The new Langley Township council brought in a legislative broom on Monday to sweep away a pair of initiatives that had been planned by the previous council.
Earlier this year, the council approved plans to consider some major changes to the Township’s Parks Master Plan, and also called for a housing task force that would look at a number of issues around the problem of affordable housing.
New Mayor Eric Woodward said he’d asked for both of those items to be added to the agenda on Dec. 5 so that council could scrap them.
The parks plan motion had “a number of structural problems,” Woodward said, noting that it could be expensive. The process of making changes had not yet started, since it came up so late in the last term it had been referred to the new council for debate.
Township administrator Mark Bakken said studies like the one contemplated in the project can run up costs of between $100,000 to $200,000, as well as taking up staff time. Hiring consultants frees up Township staff but adds to the cost.
It was vote down with Councillors Margaret Kunst and Kim Richter voting in favour.
The housing task force plan was also brought back, after having been approved at the last meeting before the municipal election, last July.
“I would ask council to vote this down, get it off the work list,” Woodward said.
“At the time it made sense, to move forward with something to do with housing, and I believe now is not the time,” said Coun. Steve Ferguson. “This council’s got an awful lot on its plate.”
Ferguson noted that some issues to do with housing affordability will be addressed by other initiatives from the council.
Richter was the only member of council who disagreed.
“I think we should be moving forward with it, in some form, as soon as possible,” she said.
But the council voted the plan down, with only Richter in favour.
Woodward noted he was trying to remove some items to free up municipal staff time.
There have been a flurry of new projects begun under the new council, where a majority of the members are part of the Contract with Langley slate, including Woodward. The team is putting through a significant number of their election promises already.
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