Each New Resident Requires $80,039 in New Public Infrastructure in Metro Vancouver

When building a new home, there are costs for construction, including land, materials, and labour. There is also the cost of providing public infrastructure to the home and the people who live in it. The Metro Vancouver Regional District recently commissioned a study to determine the amount of provincial and local infrastructure required per household and per capita to support population growth in our region.

The per capita cost is $80,039. The per-household cost varies by density. For lower-density housing, such as detached homes, the new infrastructure cost is $272,568 per unit. For medium-density housing such as townhomes, the new infrastructure cost is $242,339 per unit. And for higher-density housing such as apartments, the new infrastructure cost is $152,535 per unit.

Local governments in our region are responsible for about 60% of the infrastructure required for new homes, with the remian 40% delivered by the provincial government.

In Langley City, we charge fees for each new housing unit to help cover some of these infrastructure costs. The total local government fees and contributions for a new apartment are around $50,000 per unit. For a detached home, it is around $80,000 per unit. The costs are nowhere near the cost of providing the infrastructure.

Table of infrastructure considered in the study. Select the table to enlarge.

A simple suggestion might be to increase the fees for building new homes. For example, to reach a break-even point, the City and region would have to charge an additional $40,000 in fees per new apartment unit, raising the fee from $50,000 to $90,000 per unit. Of course, this would affect housing affordability.

Local governments do rely on property taxes and user fees as well. We also have aging infrastructure in all municipalities. Generally, property taxes and user fees are used to fund the renewal of existing infrastructure and to support ongoing municipal operations, such as police officers, firefighters, and people who maintain our parks.

Another suggestion might be to increase property taxes and user fees to pay for new infrastructure. This would also have affordability implications.

While property taxes, user fees, and municipal fees charged for each new housing unit will need to increase, the federal government has a role to play. They really do need to step up and increase federal funding for the infrastructure required to support population growth.

There are some limitations to the data, including regional variations in costs. For more information, please read the Regional Planning Committee Regular July 2, 2026 agenda starting on page 168.

Langley City’s 2025 Annual Report Out

Local governments deliver services every day that people rely on, from running water and sewer services to parks and streets. When an emergency occurs, local police and fire services are on hand. I created an infographic many years ago that shows the various public services and the level of government that delivers them.

The City completed the Fraser Highway Oneway Renewal Project last year.

One of the things I’ve always found interesting is that voter turnout and overall levels of political engagement are lower for local government than for provincial or federal governments, considering the significant impact local government has on people’s day-to-day lives. Though with some exceptions, local government work tends to be “boring”. Approving the upgrade of a 450mm sewer pipe to 900mm, while critical, isn’t headline news.

Local governments do reflect the communities they serve. For example, some communities might focus more on recreation services while others focus on parks and trails. Some communities have libraries open 7 days a week; others do not. Some communities may focus on creating a walkable community, while others focus on industrial development.

In BC, all municipalities are required to produce an annual report. This report outlines what a municipality accomplished in the reporting year and its priorities for the upcoming year. In Langley City, our report reviews these by department. It can be an easy way to learn about your municipal government.

For example, last year the City completed a comprehensive inventory of all trees in our community and adopted a new tree protection bylaw; this year, the City is planning to replace its Operations Centre.

The annual report also included information on permissive tax exemptions granted, community grants awarded, and the annual financial statements.

If you get a chance, please flip through Langley City’s 2025 Annual Report, especially the “Department Overviews” section.

June 29 Council Notes: Proposed Increase to RCMP Officers. Pleasantdale Creek. Other Housekeeping Matters

Langley City Council addressed several matters at its June 29th meeting. I posted about some of the items over the last week, and wanted to follow up with the remaining items.

Because the federal budgeting cycle for the RCMP differs from the local government budget cycle, we need to signal to the federal government the maximum number of RCMP members (officers) we are considering hiring per year. The federal government pays 10% of RCMP member costs. In discussions with the Officer in Charge of the Langley RCMP Detachment, City staff recommended that Council consider hiring two new members in 2027. As such, Council approved a letter to the federal government known as an “approval in principle”. Council will have the option to approve or deny funding for these two new positions as part of the 2027 budget process, which will start this fall.

If Council moves forward with two new members, contracted policing costs would rise from $16.5 million this year to $16.8 million in 2027 for our City.

Council also adopted changes to the Election and Assent Voting Procedure and City of Langley Sign Bylaw in preparation for this fall’s local government election. You can read more about this in a previous post.

Council approved the City’s Manager of Communications and Public Engagement attending the Municipal Communications Conference in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from November 30th to December 2nd.

Finally, Council received a presentation from the Nicomekl Enhancement Society about proposed enhancements they would like to see to improve salmon habitat in Pleasantdale Creek. This comprehensive presentation was forwarded to Council’s Environmental Sustainability Committee for consideration.

Upgrading Storm Sewer Near Linwood Park

Storm sewers are what route runoff from buildings, streets, and parks into watercourses. Newer storm sewers will have passive systems that reduce suspended sediment and oils, though whatever goes into a storm drain eventually ends up in a river.

The current storm sewer around Linwood Park is undersized for today’s storm events and needs upgrading. During some storm events, the current system cannot handle the flows.

The following map shows the proposed upgrade.

Map of Storm Sewer Improvement Project around Linwood Park. Select the map to enlarge.

Last Monday, Council approved issuing a tender to Blackline Site Works Ltd. for $789,329.13 for this project, and ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. for $49,768.00 to provide construction management services for the project. Council also approved an $85,000.00 contingency, as we are an old community, and even with the best planning, surprises can arise when replacing underground infrastructure.

This project is scheduled to start this summer and finish up in the fall. This project was approved in the 2025 Langley City budget.

The costs do not include GST.