Williams Neighbourhood Plan Update

Update: October 8, 2024

On October 7, 2024, Council removed all target contribution rates in the Community Amenity Contribution Policy No. 07-166 specific to the Williams Neighbourhood Plan area. In addition, Council passed the following resolutions:

that Council direct staff to conduct additional, sufficient public and property owner consultation on potential community amenity contributions for the Williams Neighbourhood Plan;
that staff subsequently report to Council with draft policy amendments to Community Amenity Contributions Policy 07-166 for the Williams Neighbourhood Plan for its consideration; and
that Council hereby further defers consideration of Final Adoption of the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Bylaw No. 5799 until such time as an updated Community Amenity Contributions Policy 07-166 for the Williams Neighbourhood Plan is to be considered by Council.

Update: September 10, 2024

On September 9, 2024, Council gave third reading to a revised version of the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Bylaw No. 5799, with the following amendments:

the first sentence, second paragraph under ”Section 6.3 Schools” is replaced with: “The Langley School District has developed a Long-Term Facilities Plan which covers a 10-year planning horizon and is reviewed annually and a full update approximately every 5 years to align with municipal community and neighbourhood reviews.”

Policy 3 for Medium Density Apartment and High Density Apartment is amended to read: “Design, orient and site buildings to improve and provide for passive and active solar building design, including the application of solar (photovoltaic) panels, if applicable. If used, the ridge of pitched roofs should orient east-west to position the largest portion of the roof directly south to maximize all-season solar sequestration.”

Policy 3 be added to Civic Institutional Policies to read: “Provide a municipal operations centre at a size of approximately 8 to 15 acres (3.24 to 6 hectares)”.

Policy 3 in Section 11.2.1 is deleted, existing Section 11.2.3 is renumbered to 11.2.2, and a new Section 11.2.2 is added titled “11.2.2 Civic Institutional Uses in Employment District” to read: “Prior to Council’s consideration of third reading of a Zoning Bylaw amendment in the Employment District in this Plan, secure lands for Civic Institutional as outlined in Section 5.8, prior to rezoning of lands that have not received third reading.”

Update: July 16, 2024

On July 15, 2024, Council held a Public Hearing on the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Bylaw No. 5799.

Update: June 26, 2024

On June 10, 2024, Council gave second reading to a revised version of the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Bylaw No. 5799. Council also directed staff to:

conduct a public open house
schedule the required public hearing
update the Williams Engineering Services Plan

Some recent changes to the Williams Neighbourhood Plan include:

a revised road network and land use designations, primarily between 78 and 80 Avenue
reduced density adjacent to the ALR boundary (216 Street)
alignment of the Single Family Mixed Residential land use designation with provincial legislation for small-scale, multi-unit housing

Updated Williams Neighbourhood Plan – July 3, 2024

Report to Mayor and Council – June 10, 2024

Join us at an Open House on June 27, 2024 to learn more about the revised Williams Neighbourhood Plan and to provide your feedback.

Update: February 21, 2024

On January 15, 2024, Council reconsidered third and final reading of the Williams Neighbourhood Plan. As a result, the Williams Neighbourhood Plan is at second reading.

Staff will be conducting additional analysis to address matters related to:

recently enacted provincial legislation for single-detached housing
school park sites
circulation
passive park spaces
the regionally designated Mixed Employment area
Community Amenity Contributions
Development Permit Areas

Update: December 6, 2023

Thank you to all who attended the Public Hearing for the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Update on December 4, 2023. Council gave the updated Williams Neighbourhood Plan third and final readings following the speaking period at the Public Hearing. See the updated plan under the Links heading below.

Williams Neighbourhood Plan Update On November 14, 2022, Council directed staff to amend the Williams Neighbourhood Plan by incorporating mixed-use development and providing more residential density and urban park areas. On July 24, 2023, Council gave first and second reading to Bylaw No. 5799 and directed staff to schedule the required Public Hearing.

Following the Public Hearing on October 23, 2023, Council directed staff to further update the Williams Neighbourhood Plan by:

amending apartment, townhouse, and single-family land use designation locations
amending mixed-use land use designations to include office space as a permitted optional use, instead of a required use
amending grocery store phasing policies to permit the grocery store required in the mixed-use urban area to be provided in any development phase
adding a new Civic Institutional land use designation
including policy language to support the development of non-market housing
re-designating some land from Apartment to Townhouse
increasing the width of the agricultural edge buffer on the urban side

On November 20, 2023, Council rescinded second reading of Bylaw 5799, provided on July 24, 2023. Council then gave second reading to a version of Bylaw 5799 that incorporates direction from October 23, 2023 (outlined above) and directed staff to schedule the required Public Hearing.

Council passed the following amendments to the Williams Neighbourhood Plan at the Public Hearing on December 4, 2023 before giving it third and final reading:

Reduce the required proportion of 3-bedroom apartments in relevant land use designations from twenty percent (20%) to ten percent (10%) per development.
Remove requirement for rear entrance doors separate from vehicular parking and access points for townhouse units.

Updates to the Williams Neighbourhood Plan Structure

Commercial to mixed-use

The 2018 Williams NP had a commercial area at the corner of 216 Street and 80 Avenue. The update integrates commercial uses into a pedestrian-oriented mixed use (commercial and residential) area south of 80 Avenue. Complete with an urban park and policies focused on creating a high-quality urban realm, the mixed-use area will be a vibrant node in the heart of the neighbourhood.

Diversity of housing options

The 2018 Williams NP included a variety of ground-oriented housing forms. The update adds more variety by including apartments within residential and mixed-use buildings. These additional housing forms can facilitate the following outcomes:

A greater diversity of residents.
Housing options at lower price points.
A higher likelihood of purpose-built rental housing.
More housing options (apartments) for students attending the nearby University.
Increased density can support a greater variety of businesses.

Variety of park spaces

The update to the Williams NP adds two urban parks: one integrated into the mixed-use area and another integrated into the townhouse residential area. Plan policies ensure that these parks will include contemporary design features and a variety of programming options to create destinations people want to gather. These urban parks are in addition to the Williams View Park and a neighbourhood park.

Pedestrian neighbourhood orientation

The update requires lots in the Single-Family Mixed Residential designation to be rear-loaded, meaning parking areas are accessed from a rear lane. This results in a pedestrian-oriented environment because there are no driveways to cross, and pedestrians look at house fronts with windows rather than blank garage doors.

More information

For more information, please contact:

Community Development Division
Email: wnp@tol.ca
Phone: 604-533-6043