Langley Township council looks at repealing neighbourhood development plans

Civic politicians in the Township of Langley are moving ahead with a proposal to repeal some neighbourhood development plans due to new provincial government legislation that looks to increase housing stock across B.C.

Coun. Michael Pratt says the provincial legislation that affects municipal bylaws should not be imposed in a “one-size-fits-all manner” by Victoria.

He adds that putting future development plans on hold makes the most sense for the township.

“The policies that they’re bringing in place, which in my opinion, are designed to target cities like Vancouver … Richmond and Burnaby, which maybe haven’t been delivering the housing that they should in close proximity to rapid transit, should be [NOT] applied in the same fashion in a brand new subdivision in an area with no transit access,” Pratt said.

The legislation will force municipalities to increase the number of homes that can be developed but Pratt says it doesn’t take into account issues around water, sewer, roads, and other infrastructure, nor does it look at access to transit.

“As somebody who values the planning process and somebody who also can’t afford a house I am torn a little bit,” he said. “The reality is that I think it would be a disservice to the people who anticipated a certain type of Brookswood were being built, that all of a sudden we say all that decade-long work is for not because it’s completely up in the air.”

Mayor Eric Woodward said that this bill is “bad for Langley.”

“It’s not complicated. It’s not going to produce any housing here that’s not already getting created — in fact, it’s going to delay and, potentially, create less housing than we’d create if we were just left alone,” he said.

Woodward says the Township of Langley’s plans to increase housing cater to things like infrastructure and proximity to transit — some rural areas have little to none.

The council is asking the provincial government for clarity and, if it doesn’t get it, politicians say they’ll repeal the neighbourhood development plans.

-With files from Liza Yuzda and Hana Mae Nassar