New platform pillar modernizes a 33-year-old Rural Plan, gives farmers fast answers, and protects the landmarks that hold Langley’s stories

LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Langley Strong today released Respect for Our Farmers & Heritage, committing the team to protect the two things residents most often say make Langley itself: its working farmland and its history.

The pillar commits to keeping farmland farmland; working with farmers to review and revamp the Township’s Rural Plan, now 33 years old, and its 2013 Agricultural Viability Strategy; giving farming businesses fast, simple answers instead of years of process; petitioning BC Assessment to grant farm status for horse boarding; building a livestock emergency plan with the farming community; pursuing a veterinary school for Langley with the Province and post-secondary partners; and protecting Langley’s historic sites and landmarks, with new development required to fit the character around them.

“Farmers know their land better than Township Hall does,” said council candidate Margaret Kunst. “Give them fast answers, fair rules and political support, and get out of their way. And it’s time to work with our farmers on a new Rural Plan that reflects the way things work today. A farm today isn’t the same as a farm from 1993.”

“I run an agri-tourism business in south Langley and co-chaired our local Farmers Institute, so I’ve lived what farmers deal with from Township Hall,” said council candidate Teresa Townsley. “Respect for farmers looks like this: fair rules whether you’re in the ALR or not, a Township that helps rural Langley prosper, and longer-term projects, like lobbying the provincial government to bring a veterinary school here, because right now the closest one is in Calgary.”

“Our landmarks and old buildings hold our families’ stories, and once they’re gone, they’re gone,” said council candidate Lauren Chalus. “Growth and heritage can fit together — but only if the Township requires it, and only if we listen to the volunteers who know this history best.”

“Protecting what makes Langley, Langley — that’s not nostalgia, it’s stewardship,” said mayoral candidate Jay Lundgren. “And it’s good economics: heritage attractions, agri-tourism and a working rural economy earn more for Langley without costing taxpayers more.”

Respect for Our Farmers & Heritage is one of ten pillars Langley Strong is releasing ahead of the October 17 municipal election. The full pillar is at LangleyStrong.ca/Platform.

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About Langley Strong

Langley Strong is a team of Township of Langley residents running to restore respect at Township Hall: mayoral candidate Jay Lundgren and council candidates Lauren Chalus, Shumail Javed, Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Kim Richter, Teresa Townsley and Blair Whitmarsh, and with trustee candidates Candy Ashdown, Kathie Dalziel, Holly Dickinson, Charlie Fox, Neil Turner and Tony Ward. The full platform and tool is at LangleyStrong.ca/Platform.

Media Contact

Derek Robson
media@langleystrong.ca