Dear Editor,
The Metro Vancouver authority lost its lawsuit over Langley Township council’s decision to rezone properties that did not conform to the regional growth strategy.
Unfortunately, Langley did not get the 2/3 approval vote required from Metro to amend the urban containment boundary when this matter went before Metro, though one of those applications was supported by Metro’s own staff.
Before the lands were designated part of the GVRD green zone in the late ’90s, I had a chance to address the mayor and council.
Proposed for the Green Zone were both ALR and non-ALR lands. I voiced my concern that, with almost 80 per cent of Langley within the ALR boundaries, why would council want to give another authority the power to influence how Langley grows in the future?
The mayor directed this question to the planner present at the time, who advised council that there would be a process in place that would allow the boundaries to be amended.
Council ended up approving the proposed boundaries for the green zone dedication, only to find out now that a 2/3 vote from Metro is required to change that boundary.
Well, here we are. It appears as though we have indeed added to the planning process another layer of bureaucracy that is not afraid to try and flex its muscle. The thought of politicians from Point Grey having more control over how Langley will evolve than our elected council is disturbing.
My family and I support the court’s decision. We own property that is not in the ALR, is located in the GVRD services area, and has now been designated rural reserve/Green Zone by Metro.
We bought our acreage in I995 with the thought of building housing to accommodate our children and grandchildren. If the court had ruled in favour of Metro, our dreams for the future would have required a favourable 2/3 vote from the 40 Metro directors.
I would rather leave those decisions up to our elected mayor and council.
Tod McGovern, Langley