Kira Erickson reports from the Langley City Council meeting of Mon., Nov. 18, 2024 for the South Whidbey Record.
A sizeable housing development within Langley city limits is no longer moving forward in its current form.
Last week, applicants for the Coles Valley Planned Unit Development, or PUD, decided to withdraw their application for the city’s consideration, Langley Director of Community Planning Meredith Penny informed a shocked city council on Monday, Nov. 18.
At least two members of the current city council made attempts in the past to curtail the development, one with a building moratorium and the other with a proclamation limiting density – although they both rescinded these proposals following public outcry.
They Said It
Bob Libolt, who owns the property with his wife, indicated this week that a combination of factors led to their decision to halt the PUD application process, the most prominent being the amount of time it has taken.
“In recent months we just felt that the light at the end of the tunnel was getting dimmer, not brighter,” he said.
Libolt has done at least a dozen PUDs in Lynden, where he lives. The PUD process in Langley has been unusually long and some of the requirements have been very specific, such as an economic study, soils analysis and civil engineering aspects.
“The level of detail, the amount of information just far exceeds anything I’ve ever done,” Libolt said.
Libolt implored the city council to consider the annexation agreement for the property as a standalone issue. He believes the agreement, which will need to be amended by the council to allow more than 24 units on the site, has arbitrary requirements limiting density and buildable lands with no explanation or justification.
While council members may have good intentions, Libolt said, he didn’t have any confidence that they would in fact modify the annexation agreement.
“The current planner and mayor seem very supportive of the effort, but I can’t live with an indefinite timeframe and no assurance that even if we met all the conditions of a PUD that I would get the approval of the council,” he said.
“The process has just gotten increasingly more complicated,” he said.
