October News Roundup
Ballots, Potential Loss of Energy Efficiency Requirements, Speed Reductions, the Upcoming By-Election and Public Meetings
Two Letters to the Editor
We have been fortunate to have had two letters to the editor from our group published in the Langley Advance Times over the past few months. We deeply appreciate the Langley Advance Times for providing space in their pages for community voices and important local conversations.
Walnut Grove Drive Traffic Calming: “Langley Township leaves student safety up to online vote”
As we covered in a previous post, we were very disappointed to see the Township of Langley disregard it’s own Traffic Calming Policy document when it came to considering traffic calming in front of Walnut Grove Secondary and Walnut Grove Community Park. The document permits traffic calming to be applied in front of schools and parks without a ballot approval, simply council approval, however the motion brought forward opted into a voluntary ballot process. This is despite widespread community support for traffic calming on Walnut Grove Drive, and we felt that this process added an unnecessary bureaucratic barrier to needed road safety reforms.
However, we were even more surprised to see how poorly the “ballot” was actually implemented, simply as a SurveyMonkey form open on a public website that anyone can complete - with no unique code in the mail, and no guidelines listed as to whose votes would be counted and whos would not, and no way to verify that who was completing the ballot was actually a resident at an address in the effected area.
As such, Strong Towns Langley Director Mike Parker sent a letter to the editor critical of this process, which you can read here. The was published on the website and in the print edition that week. Great work Mike!
Council Looking at Rolling Back Energy Efficiency Building Codes: “Township should feel the heat”
The Energy Step Code is an extra layer on top of the standard BC Building code that municipalities can opt into to require builders to build energy efficient and zero carbon buildings.
Currently the Township of Langley requires new homes to meet Energy Step Code 4 (high energy efficiency) and Zero Carbon Step Code EL-3 (electric heating instead of natural gas) as of April 2025.
However, we learned that at the July 7th 2025 council meeting, an unusually worded motion was carried that asked staff to, in essence, rollback both Step Codes that had been previously implemented, described as aligning with the BC Building Code.
Since the Step Code is an optional layer, aligning with the vanilla BC Building Code means opting-out.
From a Strong Towns perspective, this rollback raises a fundamental question: who benefits and who pays? Strong Towns teaches us to look at whether development decisions build long-term community wealth and resilience, or whether they prioritize short-term savings for some at the expense of others.
A home that’s cheaper to build but more expensive to operate isn’t truly affordable. It’s a transfer of costs from builders to the families who will live in these homes for decades.
Additionally, if Council rolls back the requirements now to align with the basic BC Building Code, they would likely only have a few years before the province mandates higher standards anyway, as over the next several years, the province will systematically integrate these step codes into the foundational BC Building Code, with transitional requirements anticipated in 2027 and 2030. As such, if this action is taken it will undermine certainty and consistency for developers large and small, creating regulatory flip-flopping over the coming years
Strong Towns Langley Director Cheryl Wiens sent a letter to the editor critical of this decision, which you can read here, and will be in this weeks print edition! Great work Cheryl!
We also invite you to email mayorcouncil@tol.ca if you oppose this change.
Langley City to look at reducing speed limits
Langley City Councillor Leith White has filed two motions to be debated and voted on soon: “Reducing local streets street speed limits” and “No More Roadblocks Motion to Endorse a Simplified Traffic Calming Policy for Residents”.
“Reducing local streets street speed limits” seeks to reduce the speed limit on local roads from 50kph down to 30kph, a proven first step towards safer streets.
It’s vital we reduce vehicle speeds in areas where people walk, bike, live, and play, and it’s important we not only lower limits but redesign streets to slow down traffic.
We’re excited to see where both of these motions go, Langley City Council has our full support to implement these reforms to improve road safety!
Leith has been promoting his first motion with a slide-show reel on Facebook and Instagram.
Township of Langley by-election
This month the Township of Langley is holding a by-election for a vacant seat on council, left by former councillor, now-MLA, Misty vanPopta.
Advance voting days are:
October 15 - Langley Events Centre - West Gym
7888 - 200 StreetOctober 16 - George Preston Recreation Centre - Rooms B and C
20699 - 42 AvenueOctober 18 - Airport Meeting Room - 3rd floor
5385 - 216 StreetOctober 21 - salishan Place by the River Banquet Hall - 3rd floor
23430 Mavis AvenueOctober 22 - Aldergrove Community Centre
27032 Fraser Highway
The general voting day is:
Saturday October 25, 2025 at select elementary schools around the Township and George Preston Recreation Centre.
Voting locations are open 8:00am to 8:00pm each day.
Friend of Strong Towns Langley, BetterLangley.ca, asked all the candidates questions which you can read here.
We also recommend going to as many candidate meetings and events as you can to meet candidates in person.
Public Meetings
We are currently seeking feedback on our next public meeting and all meetings throughout the year with a brand new meeting calendar that prioritizes in-person public meetings. If you’re interested in attending more meetings and want to help shape when and where they happen and what they look like, please complete our survey!
Strong Towns Langley is a community group dedicated to making Langley, British Columbia a better place. We advocate for incremental development, sustainable transportation solutions, housing accessibility, public spaces, and responsible growth strategies. Our group is part of the larger Strong Towns movement, focusing on creating financially resilient and people-oriented communities.
To learn more visit https://strongtownslangley.org