ridership Declines in Metro Vancouver in 2025

While normally TransLink’s Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation meets monthly, the first public meeting of the Mayors’ Council will happen on April 30th. The heavy lifting for the Mayors’ Council happened last year as we moved towards approving the 2025 Transportation Investment Plan; the next Investment Plan must be approved in early 2027. Currently, the focus is on advocating to the province and the federal governments to increase funding for transit in our region and start delivering that funding as soon as possible.

Last year was an interesting year for population growth in Metro Vancouver. While we typically seen a 2% growth rate, in 2025 there was essentially no population growth. Of course, this isn’t evenly distributed. The City of Vancouver saw about a 1% population decline, whereas typically high-growth areas like Surrey saw only a 2% growth rate.

Overall, the transit system experienced a 1.5% decline in transit journeys in 2025 compared to 2024. Bus ridership declined 2.5%, and Expo/Millennium lines declined 2.6%. Canada Line ridership increased 1.1%, SeaBus ridership increased 3.8%, HandyDART service increased 6%, and West Coast Express ridership increased 11.2%. Over 60% of transit journeys are by bus. TransLink attributes the decline to fewer young adults in our region, resulting from changes in federal immigration targets, young adults leaving Metro Vancouver, and a smaller overall Gen Z population compared to millennials.

When you look at subregions, the largest decline was in the South of Fraser, though transit ridership there is still significantly higher than before the pandemic.

Annual Ridership Growth (First Number) between 2024 - 2025 & Share of System-Wide Boardings (Second Number) by Sub-Region in 2025. Select the map to enlarge.

Population growth will likely return to a stable growth rate in the near future, and transit ridership will likely resume growth as a result. There is no indication that transit is in a permanent ridership decline.

Fowl Play at Douglas Park, Earth Day Walking Tour at Sendall Garden

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping celebrate the installation of a new mural at Douglas Park with members of Langley City’s Arts, Recreation, Culture and Heritage Committee, members of Council, and the artist Jessica Fairweather and her family.

Councillor Wallace, Mural Artist Jessica Fairweather, and I. Select the image to enlarge.

The mural, titled Fowl Play, is located on the southwest corner of the recently renovated Douglas Recreation and Child Care Centre. The mural uses a combination of tile and stained glass. The grey tile represents the jet trails in the sky. The birds featured in the mural include:

The “Fowl Play” Mural. Select the image to enlarge.

• Bald Eagle
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Canadian Goose
• Stellar Jay
• Wood Duck
• Pileated Wood Pecker
• Mourning Dove
• Mallard Ducks
• Great Horned Owl
• Violet-Green Swallow
• American Gold Finch
• Great Blue Heron
• Loon
• Northern Flicker
• American Robyn
• European Starling
• House Finch
• Nuthatch
• Double-Crested Cormorant

You can see many of these birds throughout Langley City. Be sure to check out this mural next time you are in Douglas Park.

Councillors Wallace and White are the co-chairs of the Arts, Recreation, Culture and Heritage Committee. Councillor White was unable to attend due to a last-minute urgent matter. The mural was co-created with members of Raphael House, the Committee, and Grade 5 students from Douglas Park Community School.

The Urban Bounty team at the Earth Day Walking Tour at Sendall Gardens. Select the image to enlarge.

A bit later, I stop in quickly to the Earth Day Walking Tour at Sendall Gardens, which is part of the ongoing, pop-up Langley City’s Village Cafe series, where people can learn and share about local issues, and celebrate heritage in a low-key format. There, I learned about urban gardening, and I also learned about the React Now app for your phone, which provides multilingual guidance on how to respond rapidly to a drug overdose.

Langley City First Team Running in Fall Municipal Election

In 2024, a group of concerned long-time Langley City citizens met to discuss the future of our community. Our goal was to ensure that Langley City continues to move forward, looking out for the safety of residents and growth for businesses from an accountable and effective local government.

“Seeing what was going on with politics in Langley, we wanted to ensure that Langley City remains an independent community,” said Rhianna Reddekopp, who founded Langley City First and is a long-time City resident and small business owner. “We want to make sure that every nickel of taxpayer money gets reinvested back into our community efficiently and effectively to address the priorities that make Langley City a unique community.”

Langley City First was formed as a Local Elector Organization under Elections BC to defend the things that make Langley City our home, and move our community forward. We believe in bringing independent voices to lead our community with strong community connections and responsible decision-making. We believe in a safe and prosperous Langley City, and in people who believe in our community, free of outside interference and partisan politics.

“With these values in mind, we reached out to several members of Langley City Council,” said Reddekopp, “We are proud to announce that Mayor Nathan Pachal, Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace are willing to be endorsed by our organization.”

As a registered Elector Organization, we hope to provide a united team in this fall's civic elections that is committed to defending and advancing the following values:

• Building A City for the Future
• Enhancing Green Space
• Investing in Safety and Livability
• Fostering Community Connection
• Creating a Resilient Community with Appropriate Infrastructure and Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
• Supporting a Team Where Independent Voices Work as a Cohesive Team

Langley City First believes in our community, its people, its businesses, and its potential, and we are committed to moving the city forward through collaborative leadership, safe communities, and responsible growth for today and future generations. We are excited to endorse our first candidates and look forward to announcing more in the coming months.

I wanted to reshare this post from Langley City First. To learn more about the team and its values, please check out the Langley City First website.

SkyTrain Pile Driving Operating Hours

I’ve received a few emails from residents about thumping or pounding sounds in the evenings over the last few weeks in Langley City. This is due to SkyTrain guideway pile-driving work occurring in and around our community.

I can also hear pile-driving work at my home and at City Hall, and I know it can impact people’s quality of life.

For the most up-to-date information, questions, and concerns, please reach out to the SkyTrain project team at 1-844-815-6111 or surreylangleyskytrain@gov.bc.ca. As this is a provincial project, they are not subject to local government bylaws, including those regarding noise and construction site hours of operation.

As of this post, regular construction hours for the SkyTrain project are 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Saturday. Noisier work, such as pile driving, is occurring between noon and 9 pm. To minimize the noise, the SkyTrain project team is using various techniques to manage it, including vibrating portions of the guideway columns into the ground. A project of this size will, of course, have impacts during construction.

Pile driving work is expected to conclude in mid-2027.

Project Black Feather - Helping Youth Exit Unhealthy Influences and Habits

Over the last little while, I've been posting about Project Black Feather. This program received its initial funding from the federal government through its Building Safer Communities Fund in partnership with Langley City and Township. The program is for students in the Langley School District who are at a high risk of becoming vulnerable to unhealthy influences and habits. Such influence could include gangs, and habits could include problematic substance use. Langley City Council previously received a presentation on the number of students helped and the positive outcomes. Last week, Council heard more, including about an outcomes report based on eight program participants who were followed for about a year.

The key outcomes for reducing vulnerability for young people in the program include:

• Crisis prevention through surge capacity: The program provided the right support when needed. Knowing that sometimes little support is needed, and sometimes a lot of support is needed.
• Trust durability exceeds expectations: Young people stayed connected to the program, where traditional programs would fail.
• Capacity-building, not dependency: Young people acquired transferable skills and reliance as part of the program to remain sober and stay employed.
• Youth began learning to set healthy boundaries on their own: Young people left harmful peer connections.
• Family stabilization enabled youth stabilization: The program also worked through coaching and supporting young people’s caregivers.
• Workplace integration emerged as a high-leverage pathway: Young people who got connected at their workplaces developed positive connections.
• Youth moved from being service recipients to contributors: Several young people in the program became peer leaders and even volunteered to support other program members.
• Partner corroboration confirmed distinctive reach: Other organizations and government ministries noted that Project Black Feather was reaching young people that they would otherwise be unable to reach.

The program's success is based on how it works. Its foundation is to build trust with young people participating in the program, which means being reliable and there for a young person whenever. The report noted that bringing a sandwich to a young person helped them become fully engaged in the program. The program is also wrap-around, and if the young person needs to connect with another service provider, the Project Blackfeather team would make the arrangements, including transport, and be with the young person during appointments if required. The program also directly engaged the young person’s caregivers.

It was really encouraging to hear about the good work of Project Black Feather and how it is having a positive impact on young people in Langley.

April 13 Council Notes: Mobile Integrated Crisis Response, Slow Streets Program, and Long-Term Care

In 2015, Langley City Council adopted the “Community Crime Prevention Strategic Plan.” One of the action items in that plan was to call on the province to expand the Car 67 program to our community. This program is now called the Mobile Integrated Crisis Response program. This program pairs a police officer and a health care professional who respond to calls when people are in mental health distress. The goal of this program is to reduce repeated police calls for service for the same person and instead provide people with an appropriate, continuous health-based response.

A recommendation from Langley City’s Citizens’ Assembly called for continued provincial advocacy as well as for piloting a Mobile Integrated Crisis Response program in Langley. The City will continue to advocate for provincial funding. On Monday, Council passed a motion to include, in the 2027 budget consideration process, a one-year pilot program for a Mobile Integrated Crisis Response team, with an effectiveness evaluation report of the pilot. Based on the pilot's outcome, it could support a business case for the province to provide ongoing funding for this program, as they do in other communities.

Council also recently endorsed Transportation 2050, Langley City’s Transportation Plan. One of the priority planning actions in the report was to develop a Slow Streets Program for neighbourhood streets. A Slow Streets program, among other things, includes lowering the speed limit to 30 km/h on local side streets. As such, Council passed a motion to include developing a Slow Streets Program in the 2027 budget consideration process.

I hear from many residents about their concerns with the health system. While the health care system, including hospitals, is a provincial responsibility, Council has advocated on behalf of residents on matters we regularly hear about, even if it is outside our authority to take direct action. Back in 2024, the province announced a commitment to fund 300 new long‑term care beds at Langley Memorial Hospital. The provincial government has recently reduced its capital projects funding in the near term, so Council passed a motion asking me to write a letter to the province to inquire into the status of the announced long-term care beds at Langley Memorial Hospital.

April 13 Council Notes: Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, Day of Mourning, Regional Land Use Changes

Langley City staff are always looking for grants to help reduce the cost of providing services to our community. On April 13, Council approved applying for $69,800 through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund. If we are succesful in the grant process, the grants will be used to connect our Emergency Operations Centre to the Alertable notification system to ensure the timely delivery of emergency messages, including appropriate processes for using the notification system. The grants will also be used to provide training to staff, purchase communication equipment, and purchase beds for the Emergency Operations Centre.

Council received a presentation from the New Westminster and District Labour Council on the upcoming Day of Mourning on April 28, 2026. It is an annual day of remembrance for workers killed and injured on the job, and serves as a call to action to improve workplace safety, as one person killed or injured due to their work is one too many. Recently, there has been a focus on mental health with bullying, harassment, and workplace stress as a focus area to improve workplace safety. If you are an employer, you can encourage your staff to observe a one-minute silence at 11:00 a.m. on April 28th. Langley City will be observing this moment of silence.

I previously posted about Maple Ridge’s proposal to change regional land-use for its North 256 Street Industrial Land and Surrey's proposal to change regional land-use for the Hazelmere Golf Course. As part of any proposal for regional land use change, the Regional District seeks feedback from all member jurisdictions. Council directed staff to provide a response to these two proposed regional land-use changes.

Council appointed Lana Kirkwood as the member representing the Indigenous community and Liam McCarney as a youth representative for Council’s Arts, Recreation, Culture & Heritage Committee. You can learn more about Council committees and how you can take part on the City’s website.

April 13 Council Notes: Affordable Housing Fund, Securing Vacant Properties, Development Process

Last month, I posted that Langley City Council is looking at updating its Community Standards Bylaw. The short version is that the new proposed updated bylaw will have stronger requirements for fencing and securing vacant buildings and properties. It will also allow the City to take remedial actions if a property owner fails to comply with the bylaw (at the property owner's cost). Council provided some feedback about the proposed bylaw last month. As a result, City staff added buildings that “may be in a derelict state or state of disuse” to the vacant building definition in the bylaw and provided more examples of acceptable secure fencing. Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw.

Examples of Secure Fencing

Council gave final reading to adopt an updated bylaw that enables certain development applications to be processed by Langley City staff without going through a Council approval process. This process only applies to resident projects with 6 or fewer units, small commercial projects, and minor development variance applications. Council also gave final reading to update its Fees and Charges Bylaw as a result.

Council is in the process of creating an affordable housing fund, which is needed as the City now requires all new residential projects within an 800-metre radius of the Willowbrook and Langley City Centre SkyTrain stations to have at least 2.5% of the units available for rent for at least 20% below Langley City market rates for the life of the building. As previously posted, two things are required to enable the fund: a bylaw and a Council policy. Last night Council gave first, second, and third reading to the bylaw. The bylaw includes language to ensure that the fund will be used only to create non-profit or government-owned below-market, non-market, subsidized, and special-needs housing units. If the bylaw receives final reading and is adopted, Council would then consider adopting the enabling policy.

Spring Extra Yard Waste Collection in Langley City

If you receive organics collection service from the City, between April 13 and May 22, 2026, you can put out an unlimited number of paper yard waste bags to help with spring yard and garden maintenance. These paper yard waste bags can only contain yard waste and must be placed by your organics bin on your regular collection day.

You will know if you have a City-provided organic collection if your bin looks like the one in this post. This is a pilot program to help the City understand how many households put out extra bags, how many extra yard waste bags each household puts out, and when the peak yard waste collection times are. This will help the City plan for future fall and spring peak yard waste periods with the recent induction of the collection system.

For more information about the pilot, please read the City’s news release. For general information about organics collection, please visit the City’s website.

Reducing Odorous Air Contaminants in Metro Vancouver

Many people don’t know that the Metro Vancouver Regional District is responsible for regulating air quality in our region.

The Regional District is in the process of updating its air quality fee bylaw, which sets fees based on the amount of regulated air contaminants released. The goal of the bylaw is to use these fees to encourage facility owners to reduce the contaminants they release into the air.

Not surprisingly, the top air quality complaint the regional district receives is about odours. The following graph shows the number of complaints received since 2011.

Number of air quality complaints by complaint type from 2011 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

The jurisdictions with the most complaints are consistently Vancouver, Burnaby, Delta, Richmond, Surrey, and the Township of Langley. Interestingly, complaints from Vancouver have been steadily increasing, while those from other jurisdictions have been fairly consistent.

Number of air quality complaints received each year by jurisdiction from 2021 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

Given the number of complaints around odours, the proposed updated bylaw includes a list of odorous air contaminants and associated fees with the aim of reducing the release of these substances.

If you are interested in learning more about air quality and proposed changes to its regulation in our region, please check out the Metro Vancouver website.

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue 2025 Annual Report

Langley City was part of the now-defunct Central Fraser Valley Regional District, along with the Township of Langley and what is now Abbotsford. There are a few vestiges of this past, including the fact that Langley City has received services from the Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society since 1978.

Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society Vehicles. Source: Facebook

The Society covers Langley City, Township, and Abbotsford, and its recently released annual report noted that its volunteers responded to 38 incidents in 2025, with about 2 in Langley City. When you think of search and rescue, you likely picture wilderness areas or natural disasters, and while the Society's largest response was to the Sumas Prairie flooding in December 2025, they also search for people who go missing in urban settings like Langley City.

The Society is 100% volunteer run with about 31 active members on average. Its 2025 total expenses were $134,904, funded through all three municipalities, among other sources.

The two capital projects in 2025 were for a new water rescue boat and savings for a new command vehicle.

Beyond search and rescue operations, the Society also does public outreach, including at community events and through its wilderness survival education for young people.

For more information about Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue Society, please visit their website.

Improving Accessibility on Langley City Sidewalks and Streets

While Langley City is currently developing an Accessibility Plan, the City has been working for some time to address physical barriers to access on our sidewalks and streets.

For as long as I’ve lived here, the City has also been slowly making all bus stops accessible. An accessible bus stop has sufficient width and depth to allow someone in a wheelchair to board and exit a bus. Currently, 98% of bus stops in the City are wheelchair accessible, one of the highest rates in Metro Vancouver; the City is looking into making the remaining stops accessible.

In most communities, you’ll see curb letdowns at intersections, which allow people with wheelchairs and other mobility devices the ability to cross a street. While curb letdowns are important, at an intersection with traffic lights or a flashing crosswalk, people also need to be able to push the crossing button. The City has also been working to make sure these buttons are accessible. The following is a recent change at Michaud Crescent and 200th Street to make the crossing button accessible.

I remember going on a day trip years ago with a friend of mine who uses a wheelchair. As I walked with him, it heightened my awareness of the small things that can create big barriers to people accessing our community independently.

Langley City’s new Transportation 2050 plan continues to address improving accessibility in our community, including bringing all curb letdowns to modern standards, getting the last 2% of bus stops accessible, completing the sidewalk network, ensuring more accessible parking on-street and in private development, and making other small but important changes, such as for accessing crossing buttons.

Wrangling Solid Waste in Metro Vancouver

While a combination of public and private service providers in our region collect garbage, recycling, organics and other solid waste, it is the Metro Vancouver Regional District that manages the overall solid waste system. The Regional District is in the process of updating its Solid Waste Management Plan, which, if adopted, will impact Langley City.

I’ve posted about the overall goals of this proposed updated plan last summer: rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. In short, it means thinking about how we design products and packaging to prevent waste in the first place and do everything we can to prevent waste from being burned at an incinerator or buried in a landfill.

To that end, the Regional District is proposing new waste-reduction targets for the next decade.

The plan’s target is to:

• Reduce per capita waste generation by 10% from 1.22 tonnes to 1.1 tonnes
• Reduce disposal per capita by 30% from 430kg to 300kg (burned or buried)
• Increase the recycling rate from 65% to 70% (material recycled into new products, including compost)
• Increase the diversion rate from 65% to 75% (includes all material recycled, plus any material used to create alternatives to fossil fuels)

Recycling and diversion rates have always been lower in our region for attached housing (townhouses and apartments) than detached housing, so one of the focus areas is to boost these rates. There is also significant waste generated during the demolition and construction of buildings, so another focus area is preventing the disposal of valuable building materials.

Our region has a strong track record of reducing waste. I’m optimistic that we will now be able to address reducing waste generation and further reducing disposal under this proposed new plan, if it is adopted.