Kira Erickson reports for the South Whidbey Record from the Langley City Council meeting of Mon. Oct. 2, 2023.
Starting in the new year, affordable housing experts will meet again as part of the return of a temporary citizen-led committee focusing on this timely topic for the city of Langley.
This week, the Langley City Council voted to bring back the ad hoc affordable housing sub-committee, which was disbanded in April 2022 after meeting for a six-month period to determine affordable housing requirements for the Coles Valley planned unit development.
The council’s decision on Monday followed a presentation and discussion of the Planning Advisory Board’s recommendation on whether to require inclusionary zoning as part of the city’s current multi-family infill code.
They Said It
Councilmember Rhonda Salerno suggested restarting the sub-committee as a way to delve deeper into the subject matter of affordable housing. She said a concentrated group of people need to work on that, rather than putting it on the Planning Advisory Board or Meredith Penny, the city’s director of community planning.
Councilmember Harolynne Bobis questioned when the ad hoc committee would begin meeting.
“We’re working on a budget, people are running for office,” she said. “There’s just a lot of moving parts.”
Despite this, Bobis said she would vote for the committee because it is needed.
Councilmember Craig Cyr asked Penny if she had the time to dedicate to the meetings of an additional citizen board. Penny said she would have to attend meetings, participate and provide guidance, so some staff time will be involved. Upon hearing this, Cyr announced that he planned to vote against the reformation of the sub-committee, and suggested waiting the 12 weeks until the beginning of 2024 for it to start meeting.
Salerno agreed, and amended her original motion to include the January start time. The council unanimously voted in favor of the recreation of the affordable housing sub-committee, which brings the number of city committees up to 13.
On the Ballot in November 2023
| CITY OF LANGLEY |
|---|
| City Councilmember, Position 3 Kay Kenneweg Chris Carlson Incumbent Thomas E. Gill is running for mayor. |
| City Councilmember, Position 4 Scott Chaplin Craig Cyr, the incumbent |
| Mayor Kennedy Horstman Thomas E. Gill Incumbent Scott Chaplin is running for a seat on the city council. |
