TOL Redesigns Williams Neighbourhood Plan

By Mike Harrison

In November 2022, the Township of Langley’s new mayor and council elected to launch a comprehensive review and update to the Williams Neighbourhood Plan (NP) located on the east side of Willoughby in North Langley. The revised plan increased densities significantly, changed retail/commercial land use designations, revised park requirements and added new neighbourhood-specific community amenity contribution (CAC) fees. You can read more about it in our article from last year HERE. The revised NP received final adoption in December 2023, effectively at the same time the province announced its new housing legislation. As a result, in January 2024, mayor and council reconsidered the neighbourhood plan’s approval and launched yet another update.

This round of updates is less dramatic than last year’s and focuses on aligning the plan with provincial housing legislation but includes a handful of minor refinements to the previous plan. Below is a comparison of the new, proposed land use plan with the previously approved Williams plan.

Highlights of the changes include:

• A reduction in density of land on the eastern border of the plan adjacent to the ALR, south of 80th Avenue, from apartment to townhouse
• A removal of the institutional designation in the northeast
• A reduction in the size of the school/park site
• Refinements to the road network, primarily between 78 and 80 Avenue
• Adjustments to the single-family Mixed Residential land use designation to align it with the provincial legislation’s Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) requirements

The revised version of the Williams Neighbourhood Plan received second reading on June 10th followed by a public open house on June 27th to collect community feedback prior to the bylaw’s formal public hearing in front of mayor and council.

What is Next

Township of Langley staff will use the community feedback from the June 27th public open house to refine the plan into the final draft to be brought to formal public hearing and eventually consideration of 3rd Reading by mayor and council. The report to council indicates public hearing could occur as soon as July 15th.

Additionally, Township of Langley staff have been given direction to update the engineering services plan based on the revised neighbourhood plan.

CLICK HERE to read the complete report to council outlining the process and a detailed review of the changes to the plan.

CLICK HERE to find the proposed, updated Williams Neighbourhood Plan.

CLICK HERE for the Township of Langley’s webpage dedicated to the Williams NP planning process where you can sign up for updates.