Brookswood – Fernridge Neighbourhood Plan Update
Commercial
June 21, 2021
On June 14, 2021 at noon, the Township of Langley opened up their second Virtual Open House to engage the public regarding a variety of policy themes and plan ideas. You can access the Virtual Open House here.
Similar to pre-Covid Open Houses, the Township has presented the public with a range of ideas and visions ranging from neighbourhood character goals, environmental, housing ideas, and more. As a developer, the main insight you should pull from this Open House should be in regards to the Single Family 3 designation and the Township’s vision to create affordability without density. In speaking to the planning department, we were told that given the OCP framework, the Township is not going to allow compact single-family lots. Instead, they have come up with the following Housing Ideas to create “affordable” homes without compact lots.
The main insight you should pull … is the Township's vision to create affordability without density.
Township of Langley Housing Ideas
Click on each option to review TOL’s housing ideas:
Our Thoughts
After reviewing the Township’s Virtual Open House and speaking with their Planning Department, we believe that their housing ideas are unique and provide an opportunity to bring some level of affordability back to the Brookswood – Fernridge community.
The price of an R-1D in Brookswood currently ranges in value around $1,150,000, resulting in these ‘semi luxury’ homes that are priced over $2million. Although there is a spot in the market for this product, the OCP guidelines are forcing this community to become a hub of ‘unaffordable’ homes. With their new housing ideas, the Township hopes they can come up with a way to add affordable options to the community.
Regarding development in Brookswood – Fernridge, several unknowns are being worked out over the balance of this year. The biggest of which is in regards to soil conditions and if and where basements are actually going to be allowed. This Fall we should see a draft map and report that highlights these areas of concern. Early conversations state that the Rinn NCP is less problematic than the other neighbourhoods, but it’ll be months before knowing what restrictions and allowances may arise as a result of these concerns. If you want to discuss this more in-depth, give us a call!
In Review
Over the past few years, the Booth NCP has seen the greatest amount of speculative sales activity. This may create complications when it comes to development due to the high number of individual landowners. To the south, especially along the 200th street corridor, the Fernridge NCP has seen more recent sales activity. The Rinn NCP borders alongside Brookswood proper to the North and West, and ALR to the East. There have been some notable acquisitions over the past few years in Rinn, and we expect these to increase. At this time it appears Booth will see the earliest development activity, pockets of Fernridge a close second, and Rinn after that. However, this could change as time will tell whether the Township decides to stagger NCP introduction or if they will introduce all 3 at once.
We like pockets of each of the three pending NCP’s and would advise to selectively purchase land here at the right price and understanding that there is a lot still up in the air regarding servicing, housing types, and timeline. Ultimately you will be rewarded for purchasing in these neighbourhoods, but expect some creative development applications.
Any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out to Wells Macey at 778.242.9405 or Josiah Cockrill at 604.997.2221. We are always interested in discussing!