Housing and infrastructure top of mind in B.C. Langley Township's mayoral race

After the Township of Langley's longtime mayor, Jack Froese, announced he was retiring at the end of his second four-year term, two current city councillors, one former councillor and a former provincial politician all declared their candidacy for his seat.

In separate interviews with Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition, each candidate outlined their platform's priorities, with a common theme being how quickly the township is growing and the critical need for new infrastructure to keep up.

Blair Whitmarsh: city councillor running for mayor

Blair Whitmarsh says after eight years of working on city council, he decided to throw his hat into the ring with an endorsement from retiring mayor Jack Froese. One of his priorities is improving the township's infrastructure.

"It certainly hasn't been easy as we've grown very quickly, and so infrastructure has not been able to keep up," he said.

"We need to increase the public transit. We know that SkyTrain is arriving in 2028, but we also are creating more walkable communities ... to allow commercial and residential to interact together, so people don't need to have cars."

Whitmarsh says there's a huge need for development in Langley, which is seeing between 4,000 and 5,000 people move there every year. He says those numbers mean 2,000 new condos, townhouses, or apartments need to be built on an annual basis, and the town's first residential towers will be going up in "strategic locations" in the coming years.

"The municipality and the local government have to get out of the way of the permitting process," he said. "Streamline the process ... so those housing developments can actually happen."

When it comes to a growing number of people living out on the street, Whitmarsh says Langley needs help and support from neighbouring cities and Metro Vancouver. He'd like to see new supportive housing rather than renovating old buildings, an approach used in some Vancouver SROs.

"I think we need to build proper kinds of shelters," he said. "But it has to have the support around it to deal with those foundational issues: support for mental health, support for substance abuse issues — those are the roots of homelessness."

Michelle Sparrow: Independent

Michelle Sparrow served two terms as a city councillor in the Township of Langley and was defeated in the last election. She's running for mayor as an Independent because she doesn't feel represented by any of the other candidates.

"I don't see my commitment to change from the status quo," she said.

After going from owning a home to being a renter, she has a fresh perspective on issues around housing.

"Over the last few years, [I've] definitely struggled through COVID," she said, explaining that her small business didn't survive the pandemic.  "I've got four daughters, two dogs, a cat. These are things that make finding a home difficult — as well as being able to afford it."

Sparrow says she knows many young families are in a similar position, and she's glad to be able to relate.

"There are things that we can do as local governments to address the housing supply and affordability," she said. "We can look at streamlining our development approval process, moving things online, triaging development applications and delegating minor ones to staff."

Another approach she said could help address a housing crunch is inclusionary zoning: designating certain areas solely for rental homes and affordable housing.

"But I do think we need to look at how we then address some of our older communities," she said, "changing some of that density and allowing for more housing in a way that still fits the form and character."

Sparrow wants to require developers to do more for the people of Langley in order to build there, saying a community amenity contribution policy put forward last term was "really watered down."

"[We need to ensure] that we're taking and collecting the money that comes from the growth we're experiencing and use it for the important amenities in our community," she said, mentioning public pools and new fire halls as two of the biggest needs.

Rich Coleman: Elevate Langley

Rich Coleman retired from provincial politics two years ago, when he was a Langley MLA, cabinet minister and deputy premier.

"I wanted to serve, I wanted to do more, and so I decided to step up and run for mayor," Coleman said in an interview, adding that he sees the same sorts of challenges he dealt with working for the province at the municipal level.

Coleman says his priorities are streamlining housing development, making homes more affordable, getting more rental housing on the market, improving policing and hiring more full-time firefighters to boost public safety.

He echoed other candidates' statements about the need to build new roads and said his party wants to plan ahead by securing land for future parks and schools and teaming up with school boards and other municipal governments to make those projects happen.

Coleman, a former RCMP officer, also wants to crack down on people distributing harmful drugs, increasing the charges to criminal negligence causing death.

"It's poison to our people," he said. "If you're knowingly selling something that kills people, I think there's a law that should be used."

As for the issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health, Coleman advocates for a longer-term approach and pairing up police with social workers.

"There are people who need help and can do very well if you allow them to get to a therapeutic community where they can stay longer," he said. "And deal with their addictions and then start to deal with their mental health issues."

Eric Woodward: Contract with Langley

Eric Woodward is a current city councillor and head of the Fort Langley Project charitable organization. He's running under the Contract with Langley banner, which is also putting forward candidates for council and the board of education.

Woodward says he wants to get new roads and recreation facilities built as soon as possible. He also says he wants to get more out of developers who want to build in the area, requiring community amenity contributions as part of any new contracts.

"We're here to serve residents and taxpayers first. If we don't build [roads and recreational facilities] now, it'll cost twice as much later on," he said.

"And if we don't get a fair deal from development in regards to sharing just a little bit more of that growth for the taxpayers, then it will end up being a property tax bill down the road."

Woodward says the current system is creating long delays and high costs for developers, taking up to five years for a housing project to go from the initial application to delivery.

He says Contract with Langley would remove some of the hoops developers have to jump through and "throw more resources" toward the permit process to speed things up.

Voters in the Township of Langley will head to the polls on Oct. 15 along with the rest of B.C., electing a mayor, eight councillors and two school trustees.