For Langley City, the next five years will be a time of great change, possibly the biggest since the community became a city.
That was the assessment of Mayor Nathan Pachal following the vote by council on Monday, Dec. 11, that unanimously approved a new five-year-plan that aims to manage the change – much of it driven by the impending arrival of SkyTrain.
Part of that involves creating a more open city, one where residents concerns are heard, and acted on, more efficiently.
Pachal described it as “direct democracy,” a way of “holding ourselves accountable,” and giving city administrators quick feedback that allows quick responses.
“We want to actually hear from you,” Pachal said. “People will have their voices heard in a meaningful way.”
“People [in many parts of the world] have been feeling disconnected, that government is not working for them, and that’s a bad place to be,” Pachal remarked.
Described as a “rolling plan,” one that gets updated annually, the commitment to strengthen communication and public engagement is one of seven broad “core areas of focus” that includes cultivating an inclusive community, reliable municipal infrastructure, and a vibrant economy as well as working on community safety, climate change, and “organizational excellence.”
Infrastructure work, what Pachal described as “unsexy stuff,” includes important work on badly-needed upgrades to aging and fragile porcelain sewer pipes.
Langley City, like most municipalities, has “under-invested” in infrastructure, Pachal commented.
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SkyTrain will bring growth and put pressure on existing resources, Pachal noted.
“If we’re getting two SkyTrain stations, my goodness, we’re going to need [more] schools,” Pachal commented.
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The new five-year rolling strategic plan was more than a year in the making, City CAO Francis Cheung noted.
It includes what are termed “small but important adjustments” to the City’s values and mission statement, focusing on education, inclusion, and equity.
A summary posted by the City states goals have been set for advancing truth and reconciliation with First Nations, delivering a “coordinated and compassionate response to challenges of homelessness, housing affordability, and community safety,” and “attracting and retaining the best and brightest as Langley City grows its staffing base to meet the needs of a growing community.”
It dovetails with the City’s Nexus plan to leverage SkyTrain to make the City a regional hub, explained Cheung, who characterized many of the five-year plan’s measures to improve two-way communication with citizens as “innovative,” approaches that could serve as “best practices” for other municipalities dealing with the same concerns.
For more information, residents can access the executive summary online at the Langley City website here or the full plan here.
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