Multiplex development in Langley Township

On November 18, 2024, the Township of Langley adopted Bylaw No. 6020, amending its Zoning Bylaw to permit small-scale multi-unit housing across eligible residential zones, R1A, R1B, R1C, R1D, R1E, and the suburban residential SR1, SR2, and SR3 zones. That made the Township the last major Metro Vancouver municipality to meet the provincial requirement under Bill 44, and it means most single-family lots that were previously restricted to one house can now hold three or four homes.

The unit count follows the provincial floor: three units on lots of 280 m² or smaller, four units on lots over that threshold. Lots within roughly 400 metres of a frequent-transit stop can reach six units, though, as of late 2024, the Township confirmed no bus stops currently meet the provincial frequent-service test, so in practice most Township lots today top out at four. The Willowbrook SkyTrain station (on 196 Street) is designated as a Transit Oriented Area under a separate Order-in-Council from May 2025, but properties within that 800-metre TOA radius follow a different density framework and fall outside the standard SSMUH rules.

In April 2026, Township council adopted form-and-character guidelines for SSMUH buildings: rules for parking layouts, paved access paths to each unit's door, and a requirement that every unit have light from at least two sides. Development permits for conforming projects are now approved at staff level, not by council, a meaningful step that makes the approval path faster and more predictable.

The typical Langley Township single-family lot in the urban area runs larger than lots in Vancouver, Burnaby, or New Westminster. Willoughby, Walnut Grove, and Murrayville all have standard lots well above the 280 m² threshold that triggers the four-unit allowance. That lot geometry, wide, deep, with reasonable side yards, suits a four-unit multiplex where each home gets its own covered entry and a private outdoor area. You are not shoehorning units into a narrow city lot.

What hasn't changed is that a multiplex is still a real construction project. Feasibility, design to the Township's form-and-character rules, a development permit, a building permit, trades, and a construction timeline, all of that has to be managed. Langley Township also requires BC Energy Step Code Step 4 and Zero Carbon Step EL-3 for Part 9 residential buildings, effective April 1, 2025. EL-3 means decarbonizing both space heating and domestic hot water, in practice, heat pumps for both, which affects your mechanical specifications from the design stage. We know that requirement and build it into the feasibility from the start.

Our role is to carry that work and the construction risk through a clear, written GP/LP partnership. You contribute the land. Venture Pacific handles everything from the first feasibility review through to keys.

Willoughby is the Township's fastest-growing area and where a large share of the urban lot inventory sits. Lots there vary, some older single-family blocks that predate the current subdivision pattern, some newer compact lots, so the SSMUH eligibility check matters street by street. Many Willoughby lots are serviced with municipal sewer and water, which is a hard requirement for SSMUH, and they sit within the Urban Containment Boundary.

Walnut Grove has a well-established single-family fabric, with lots that tend to be wider and deeper than Willoughby's newer grid. That geometry is well-suited to a two-storey, four-unit multiplex with individual entries and a shared driveway. Murrayville, one of the Township's older communities, has a mix of lot sizes and some heritage-adjacent character, although only properties with a formal heritage bylaw designation from before December 7, 2023 are actually blocked from SSMUH. Most Murrayville standard lots qualify.

Properties that access directly onto an arterial road have a restriction on vehicular access for SSMUH. That affects some corner lots and throughway-fronting lots in all three areas, it's one of the first things a feasibility review checks, and it can sometimes be addressed through a Board of Variance application.

When Langley Township adopted Bylaw No. 6020 in November 2024, the Township flagged a known issue: municipal water and sewer capacity in some areas had not yet been assessed for the additional demand that SSMUH would bring. New water and sewer connections for SSMUH were deferred in some locations pending a system capacity review, expected in late 2025.

Before committing to a development path on any Langley Township lot, confirming that municipal servicing is available is not a formality, it is the threshold test. A lot that can't connect to municipal sewer and water doesn't qualify for SSMUH at all, regardless of its size or zoning. We check servicing availability at the feasibility stage, before any other work begins.