Kira Erickson reports from the Langley City Council meeting of Jul. 18, 2022.
A proclamation limiting the number of units for a proposed housing development in Langley was met with varied reactions during Monday night’s city council meeting.
[Councilmember Gail] Fleming presented a proclamation at the council’s July 18 meeting that would limit the [Coles Valley planned unit] development’s size to 67 units, a number she calculated from the property’s 23 “buildable” acres divided by the underlying zoning of 15,000 square feet.
They Said It
“I was under the impression that this would be our only time to speak about this, and that after the application was in and after negotiations began for the development agreement, we’d have no other opportunity to weigh in,” [Councilmember Gail Fleming] said.
While Councilmember Rhonda Salerno threw her support behind the proclamation, Councilmembers Craig Cyr and Harolynne Bobis were more cautious and suggested that it should be reviewed by the city attorney before being adopted.
“I just feel that the city council is spending a boatload of money on lawyers and lawsuits,” Bobis said.
Councilmember Thomas Gill spoke passionately in opposition to the proclamation, claiming that it “smells quite like a quasi-judicial decision.”
“Trying to limit development within the city is not only illogical, it’s almost criminal,” he said. “I see this community as something that needs growth in order to survive,” he said. “I cannot in good conscience try to bring down this number of people given the duties that have been drilled into me by the city, by the state law and by the needs of our community.”
