Township council, March 9: the 2026-2030 budget gets three readings, slow streets and roundabouts, and a new utility due date

The five-year financial plan

Council gave first, second and third reading to the 2026–2030 Five-Year Financial Plan Bylaw and the Development Cost Charge Reserve Fund Expenditure Bylaw. It made a series of changes on the floor first:

• Fire Life Safety Educator: the new position starts September 1, 2026. A planned $75,000 cut to the transfer into the fire equipment replacement reserve was reversed.
• Holiday lights: $25,000 from Council Contingency for holiday lights at Williams Park (Councillors Kunst, Martens and Richter opposed).
• Event tents: $21,000 from the Mayor’s Contingency for marquee tents and side panels (Councillors Martens and Richter opposed).
• Traffic calming: $200,000 for 2026, including finishing 209A Street between 83 and 84 Avenue and the pedestrian crossing at 84 Avenue.
• Aldergrove washrooms: $425,000 from the sewer reserve to service new washrooms at the Aldergrove Athletic Park synthetic fields. The old pit latrine between the fields is to be removed.

The amended plan passed 5–4, with Councillors Kunst, Martens, Richter and Whitmarsh opposed. Final reading came on March 23.

A longer look at the Township’s finances

Councillor Whitmarsh’s motion, deferred from February, asked for a long-term fiscal responsibility plan. It would include debt reduction targets, a reserve replenishment schedule, revenue diversification and a contingency plan if development slows.

The mayor’s amendments rewrote most of it. Staff are now to report on the process and cost of doing longer-term projections. “Reserve replenishment schedule” became “target balances for applicable reserves,” and the contingency plan became the revenue impact if development slows or a future council decides to forgo amenity revenue. Staff are also to summarize the Community Amenity Contributions the Township didn’t collect before it started a program in 2018. The amended motion carried.

Supporters of the original wanted firm targets. The amended version asks what a long-term plan would involve before committing to one. For how development charges pay for growth, see our DCC and ACC explainer.

Council also gave third reading to the revised Amenity Cost Charges Bylaw, with Councillor Baillie opposed.

The transportation strategy goes out one more time

Council sent the draft Transportation and Mobility Strategy to its fourth and final round of public engagement, after a long list of amendments, mostly from Councillor Pratt. Among them:

• Slow streets: a slow streets pilot (Councillor Richter opposed).
• Roundabouts: look for places to add them, especially at collision-prone intersections (Councillors Martens and Whitmarsh opposed).
• Protected intersections: these become the design standard for new urban intersections where feasible.
• Leading pedestrian intervals: signals that give people walking a head start.
• Transit priority: work with TransLink on measures that speed up buses on the Frequent Transit Network.
• Cycle tracks: all references were removed from the study.

Your utility bill will be due earlier

A motion would have set the flat-rate utility due date at July 2 every year (amended to the second business day in July). Council instead referred it back for bylaw changes and set the due date at the end of April, starting in 2027. That carried with Councillors Kunst, Martens, Richter and Whitmarsh opposed. If you pay flat-rate utilities, plan for an April due date from 2027.

Project Black Feather

A School District 35 delegation asked for support for Project Black Feather, which works with students facing barriers to graduating. Council authorized the mayor to write to Public Safety Canada and provincial and federal ministries, supporting $200,000 a year in ongoing funding for the program. The City of Langley passed its own support motion two weeks later.

Also

• Tenant Relocation Policy: deferred to March 23.
• Small-scale multi-unit housing: a development permit area for SSMUH got first and second reading.
• Qualico, 74B and 76 Avenue: a development permit and variance permit for the project were approved.
• Telecommunications tower: council told the federal government it doesn’t object to a proposed 15-metre tower.
• Bee Friendly Community: the Langley Bee Club presented a certificate recognizing the Township.

More background: Township of Langley council · How development gets approved