Exclusive: Township’s secret meeting with Agricultural Land Commission to redraw the ALR in Langley

Township of Langley proposed redrawing of the ALR would see around 200 acres of landed added to the reserve if approved by the Agricultural Land Commission. Select map to enlarge.

It is no secret that the Township of Langley has been looking at ways to get certain parcels of land out of the Agricultural Land Reserve for some time.

Going back to when the Agricultural Land Reserve was founded, there are two sections of the Township where land pretty much gets auto-excluded from the ALR: Gloucester Industrial Estates and Salmon River/Upland. The Salmon River/Upland area contained many small lots before the ALR came into effect. It was noted early on by the Agricultural Land Commission that even though the area was within the ALR, the size of the lots were too small for most farm uses.

Beside these two areas, the Township has been looking to remove about 480 acres of land from the ALR around Aldergrove since the mid-1990s. The Township believes that this removal of land from the ALR is required for the long-term viability of the community.

Recently the Township has moved forward with its proposed University District. The University District is similar in size to Fort Langley. While the Township may have won its court case with Metro Vancouver to allow the District, the majority of the land for the District is still within the ALR. As I posted in 2012, the ALC did not support removing this land from the ALR.

Earlier this year, I got wind that Township Council and Staff had a meeting with the Agricultural Land Commission to talk about redrawing the lines of the ALR. I submitted a Freedom of Information request about this meeting. I received the meeting minutes from that meeting and a presentation that the Township delivered. I have posted this to the Document Archive of this blog. I suggest that you check out the presentation.

In the presentation, the Township outlines the history of the ALR within Langley. It also outlines significant plans and exclusion applications within the ALR.

The really interesting slides show what the Township would like to see for the ALR in that community.

The Township of Langley proposed to remove land near Trinity Western University to support the University District. It also proposed to remove land in the Brookswood/Fernridge area to support development in that community.

The Township also proposed to remove the parcel of land that would be automatically excluded anyway in Salmon River/Uplands and in Gloucester. Finally, the Township proposed to remove land from the ALR around Aldergrove.

In exchange the Township would put other parcels of land within the ALR. The Township’s plan would actually see a net increase of 200 acres into the ALR. The Township of Langley would also create a new zone for all land within the ALR and require a minimum lot size of 8 hectares.

The presentation and meeting minutes contain more information.

TransLink Compass Card Tapping Out

This week, TransLink updated the region on the status of the Compass Card smartcard program. The first major piece of news was that TransLink will start rolling out the card to post-secondary students this winter. The roll-out is projected to complete by next summer.

The second piece of news is that TransLink may be suspending the requirement to tap-out of buses at system launch time. This means that the system won’t be able to automatically determine how many zones a riders goes through. TransLink is still planning to require people to tap-in/out when on the SkyTrain.

The root cause of the delay in fully launching the Compass Card system, and the reason that TransLink may be temporarily suspending the need to tap-out, seems to stem from the slow response time of the smartcard readers installed on their buses. The readers can take up to 3 seconds to read a smartcard. Because of this delay, many of the current Compass Card users aren’t waiting long enough for the system to recognize a tap-out event. This means that some people could be charge for three zones, even if they only travel in one zone.

Are the current bus smartcard readers even able to handle the sub-second transition time required for a tap-in/out system to function? It would certainly be bad news if TransLink had to replace all the readers on their buses. The SkyTrain readers are currently able to handle sub-second transition times.

Some have called into question the overall value of the Compass Card system. I believe that the Compass Card will be a valuable tool for TransLink and will make using transit easier in the long-term; it has on other transit systems that have deployed smartcard systems. Unfortunately, it seems that every transit system that has deployed a smartcard system has had major start-up pains.

As TransLink is now planning to launch the Compass Card system with no tap-out feature, many people are concerned about how the Compass Card could work in our current zone-based fare system.

Seattle has the Orca Card for their transit systems. While their light rail system is tap-in/out, on King County Transit buses you simply tell the driver how many zones you are traveling. He pushes a button, then you tap your card. If you register your card online, you can also automatically select how many zone you normally travel. Fare inspectors check the Orca Card to make sure that you’ve paid for the right zones.

Our current zone-based fare system could work with a tap-in only Compass Card. Of course, tap-in/out functionality would simplify the use of our transit system.

Langley Times City Candidate Questions

As I am running for Langley City Council, the Langley Times sent a list of questions for me to answer. I’ve shared my answers to their questions in this post.

1- What is the most important issue facing the City, and how would you propose to deal with it?
The most important issue facing the City of Langley is revitalizing the community. I will work to revitalize and renew our streets; keeping them in a state of good repair. I will support investing in our sidewalks, ensuring they are safe and meet modern standards. I will work to make cycling safer for people who live in our community. Being heavily involved in promoting better transit for the region, on council I will tirelessly advocate for our community to receive its fair share of transit service. As a long-serving member of the City of Langley’s Parks and Environment Advisory Committee, I will continue to work to make our parks more inviting spaces.

In Downtown Langley, I will support improving the quality of the public realm. This means improving lighting, sidewalks, and the street. Simple things like installing more benches will make Downtown more accessible.

I will work to change sections of our zoning bylaws which make it expensive to redevelop in Downtown Langley. Our current zoning is limiting the economic potential and walkability of Downtown Langley.

I believe in the power of partnerships. I will work with the Downtown Langley Business Association, supporting cost-sharing initiatives that will help grow small business, which in turn will create a vibrant community and support a strong local economy.

The City has spent 4 to 10 million dollars annually in recent memory on overpasses and bridges. With these projects complete, I will work to shift this funding to help revitalize our community.

2- What is the best way to deal with the crime issues in the City?

Policing is the single largest expense for the City. In 2013, the City collected $21.8 million in property tax and spent $10.1 million on policing. Langley City has the highest ratio of police to residents in Metro Vancouver. Throwing more money at policing is not the solution and will only raise people’s tax bills.

Addressing the root cause of crime is key. Social programs are the responsibility of the provincial government. That being said, I believe in partnerships. I will work with the province and local non-profits to ensure that as a community we are addressing these complex issues.

Revitalizing our community is a key way to address crime. My plan to revitalize Downtown Langley and the surrounding areas will create safe and inviting spaces during the day and during the evening attracting more people to shop and enjoy Downtown Langley; crime likes to be hidden. More people choosing to shop and explore downtown Langley will improve safety in the area.

Growing a strong local economy creates opportunity in the community, as well. Giving people opportunities to succeed is what will help reduce crime.

3- Should the city apply most if not all of its annual take from the casino to upgrading its aging infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines?
There are various projects that the City must invest in. Dedicating most of the casino revenue to replacing aging water and sewer infrastructure will mean that little money will be available to improve our parks, streets, and Downtown.

Revitalizing Downtown Langley is key; developers pay money to the City whenever a new project is built. The City can do more to leverage current and future money received from developers to support replacing aging water and sewer infrastructure. I will work to make sure that developer dollars go further to keep our underground infrastructure in a state of good repair.

4- Do you support term limits for members of council?
Only the province can impose term limits on council; this would require a change to provincial law. As the province just completed a review of local government in BC, I don’t see term limits happening any time soon for councillors in BC.

Status of the Agricultural Land Reserve in Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver occasionally issues “Metro Facts in Focus/Policy Backgrounder” about important topics that impact the livability of our region.

At a recent Metro Vancouver Regional Planning and Agricultural Committee meeting, Metro Vancouver released a backgrounder called “Farming in Metro Vancouver.” The background starts on page 189 of the committee meeting agenda.

The backgrounder starts with some general information and an overview of farming in the region.

Besides forage and pasture land, Metro Vancouver is a large producer of blueberries, cranberries, and potatoes.

Cultivated Field Crops in Metro Vancouver, 2011. Select image to enlarge.

Metro Vancouver is also home to more chickens and turkeys than people!

Livestock type and numbers in Metro Vancouver. Select table to enlarge.

What I found most interesting was the amount of land in Metro Vancouver, within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), that is actively farmed. Richmond, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Delta, and the Township of Langley all have more than 1,000 hectares of land within the ALR. The Township of Langley contains over 1/3rd of the region’s agricultural land. Looking at the following map, you can see that a good amount of ALR land within Langley is not actively farmed. In Delta, 76% of ALR land is farmed while in Richmond 59% of ALR land is farmed. 56% of ALR land is Surrey is farmed while only 44% of ALR land is the Township of Langley is farmed.

Farming status of parcels within the Metro Vancouver Agricultural Land Reserve. Select map to enlarge.

The backgrounder noted that there are five key issues that need to be addressed to protect the long-term viability of farming in Metro Vancouver.

The first major issue that needs to be addressed is farmland speculation. Some people purchase farmland in the region under the hope that it will eventually be allowed to be developed with non-farm uses. This drivers up the cost of farmland, limiting access to actual farming.

The second major issue is getting farmers access to the capital needed to purchase farm equipment and improve the productivity of land.

The third major issues that needs to be address is the marketing of local food. In Metro Vancouver, this means finding better ways to make more local food available in grocery stores. It also means integrating locally produced food into Vancouver’s food culture.

Farmland in Metro Vancouver provides ecological services in the region; providing habitat for wildlife, managing flooding, and regulating the climate as a few example. Metro Vancouver, the province, and local governments need to ensure that farmland can still provide these important services to the region.

Finally with our climate changing, policies and strategies need to be adopted to allow farming to continue, even as our climate shifts.