There is a perception out there that Langley City Council is too Developer-friendly. I’m looking to change that so that we all benefit from the changes that are coming to our city.
To ensure a growing family can remain in Langley City, new developments must have a minimum number of 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom units. These are less profitable for developers, but are needed to keep our community thriving.
With new development there’s also the risk of “demovictions” to renters who might live in older apartment buildings paying affordable rates they entered into years earlier. When a new building is put up, these tenants will see themselves out of a home and likely paying double or triple in rent what they had been—for the same size homes. We need to look at what’s working around the region—when the area around Metrotown was redeveloped, Burnaby City Council responded by creating their Tenant Assistance Policy. This policy includes many measures, but the most impactful is the “right to return” to the redeveloped building at the same rent. I plan on getting Council on board in implementing similar policy to ensure no one is left behind as our city grows.