Williams Neighbourhood Plan
Latest news
| October 2, 2018 |
| On Monday, October 1, Township of Langley Council adopted the Williams neighbourhood plan.
The Williams neighbourhood plan provides a ‘blueprint’ for growth and change in Willoughby’s tenth and last neighbourhood. This plan contributes to Willoughby’s ongoing effort to build a complete community that is walkable and supports a range of daily needs where residents and workers can live, work, learn and play. The plan features a mix of lower-density, ground-oriented housing forms that are in close proximity to shopping, employment and amenities, along with numerous urban forested areas to maintain and enhance the ‘treed’ character of the Willoughby escarpment. We’d like to thank all the residents, stakeholders, property owners, and others who were involved in helping shape the future of the neighbourhood. |
| May 23, 2018 |
| On Monday, May 7, Council gave 3rd Reading to the proposed Williams neighbourhood plan, with amendments (consolidated for convenience).
Following Council direction, staff have submitted a request to Metro Vancouver for amendments to the regional growth strategy land use designations from general urban to mixed employment and from mixed employment to general urban. Staff anticipate that consideration by Metro Vancouver for amendments to the regional growth strategy will likely take until September 2018. Provided that Metro Vancouver agrees with the proposed amendments, Council will then be in a position to consider 4th and final reading to the Williams neighbourhood plan Stay tuned for more updates. |
| April 11, 2018 |
| On Monday, April 9, Council gave 1st and 2nd Reading to the proposed Williams neighbourhood plan. As a next step in this process, a Public Hearing has been scheduled to give residents and stakeholders an opportunity to voice their thoughts, concerns, and support for the proposed neighbourhood plan.
Date: Monday, April 23 If you are not able to attend or do not wish to speak publicly, you may email Mayor and Council at legservicesinfo@tol.ca to have your input count towards the official public hearing record. Please note, all public feedback and information, including emails, letters, phone calls, and messages, must be submitted to Mayor and Council before the close of the public hearing on April 23. Any feedback or information sent after that time will not be received or reviewed by Mayor or Council as per standard Public Hearing protocol. |
| April 9, 2018 |
| A proposed Williams neighbourhood plan has been prepared by staff and will be presented to Council on Monday, April 9, 2018 in the regular evening session at 7:00pm, for consideration of 1st and 2nd readings.
Subject to Council's consideration tonight, a potential public hearing and further direction and consideration by Council, the proposed Williams neighbourhood plan (NP) will become the Township of Langley's 'blueprint' for growth and change in Willoughby's tenth and last neighbourhood. The Williams NP contributes to Willoughby's on-going effort to build a complete community that is walkable and supports a range of daily needs where residents and workers can live, work, learn and play. The preparation of the proposed Williams NP included numerous consultation events that were well attended by property owners and residents of the Williams area as well as residents from adjacent Yorkson neighbourhood and the community of Walnut Grove. Input and feedback from these various constituents contributed to 'shaping' the development of the proposed Williams NP. In terms of process, Council is considering the Williams NP. If they decide to give 1st and 2nd readings to the proposed bylaws that include the Williams NP, then a public hearing will be scheduled, notices will sent out regarding the date and time, and members of the public will have an opportunity to provide verbal and/or written comments to Council for their consideration and adjudication of the Williams NP. Stay tuned for more updates. |
Project overview
The Township of Langley laid important groundwork to guide overall growth and change in the Willoughby area when it adopted the Willoughby community plan in 1998 (see Willoughby community plan area maps to the right). This community plan for Willoughby defined a framework for decision making, and direction over future development through objectives and policies, including general land use and conceptual transportation and utility servicing plans. The Willoughby CP also established a neighbourhood planning program, which required the preparation of more detailed plans in the areas of land use, utility servicing, and transportation systems before development could occur.
Neighbourhood planning in Willoughby has been on-going since the establishment of the community plan. Seven neighbourhood plans (NPs) have been approved by Council to date. An eighth neighbourhood plan is nearly complete, and a ninth neighbourhood plan is approximately midway through the planning process. The Williams area, around the future Highway No. 1 and 216 Street Interchange, remains as the last neighbourhood plan to be completed.
| Where is Williams neighbourhood plan area? |
 The Williams neighbourhood, located in the northeast portion of Willoughby, is approximately 110 hectares (274 acres) in area, located immediately east of the Yorkson NP. The Williams NP area can generally be described as being bounded by 212 Street (West), Highway No. 1 (North), 216 Street (East), and 76 Avenue (South). See Williams NP area map to the right. |
| What will the Williams plan do when it is complete? |
The Williams Plan will provide a detailed framework for decisions related to land use and servicing to address overall community needs. Once complete, the Williams plan will include:
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Neighbourhood plan process
The planning process for Williams is expected to consist of three phases of technical, analytical, and consultation work to commence in the Fall of 2015, and to conclude in 2017 with a proposed neighbourhood plan for Council’s consideration.
Phase 1 will involve undertaking background and contextual research, including a watercourse assessment, to understand key features and issues in the Plan area.
In Phase 2, a preferred vision statement and guiding principles, a preferred land use plan and strategic policy directions will be developed.
Phase 3 will involve synthesizing all technical findings, policy analysis, and consultation feedback in a draft Williams neighbourhood plan document for Council’s consideration. The research, analysis and engagement activities carried out in the earlier phases will inform policy directions and implementation actions. An engineering servicing plan will also be developed as part of this phase.
Public consultation
We want you to get involved! Neighbourhood participation is key to building a strong vision for the Williams area, so your input is vital.
A comprehensive stakeholder and public consultation program has been developed for the Williams planning process, that is in keeping with and follows the parameters of Council policy (Council OCP consultation policy 07-621) The Williams neighbourhood planning process was launched in February 2016 with a series of Open Door Community Dialogue Session, the first neighbourhood team workshop, and the first public open house (view the display panels). The next step in the process included a neighbourhood team design Workshop, followed by the second public open house. The following provides links to key documents that provide background information, and guidance for the generation of beginning neighbourhood design ideas:
The second public open house event that followed, provided an opportunity to the broader public to view materials maps, illustrations, and other ideas that were generated in the neighbourhood team design workshop. This ‘drop-in’ public event presented a draft Vision, goals and neighbourhood design principles for public review and feedback.
Following this second public open house, stakeholder contributions and feedback were used to inform the development of land use concept options for the Williams neighbourhood. The Township considered public and stakeholder input, technical constraints, and local and regional policy to refine the land use concept diagrams developed by the neighbourhood team, and reviewed at the second Open House for the Williams neighbourhood plan. A third neighbourhood team workshop was held on Thursday, May 26, 2016, and focused on the continued process of defining land use concepts for Williams. A concept options summary report has been prepared to provide some background material to inform discussions at the workshop:
Feedback gathered at the workshop was used to review and further fine tune the concept options, that were presented at the public open house on June 14, 2016. Open house presentation panels public input and feedback received through these public engagement events, along with staff policy and technical analysis, will be used to inform and provide a foundation for the next round of work on the neighbourhood plan development for Williams.
Have Questions? Contact us
Contact us by email to cpp@tol.ca.
Future events
Over the coming months and through the development of the Williams plan, there will be multiple opportunities for residents, property owners, community organizations, and other interested individuals and groups to participate in the planning process.
Announcements of these public events will be made in a variety of ways, including webpage updates, newspaper advertisements, direct mail outs, email correspondence, and other means.
Stay Tuned!
Related documents and links
- Community plans
- Langley age-friendly strategy
- Langley employment lands study
- September 14, 2015 – Williams neighbourhood plan terms of reference
- September 18, 2015 – watercourse assessment notification letter to property owners and residents
- Sustainability charter
- Wildlife habitat conservation strategy
- Williams neighbourhood plan - watercourse classification and mapping