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Affordable housing on agenda for next Langley Township council

Staff will work on a plan to create a “seniors village” project.
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Langley Township council voted to take its first steps towards building social housing for seniors Monday.

Councillor Petrina Arnason’s proposal to consider a seniors village development in Brookswood was approved unanimously.

The proposal calls for the council to bring forward “concrete options” for building affordable housing “for our most vulnerable residents, such as those who may be displaced by the redevelopment of any existing manufactured home park.”

There are several mobile home parks in Brookswood, which is expected to develop rapidly over the next few years. Although some are resident-owned, others are privately owned, and locals expressed concern that they could lose their inexpensive housing and find themselves with nowhere to go.

With new rules in place – including a Community Amenity Contribution fee just introduced and a policy to waive development cost charges for affordable housing – Arnason said this is the right time to move forward on this policy.

She suggested Horn Pit on 200th Street as a possible site for the project. Horn Pit is a former gravel pit that has been used in recent years as a storage yard and a dump site for fill from Township projects.

Although Arnason’s motion calls for seniors housing, she noted that BC Housing favours projects that have a mixture of family and seniors housing, with a variety of ages living in one community.

Coun. Angie Quaale said she wants to see how a Langley project could work with the provincial HousingHub program, which partners to create affordable homes for people making between $50,000 and $100,000.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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