Housing

The Township of Langley is one of the fastest growing communities in Metro Vancouver and current projections indicate that the Township’s population will almost double to 211,000 by 2041. This translates into a demand for over 34,000 new housing units – an average of about 1,300 per year. Although most of the housing built over the next 25 years is expected to be market housing, there will be an ongoing need for non-market housing for seniors, lower-income families, adults with disabilities, at-risk youth, and others with special needs.

Affordable Housing

In 2013, Township Council endorsed the Housing Action Plan  to guide decision-making related to market and non-market housing. The Housing Action Plan includes over 50 short, medium and long-term actions that aim to encourage a diverse and affordable supply of housing in the Township of Langley. 

More recently, in 2016, Township Council endorsed Metro Vancouver’s Regional Affordable Housing Strategy  as a collaborative approach to addressing regional housing needs. This regional strategy includes a number of recommended actions for Metro Vancouver, municipalities, and other stakeholders. Report to Council 16-122   provides additional information on the Regional Affordable Housing Strategy, including a review of the potential ramifications of the recommended municipal actions on the Township of Langley.        

The Township’s new Official Community Plan  (adopted in 2016) also includes policies intended to encourage affordable housing, including:

• Work with other levels of government and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation to increase the number of affordable housing units
• Establish a Township of Langley Affordable Housing Reserve Fund and budget for annual municipal contributions
• Create incentives to encourage developers to include affordable market rental housing/non-market housing in new developments using parking relaxations for non-market units; density bonusing; and community amenity contributions that include affordable housing as a community benefit (new units or cash)

Adaptable Housing

Adaptable homes  have design features that facilitate easy retrofits to enable individuals with limited mobility due to age or disability to live in their homes with relative independence. The Township has required adaptable design features in many new housing developments for almost 10 years and, in 2016, updated its policy to require adaptable housing in a proportion of all new housing developments across the Township. Currently, adaptable design features are required in at least 5% of all new single family, rowhouse, and townhouse units and 10% of all new apartment units. The Township’s Official Community Plan  (see Schedule 2) outlines the various design features required in all adaptable homes.   

Homelessness

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