City of Langley mayor says old airspace laws put a ceiling on future development

The City of Langley is pushing to change federal airspace laws that are keeping it from constructing taller buildings, according to the city’s mayor.

As Langley prepares for new SkyTrain stations and more people in the coming years, Mayor Nathan Pachal says it would be a “missed opportunity” to not be able to build as much housing as possible near future transit.

Current airspace rules only allow for structures about 15 storeys high. But a housing mandate from the province says new builds within 200 metres of SkyTrain stations should be a minimum of 20 storeys, according to Pachal.

“And right now that’s being limited by the federal government, and yet the federal government has invested billions of dollars to get SkyTrain here,” he said.

Airspace rules from the 1970s

The Langley Regio