A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

THE PROPOSED CODE CHANGES

 

At their meeting of March 10, 2010, the Planning Advisory Board voted to recommend that the City Council approve the amendments to the Whole Langley Code. The City Council has created a subcommittee to establish a timeframe to review the proposed amendments to ensure consistency with future plans for ordinances. No timeframe has been established for the review or the adoption of the proposed code amendments at this point.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

The following overview is provided as a brief orientation to the most significant code amendments now under consideration. The vast majority of the substantial changes are concentrated in Chapter 16C and 16G, though some amendments occur in 16E. Chapter 16B is also a brand new chapter, but is proposed simply as a link between the Comprehensive Plan and Whole Langley Code. Chapter 16B in itself has no regulatory authority.

To view each of the chapters, click on the links below.

• Chapter 16B
• Chapter 16C
• Chapter 16E
• Chapter 16G

The view all of the chapters in the proposed Whole Langley Code, please click here.

ZONING CHANGES

The proposed amendments call for replacing our existing zoning map with a community design zone map. As a result, at least in name, every property in Langley will have a new zoning designation. The table below translates our existing zoning district names to the proposed community design zone names. As can be seen, the three existing single-family residential districts have been broken into five new districts and four of the existing districts have simply been renamed.

EXISTING ZONING DISTRICTS	PROPOSED COMMUNITY DESIGN ZONES
Central Business (CB)	Village Center Design (VCD)
Neighborhood Business (NB)	Dispersed Business Design (DBD)
Mixed Residential (RM)	Traditional Village Design-Mixed Residential (TVD-MR)
RS-5,000 RS-7,200 RS-15,000	Traditional Village Design (TVD) Modern Subdivision Design (MSD) Sensitive Environment Design (SED) Rural Village Design-6000 (RVD-6000) Rural Village Design-4000 (RVD-4000)
Public Use (P-1)	Public/Institutional Design (PI)

 

Follow these links if you would like to compare the existing zoning map

with the proposed community design zone map

In general, property owners in the largely developed commercial and residential parts of Langley (corresponding to the VCD, DBD, TVD-MR, TVD, MSD and PI community design zones) will see very few changes in the rules that govern permitted uses and standards such as setbacks, minimum lot size and height. The changes however do propose some increased flexibility in home-based businesses along major streets (see 16E.36) and incorporate some revision in design standards for infill subdivisions (see 16G.60).

Property owners in the less developed parts of Langley (corresponding to the SED, RVD-6000 and RVD-4000 zones) will likewise see only minor changes to the permitted uses and standards such as setbacks on their existing lots. However, owners of property within these community design zones that would like to subdivide their property will see significant changes as a result of the proposed code amendments. A few key provisions are highlighted below in regard to the changes proposed in subdivisions, but we encourage anyone that seeks to subdivide within these zones to read the text of 16C and 16 G, especially 16G.60.

SUBDIVISION CHANGES

The Division of Land chapter blends new material with material from the existing code. The largest change to the chapter is the addition of section 16G.60 - Design and Improvement Standards. This section is intended to translate the four principles for land use specified within the Langley Comprehensive Plan (context-sensitivity, connectivity, diversity, and sustainability) to the design of new subdivisions. The section articulates a number of standards including street layout and design, park and open space design, and the design of pedestrian space to be incorporated within subdivisions.

For more information about each of these standards, please click here and scroll down to page 16G-16.

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

• If you would like a detailed explanation of the code changes, please click here.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Drop a line to the City Council at council@langleywa.org or by regular mail at PO Box 366, Langley WA, 98260.