Maple Ridge Seeks Regional Approval for Yennadon Industrial Lands

In 2003, the Agricultural Land Commission allowed the removal of 18 hectares of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in the Yennadon area of Maple Ridge, shown roughly on the following map.

The area of property Yennadon Industrial Lands is highlighted in red. Select the map to enlarge.

The Commission at the time noted that this removal of land would impact the remaining land within the ALR south of 128th Street and west of 232nd Street. The Commission would automatically remove the remaining lands from the ALR at the property owners' request. Owners requested land removed in 2004, 2018, and 2023.

Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy designated most of the land in the area as general urban (which permits any use) except for 2 hectares, regionally designated as agricultural land. The regional agricultural land-use designation tracks with the provincial ALR, so with this land now removed, it would need to be redesignated as a different land use.

Map of current regional land use designations. Select the map to enlarge.

Maple Ridge is now applying to the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board to redesign 18 hectares with the regional designation of Industrial and 7.4 hectares as Conservation and Recreation. Industrial land is in short supply. This proposed land use change would increase regionally protected industrial land, not by removing rural lands. It would also increase regionally protected "green space" by 5.4 hectares.

Map of proposed regional land use designations. Select the map to enlarge.

Metro Vancouver staff did note that Maple Ridge could further protect this proposed green space by adding conservation covenants or parkland dedication to the 7.4 hectares.

These lands are currently served by two bus routes, which provide service every 30 minutes or so. We see a strong demand for transit services throughout the region to industrial areas, so I expect no difference from this proposal.

In Metro Vancouver, too often, we take rural land and convert it to industrial uses. So, I am happy to see a proposal that takes land already serviced by transit and 92% already within the Urban Growth boundary and designates it for industrial use while increasing green space.

The Metro Vancouver Regional Planning Committee will review this proposal, and the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board must approve it.

Currently, these lands are not connected to the Metro Vancouver sewer system, so Maple Ridge must make a separate request to extend sewer services.

Cheat Sheet for Getting Your Langley City Service Questions, Concerns, and Bylaw Matters Addressed

Regularly, people contact me about potential bylaw violations, water, sewer, garbage questions, concerns about camping in public spaces, development and building permits, and requests for the City, such as fixing a pothole. I'm happy to connect people to folks who can help them, though I wanted to share how you can directly contact folks who can help you. Going direct is quicker than going through the Mayor's Office.

For most City requests, you can use the City's Request for Service online tool at https://rfs.langleycity.ca/, including for bylaw violations such as improper parking. You can also call City Hall at 604-514-2800.

If you have an urgent bylaw matter that needs to be addressed on a Sunday or between 4:30 pm and 8:30 am, please call the RCMP non-emergency line at 604-532-3200. An example could be building construction work occurring on a Sunday or parking blocking a fire lane.

If you have a concern with a dog or livestock animal running at large, a dog that has bitten another animal or human, or a barking dog, you can contact Animal Control at 604-857-5055 from 9:00 am – 5:30 pm. Please call the RCMP non-emergency line after-hours or on holidays at 604-532-3200 if the matter is urgent.

If you live in a detached (single-family) house and have concerns or questions about garbage or organics collection, please get in touch with our contractor, Emterra Environmental, at 604-635-0999 or email col@emterra.ca.

If you live in a detached house and have a concern or question with recycling, please call Recycle BC's contractor, GFL Environmental, at 778-765-3662 or srrecycle@gflenv.com.

One of Langley City's core commitments is to provide Full Circle Customer Service. This commitment means that all Langley City staff or contractors will:

• Treated you with courtesy and respect
• Get back to you in a timely matter and follow up with you
• Give you the most current and complete information available at the time
• Be accountable for their actions

If you don't feel like you've received Full Circle Customer Service, please get in touch with me at npachal@langleycity.ca or call City Hall at 604-514-2800 and ask to speak with the Mayor's Office.

Tree Protection and Urban Forest Growth in Langley City

A few weeks ago, I updated the background image on my social media profiles and this blog, showing an aerial picture I took of the powerline trail network, H.D. Stafford Middle School, and the Pleasantdale Creek Trail. This picture generated some feedback about what the City is or needs to do about tree protection in our community.

I know tree protection becomes top of mind in neighbourhoods when someone removes mature trees on their lot, especially when it is part of replacing an older detached house with a new detached house.

I know that some folks also believe that building housing and growing our urban forest are at odds with each other, but this doesn't have to be the case. We can grow our urban forest and increase the supply of housing.

Tree preservation is important, and expanding the urban tree canopy is even more critical due to the climate crisis. These reasons are why Langley City is working on creating a new Urban Forest Management Strategy.

This new strategy will cover all aspects of Langley City's urban forest, from our parks and natural areas to yard and street trees. It may surprise some, but Langley City also has land within the Agricultural Land Reserve, which has its own best practices for forest management. All this will be part of the new strategy, as shown in the image below.

Components of Langley City's Urban Forest. Select the image to enlarge.

In the summer, Langley City Council received a report card about our urban forest's current state and protection, which was only "fair." We know we need to make improvements. You can read more about this report card in a previous blog post.

In the coming months, the City will deliver a draft of the new strategy for the community to provide feedback. I will certainly be posting about it. This feedback will inform the final version of the strategy for Council to consider approving, hopefully, this year.

2024 in Langley City: What's Coming Down the Pipe

Happy New Year! I hope you were able to spend some time with those who are important to you over the holidays. While local government generally runs on a September through July cadence, I wanted to highlight some of the things Langley City Council and staff are working on in 2024.

First up this year will be the 2024 budget for Langley City. Council approved the 2024 water, sewer, and garbage collection utility rates in December. Starting in January, we will set the 2024 operating budget for other City departments and the capital projects budget. As a note, more than 50% of Langley City's operating budget goes towards community safety.

On the topic of community safety, over the last year, City staff have been laying the groundwork for getting a Citizens' Assembly on Community Safety off the ground. This year, the Citizens' Assembly will meet. It will make recommendations for City Council to implement to get to the root of community safety challenges to make people feel safer in Langley City.

Complementing the Citizens' Assembly, we will be continuing the work to create a holistic action plan that identifies the gaps in our social infrastructure in Langley City. This action plan is being created in collaboration with the non-profit sector that serves our community and the provincial government. One of the critical parts of this action plan is to drive accountability by measuring and reporting regularly on how the action plan is going, focusing on outcomes. Unlike other past plans, we will measure outcomes across City departments, non-profits, provincial ministries and agencies. These measurements will allow the City and non-profit sector to advocate where there are gaps and make changes as needed more quickly to deliver better outcomes for people in Langley City.

The City will be working on a beefed-up tenant relocation policy to ensure that if people are displaced due to the redevelopment of a purpose-built rental building, they will be compensated fairly and have the right to return at a discounted rental rate once the new building is completed. We will also be creating our own below-market affordable housing requirements for new development.

City Council will also continue our advocacy efforts to ensure that we get our fair share of water and sewer infrastructure funding from the federal government. We will also continue advocating for federal and provincial programs that get affordable housing built in Langley City.

SkyTrain construction will be starting this year. Langley City will be completing the creation of a new zoning bylaw this year. It will include the recent changes the provincial government announced to require at least four housing units on every lot in urban areas.

With population growth comes the need for more schools. While schools are the responsibility of the school board and provincial government, with SkyTrain coming soon and the new provincial housing changes, we will need to expand our Langley City school sooner rather than later. Families need schools. Without overstepping, Langley City Council may need to increase the visibility of this need (in partnership with the school board) to the provincial government.

2024 will be another busy year in Langley City!