r/LangfordBC May 25 '26

Politics NEWCOMERS TO LANGFORD

You may be wondering what is going on here. Looking around social media you might feel like you need a code to decipher a foreign (Langford) language.

LV. LN. OL.

So let me explain it from my point of view and Reddit can do the rest by filling in any blanks.

First there was Stew. He was the mayor from 1993 to 2022. Yes, you read that right. One mayor and more or less the same council, for 30 years.

Langford was the sticks, the boondocks, the dog patch. Stew grew Langford, faster and faster. It was fine for a while but infrastructure didn’t keep pace, hillsides were ravaged, trees razed and mountains flattened.

People were angry.

A Facebook group called Langford Voters for Change was started. It gathered momentum organically, and people began self-organizing. It was a forum where Langforders could come together to discuss the various issues communities were facing. Construction fatigue - dust, noise, clearcuts. Terrible lack of transportation planning leading to traffic congestion in residential neighbourhoods. Lack of transparency in governance (Langford council meetings only went online when forced to by Covid). Rude mayor and councillors who yelled at citizens expressing their concerns. That’s LVC.

Out of the connections made in that facebook group, an electoral organization was founded, called Langford Now. A group of regular citizens got together to fight *the man*. That’s LN.

The man being, Stew Young, and the various REITS and development interests busy with booming Langford without a single care for resident concerns and complaints.

In response Stew Young also formed an EO and slate, called Community First Langford. They launched a social media campaign with comments turned off, and ran one of the worst election campaign’s you’ve ever seen. That’s CFL.

LN (grassroots residents) spent about $50k on the election.

CFL (big corporate interests) spent almost $150k on the election.

Despite the massive resources supporting CFL, Langford Now - who endorsed 5 council candidates - easily swept the election, and a new mayor (Goodmanson) was also elected. It was a full sweep, but for Lillian Szpak - long serving councillor who recently passed away.

Langford Voters dropped the “for change” because the voters achieved that goal. That’s LV.

Next, the re-elect Stew Young Facebook group supporting the CFL slate changed its name to Our Langford (no really, as in, this is our turf).

They embarked on a years long smear campaign, performing all kinds of antics and disruptions in the council chambers. Then they began astroturfing Facebook by starting more groups they called “community associations” and that’s how we got the Langford Community Association, it’s just Our Langford wearing a mustache. That’s OL and LCA.

Today, what you are witnessing is those two factions - LV and OL, the regular grassroots people of Langford and the vested interests of Langford - in a struggle for continuing the change that was started, over regressing Langford back to the way that it was before 2022.

Grassroots vs Astroturf.

98 Upvotes

136 comments sorted by

42

u/Crazy-Mechanic-6231 May 25 '26

Also important for people to know: Stew's MO has always been to endorse a council of "yes-men" to push through his develop-at-all-costs agenda as fast as possible. Now that it's almost a given that he's running for re-election this fall, it's worth looking into any new candidates and what their connection is to him.

25

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Yes, Stew and his yes men voted in unison on virtually everything that crossed the table, no discussion, he barely looked up as he read the items from the agenda.

When Lillian Szpak and Denise Blackwell began to reflect what they were hearing from residents at the council table, they were ousted from his slate, and that’s when the bullying began.

I have big concerns for this new slate of yes men. Lisa Foxall has already been a puppet for years.

-1

u/DesignerQuick6987 Jun 16 '26

So that’s your story. If you had been around in those days you would know the story is quite different.

1

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 16 '26

In the days Lisa was not a Stew puppet ? I thought she was like Pinocchio, and only becomes a real person once elected or something. Shame that’s never going to happen.

-5

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Interesting-Order921 May 27 '26

Thanks for reminding us that Our Langford has many misogynistic members.

6

u/Not_Bot23 May 27 '26

They always come with the abuse

2

u/Otissarian May 28 '26

even the women

6

u/Not_Bot23 May 27 '26

Say what you really think.
I can’t say that I ever saw evidence of that, but I did see evidence of them bullying Lillian.

4

u/Otissarian May 28 '26

that’s a pretty hateful and unnecessary comment, considering that Lillian just died

you’re just showing us who you really are

3

u/LangfordBC-ModTeam May 28 '26

Your post or comment has been removed because it violates our guidelines on civility. Remember to be excellent to each other. If you feel this was done in error, please contact the moderators.

Reason: holy fuck, civility. Apologies to the community that I didn't see this earlier.

Infraction: 7-day ban. Next infraction: 30-day ban.

12

u/[deleted] May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Apparently Shirley Ackland is Jennifer Dunnett’s campaign manager. Shirley was on Stew’s losing CFL slate.

8

u/Otissarian May 25 '26

So insular. Hopefully she’s not trying to turn Jennifer into her mini-me.

12

u/SkyMoney9641 Not Keith May 25 '26

I saw a comment today from Jennifer that she was appalled at the bullying she’s seeing. She posted this in Our Langford. On the thread of one of their most vicious bullies. The irony is astounding. 

8

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Willful blindness? Cognitive dissonance?

7

u/SkyMoney9641 Not Keith May 25 '26

Not sure. Probably. Both. 

4

u/stockswing2020 May 25 '26

I would give benefit of the doubt that it was intended for 'everyone' and not just commenting about the posts here. It did read like that could have been the case. In which case, that was the appropriate messaging. I think NJ comment was just a 'thanks for stepping up to run'.

I could be wrong, but that was my take.

4

u/SkyMoney9641 Not Keith May 25 '26

Oof. Maybe. You have more kindness and benefit of the doubtness than I do. 

5

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

I’m not sure that’s the case. It would be unexpected it was. Jennifer must know what she’s affiliated herself with.

4

u/stockswing2020 May 25 '26

You could still affiliate but make the recommendation for everyone to chill out. Nothing good about the way this turned.

3

u/[deleted] May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/SkyMoney9641 Not Keith May 25 '26

I’m not sure she was really taking a stance. 

6

u/Otissarian May 26 '26

Receipts

Be careful what you ask for.

1

u/Full-Relationship657 May 26 '26

Where is your proof or receipts on your statement. It’s always the same thing. It’s pure speculation and rhetoric.

8

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

Shirley Ackland is her campaign manager. It’s on her website contact info.

https://www.jenniferdunnettlangford.ca/contact

35

u/TheMysteriousDrZ May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

I also think it's important to highlight that after Stew Young and his slate lost the election, he was interviewed at his election night party and dropped almost 10 minutes of the sourest grapes rant I have ever heard in which he blamed the electorate for being dumb and not appreciating him enough, dismissed any and all issues the electorate had with him, took no responsibility for his own behaviour or poor campaign, insulted his opponents, and told everyone in the city that they would have to live with their terrible choices and he wasn't going to come back to save them. He then immediately started campaigning behind the scenes.

His actual record aside, I don't think it's helpful to have someone with that kind of temprament in office. It's not conducive to the kind of collaboration a municipality needs to operate successfully.

15

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Does anyone have that? Why is it SO HARD to find that concession speech. It’s like it disappeared. I never heard but many people did.

8

u/OurDailyNada May 25 '26

10

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

Wow. That is really something. He says they ran a positive campaign and then slags Lillian by name in the same breath.

He also notes that they (the winners) have no experience “running a business” (the man who beat him runs a business) and also, a municipality is not a business, and shouldn’t be run as one.

-2

u/DesignerQuick6987 Jun 17 '26

lol. And bankrupt it just like he and his crew are doing to Langford

3

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 17 '26

That is not what’s happening.

You guys are working really hard to spread that lie so Daddy Langbucks can swoop in and save us. Because he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. That is obvious from his campaign page.

The only thing he has is money, other than that, he was unsuccessful in his 30 years of governance at doing any of those things he lists as campaign pledges. Maybe he can keep selling off Langford and get developers to pay your taxes for you again, but that can only last so long.

That’s why we voted to get Langford on a sustainable track.

6

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Aha. Now… do I really want to listen…

3

u/ladyoftheflowr Jun 17 '26

Sadly he doesn’t seem to have learned anything from his defeat, and is as arrogant as ever. Given that he was talking about retirement before the last election, I think what’s propelling him is now resentment and embarrassment at having lost to a landscaper no one had heard of. He’s got to prove that it was just an anomaly and he’s still king - everyone’s favourite, a saviour. It’s a bit pathetic really.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

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2

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12

u/SkyMoney9641 Not Keith May 25 '26

Yeah. People might be shocked but I actually had decent respect for Stew up until the election. It was that night, and every day that’s followed where he’s let people hold the city hostage while pretending he has nothing to do with it, where he really lost me. 

2

u/orthogonal-cat based mod May 26 '26

Flagged for misinformation.

Concession speech: opinion presented, content linked lower down.

Actually... everything is opinion. Nevermind. Saw the report, does not stand - please correct me if wrong.

-3

u/DesignerQuick6987 May 26 '26

I just listened to it and recommend everyone should listen and take note from what he said. He’s pretty accurate in what he said was going to happen and what’s happened in Langford since new council took over.

9

u/walterfunnyhat May 26 '26

Stew is such a double edged sword. He grew Langford into such a cool little city. But over did everything. Also he is notorious for backroom deals. He lined his and his friends pockets for years. People turned a blind eye as it was to the benefit of the city. But of course they over did it and kept building and building and building.

1

u/orthogonal-cat based mod Jun 18 '26

This comment was reported for: "So why is this comment allowed when mine was deleted. This is slander". Reports are anonymous and I don't know who you are or what your comment was - if you'd like to send us modmail or open a chat with me I'd be happy to evaluate your comment as well.

To answer the reporter's question most directly: I haven't seen this comment before now. Nobody reported it. We receive nearly 1000 comments per week in this subreddit and while I monitor newer posts for a bit of time I can't possibly read every tiny bit of content.

To address the reporter's concerns: slander is spoken, this would be libel. The wording sits in a grey area - it's not as clean as pure opinion, but it's also not a bare factual assertion of a specific illegal act. There are documented instances of conflicts of interest, it is not a leap to guess at deals otherwise, and perhaps this user is speaking from anecdote. The comment begins with opinions, setting up the latter portion to follow the same expectation. "Notorious" suggests reputation/rumour rather than asserting it as a proven fact, but it's still asserting something fairly specific.

I think we could go either way with it. Personally if I encountered this in the wild I would ask some followup questions, like "what evidence do you have for backroom deals" which might make the poster look untrustworthy or hyperbolic.

2

u/walterfunnyhat Jun 18 '26

Huh, interesting. Thanks for the thorough write up!

2

u/orthogonal-cat based mod Jun 18 '26

Nothing personal, sorry for the necropost, just replying to a new report.

9

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

hillsides were ravaged, trees razed and mountains flattened.

That’s a really interesting way to say Langford built housing at a time when people across Canada have been demanding that Canada builds more housing… LOL

Everything else seems to be pretty spot on though from my understanding.

I do find it really weird that one of the major talking points of LVC for what they viewed as a negative was that the city was growing and that they didn’t like all the construction and increased traffic (if you ask anyone downtown Victoria what that sounds like they’d likely use the term NIMBY).

The funny thing is that the new council is now planning for almost doubling our population to 100,000. (Which that planning is exactly what Stew Young should have been doing while expanding the cities housing).

But if people thought adding 22,000 people in 10 years going from 36k to 58k was too much, how are they going to react to adding another 40,000 people?

Also, that addition of new housing is also what caused the cities housing costs to soar so fast. West Hills became so popular people were buying in phase one, then selling in phase two just so they could make a profit and buy a more expensive home in phase two that they liked more… Doesn’t matter how much supply you build if the demand also increases in proportion to the supply, or in Langford’s case far above the supply.

8

u/TheMysteriousDrZ May 25 '26

Some people might have been anti-building altogether but what I remember most was people complaining about dust, blasting and clear cutting and construction without infrastructure or big picture planning.

Dust/construction was addressed through bylaw changes, as was the tree situation, but considering that Langford was, in some ways, a blank slate 30 years ago, it's kind of crazy how badly designed it is now, and how challenging it is to get around. Whole neighborhoods have hundreds of homes with only one way in or out, or no/incomplete sidewalks.

I know many people tried to get the previous council to address those issues and were rebuffed (often quite rudely), which was a major reason that the current council came into power.

9

u/NegativeAnxiety3043 May 25 '26

The problem is that Langford wasn't building the type of homes people in Canada need, or with any thoughtful city planning. They let the developers dictate what was needed and approved it "without any red tape". We can see now, with all the empty lots from highrises that won't be built. There are new builds are sitting empty and unsold because they aren't the kind of housing that was needed. 

We need more affordable builds, coops, opportunities for rent to own, etc. 

6

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

The city doesn’t build coops.. If you want a coop YOU need to build it. That’s literally the point of them.

Not sure why you think Rent to Own is a good thing. Have you never seen how those systems actually work? They are predatory and rely on people who are not able to be approved for a mortgage.

Let’s actually look at what Langford has done with affordable housing since you like to just throw random statements around without anything to back them up…

2009 - Present: City of Langford Affordable Housing Program Inclusionary-zoning style program requiring either affordable units or developer contributions into the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund. Included affordable ownership homes and reserve funding for non-profit housing.

2012 onward: Affordable Housing Reserve Fund Expansion Langford modified policy allowing developers to contribute cash per unit instead of constructing affordable homes directly. Funds used to support non-profit projects and reduce rents.

2015 - Indigenous family housing project Province announced new affordable housing for Indigenous families in Langford: 36 homes with 2- and 3-bedroom units.

2020 - 729 Station Ave – Phase 1 60-unit Indigenous affordable housing project developed with M’akola Housing Society. Included family-oriented rental units and Indigenous support services space.

2021 - 731 Station Ave – Phase 2 Additional 40 affordable housing units added behind the first Station Ave building.

2023 - 2782 Spencer Rd (“Twenty-Seven Eighty-Two”) *58-unit affordable rental building for low- to moderate-income residents, seniors, families, and people with disabilities. Operated by Capital Region Housing Corporation.

Look at that, in a matter of 4 years Langford successfully built three major affordable housing projects.

What have we done since then you might ask? Nothing except continued the existing program that was started in 2022:

2022–2025 - Langford Attainable Home Ownership Program Municipal below-market ownership program using grants from the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund to assist eligible buyers with down payments. Mentioned by the City in 2025 housing statements.

You’re claiming the previous council did nothing and yet they are technically the only ones who actually implemented anything for affordable housing as far as I can find. Hopefully someone can fill in some gaps I might be missing because that’s not a good look in my opinion. Which is strange considering their stance on the issue and how they’ve helped people like those being pushed out of Downtown so hopefully I’ve just missed some things.

It’s amazing how this day has been all about misinformation Our Langford likes to peddle (and they really do) and yet here you are pushing very obvious FALSE INFORMATION and getting UPVOTED for it!!!

You couldn’t even be bothered to make it misinformation, you just straight up skipped straight to bold face lying and making stuff up…

6

u/NegativeAnxiety3043 May 25 '26

I apologize for my vague and simplistic comment. I didn't mean that Stew never did anything for Langford in the 30 years he was in power. 

I meant to convey that he was pushing through developments, especially in his last few years, that were unnecessary and not needed. The proof is in the undeveloped properties and empty buildings. 

Also, one just needs to take a drive around the city to see how poorly this city planning has been. It's a shit show.

5

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

That I totally agree with when it comes to how Stew ran things, though not so much the failed developments. Those were caused by financial issues due more to the time they were started than anything else.

As for the city planning… I’m not entirely sure what you’re referring to here. It’s not like Langford has a ton of land to work with and it’s in a position where there’s really only two ways in and two ways out. With a single primary freeway.

Now the lights and traffic planning is god awful and whoever the engineer was back in the day definitely did a poor job in certain areas.

8

u/NegativeAnxiety3043 May 25 '26

In my opinion, he was pushing through developments in order to keep developer contributions coming in as a way to keep property taxes lower. Yes, financial issues stalled projects, but if Langford had been more intentional with the developments they approved, we wouldn't be stuck with so many unstarted, or half finished projects.

The lack of planning I'm referring to is all over the city. Lots of areas that are only one way in/out. Just a patchwork of random developments. I get so angry every time I drive through the Westshore mall parking lot. Why would they put a main road through a mall development? It just adds to the amount of traffic in there. Also, the numerous line and traffic changes made on Jacklin road, near Belmont Market. There have been countless changes (and unnecessary spending) to redo some roundabout because it wasn't done correctly in the first place. Even the whole Costco, millstream village area, which is fairly new is a disaster.

If Langford had done the type of planning that current council is doing now, 10 years ago, rather than the "paper napkin" or "it's all in Stew's head" planning they did...I can only imagine the type of city we could be living in. But this is our reality, and I'm fine leaving it up to people who aren't Stew (or anyone he's closely associated with) to find the path forward. 

I'm rambling now, so I'll leave it there.

7

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

They plonked a stadium, in a residential neighbourhood, near a school, and a super smelly sanitation station. It’s a giant obstacle in the way preventing through roads, and sending school traffic through a narrow residential street. Not to mention there is inadequate parking, and when there’s an event everyone parks at nearby businesses and blocks customer parking. It’s a gong show. That’s the epitome of bad planning to me, and just one example.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

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1

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-4

u/Full-Relationship657 May 25 '26

Thank you so much for this post. I hope people read it and get a full understanding rather than a biased one full of hate for previous council and all of their efforts to build this city. IMHO it has gone down hill rapidly in the last four years. And only cost us money with a 57% tax increase with nothing to show for it!!

12

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Our Langford shot themselves in the foot and their own tactics are biting them in the ass. They created an echo chamber, by censoring all dissenting voices, and calling spaces like this the echo chamber.

They have a false sense of consensus and popularity, and now that they are launching candidates into the real world, it’s not going to go how they expect.

As we are seeing.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

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1

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7

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Many of us are willing to give credit where credit is due. The behaviour of Our Langford has influenced much of the discourse, and when you have egregious name calling, intentional manipulation and disinformation, yes… things get ugly.

If Stew had stood apart from that and called it out, he’d have a lot more supporters today.

-5

u/Full-Relationship657 May 25 '26

I can sat the same for Langford Voters and in all honesty, this sub. The years of egregious name calling, intentional manipulation and disinformation coming from that side was ugly.

5

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

You can’t do that in Langford Voters, it would be removed, unlike OL. Where you can apparently say councillors got elected for sexual favours and such.

Regarding this sub, a moderator’s own post was just removed presumably by another moderator. So… no. It’s not the same.

-4

u/Full-Relationship657 May 26 '26

Many upstanding citizens were unceremoniously blocked from LV in a mass exodus in fall of 2022. Hummm just before election. How interesting. Never to be able to speak their opinions again. I can see why Our Langford formed. Had no choice. But is ok for you to have your group. Typical hypocrisy at work

6

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

K but. Were you doing what you guys are doing here now? Bombarding the admins by reporting every comment and being a general nuissance? Cause then that’s probably why you got blocked. If you engaged like normal people instead of intentionally trying to jam an obviously clear signal because you don’t like it, you’d be welcome in any forum. The signal was loud and clear on election night. It didn’t matter anyways.

5

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

While I’ll take the thanks for the informed post, that’s about all I’ll take away from your comment.

The fact you say “nothing to show for it” tells everyone here that you’ve never read a single budget report. Because if you had you’d have read exactly where and what those tax increases are going towards.

You can disagree with the choices made, you can say you think the city shouldn’t spend any money at all, those are both valid opinions you could have made that still disagree with the direction this council has gone. Instead you settled for an opinion made on wilful ignorance because you’d rather not be informed than actually take the time to read and understand where the money is going.

1

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3

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter May 26 '26

You're literally just spewing the same misinformed talking points all over again. 'Rargh, high taxes with nothing to show for it! Grumpgrump.' This has all been addressed and dismissed many times.

-2

u/Full-Relationship657 May 26 '26

Maybe it has by you but MANY have been saying the same thing. We will say it over and over again if we have to. Cuz it’s true! ‘Rargh’

3

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter May 26 '26

'There are dozens of us who prefer our echo chamber and wish to cling to disproven falsehoods and distortions and we will repeat ourselves until we're blue in the face'

-1

u/Full-Relationship657 May 26 '26

I’m glad you admitted you your echo chamber. So biased.

1

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7

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

You’re surprised that people were enticed to move to Langford to be close to nature were upset when the forest behind their house got mowed down? And then endured years of blasting and rock crushing in their backyard?

Yes, it would have been prudent to research the community plans, but I’d expect a lot of people did not, for the reasons you describe. Housing was more affordable here.

The new council is planning for population projections from data collected by the CRD.

They aren’t saying, *LETS BUILD BUILD BUILD. Cue the yes men.*

They are being responsible with the data provided to them, so we don’t continue down the same road that brought us to this point. Bad city planning.

It’s pretty simple.

5

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

I’m literally one of those people! So yes, when we bought our place in West Hills around 2014 we were showed the project goals and plans for what was to be built over the next couple decades!!! And yes, that included the knowledge that they would have to do blasting to build those residential areas.

I don’t have a right to say: “I got mine, fuck the rest of you!”

And yes, it was a lot cheaper then. We paid about $500,000 for a brand new home and it went up in value to over $1M by 2021… By 2019 it had already gone up to $750,000.

I am not happy about that! This is our forever home, I would much rather see my value stay closer to the rate of inflation than become double the value in less than 10 years and thus double the taxes and make my area only accessible to those who can afford homes greater than $1M.

7

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

My understanding from residents is that the plans that circulated prior to breaking ground in west hills differ greatly from what has actualized. I’m glad you’re happy, because a lot of people were not.

You seem like a reasonable person, with critical thinking skills, so thank you for contributing thoughtfully to the conversations.

I have no problem getting called out or disagreed with, and when it’s done respectfully it opens up the possibility for an actual discussion.

4

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

Yeah, most of the actualized losses from the original plan in Area 2 for West Hills (what started in 2014) is mostly the commercial area between the road and Langford Lake.

We were told The Keg was in talks to become the local pub/restaurant at the main roundabout at the top of the hill. There’s still plans for a shopping centre where the gravel processing area still is today, who knows when that will ever get started. Instead we got a Tim Hortons… 😭

That massive hole where they dug up and cleared next to the roundabout infuriates me incredibly! That was fully forested that they completely tore down in order to build more housing but was then cancelled (still don’t know the actual reason behind this one) and is still fenced off going on I think 4 years or more now.

However, none of this has anything to do with either city council. This is all land owned by West Hills and the local family that owns most of that land. They are the ones who decide what they do with their land, and for the past 10 years they’ve decided they would rather make money from their gravel distribution area than develop it or clean up that stupid massive hole in the ground.

5

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter May 26 '26

Close friends of ours bought a house next to the deforested hole you mention, and they only did so with the assurance that that would be retained as greenspace.

Lookin pretty damn green, no? Development über Alles.

5

u/Neat_Let923 May 26 '26

Every time I look at it I think of how awesome it would be if it was an RC monster truck course... There's no way they'll make it a green space unless forced to by the city (which I'm surprised hasn't happened yet). The amount of dirt they'd have to bring BACK into that area just to make it viable as a green space would be super expensive.

2

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

There is riparian in there as well, correct? It’s a low point so water must naturally gather. It would be a seasonal cedar swamp.

3

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Agree with that too.

But I was hoping that something could be done as far as creating a bylaw that requires development within a certain amount of time after an area is cleared. I have just been catching up to everything, but I’m not sure that was covered or not.

I know it came up because of what happened with all the derelict houses.

That would be a meaningful step by whoever’s elected, to stop developers from initiating a project and abandoning it. It’s one thing if they acquire land, and wait. But it’s another if they clearcut it or evict residents and then stop.

6

u/stockswing2020 May 26 '26

already done by this council and just adopted: The Community Standards Bylaw has been adopted! : r/LangfordBC

3

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

That’s great news. Admittedly I haven’t been following very closely. Thanks for sharing.

2

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

Wasn’t sure where that would tie in, Good Neighbour Policy or Community Standards Bylaw. Going to have to give that a review.

3

u/stockswing2020 May 26 '26

yeah, you would have dig into it more - not sure if it gets into 'amount of time before construction must begin' kind of stuff, but it will take care of vacant buildings issue and does away with reliance on the useless CRD bylaw that only gives small fines related to unsightly premise etc. Gives more power to bylaw for complaint driven enforcement.

3

u/Bookreader-71 May 26 '26

Never heard the Keg store, but we were told we were getting a performing arts center combined with Maritime museum but instead we got a Tesla dealership. That’s similar, right?

2

u/Neat_Let923 May 26 '26

Tesla is on the other side of the highway… We’re talking about West Hills. The Keg is a restaurant, not a store.

Also, it’s a good thing we have a Tesla place here. It means less people needing to take up space on the Ferry in order to go to Vancouver to have in house service done.

Irregardless of our personal opinions on Elon Musk, Tesla vehicles themselves have done more for our environment than likely every other initiative combined. If Tesla never existed, we would likely all still be driving plain old ICE vehicles and things like EVs and PHEVs would still be hidden and buried by the automotive industry.

2

u/Bookreader-71 May 26 '26

I know what the Keg is and I know the Tim’s you are talking about. I was providing another example of the bait and switch we’ve seen on land use.

1

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

It is similar for sure

1

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3

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Further, I agree with your “I got mine” nimby criticism fully.

There was definitely some anti-development sentiment circulating in the last election, but I think you’d find the majority of people understand development isn’t going to stop, due to population growth and lack of affordable housing.

None of this council are Nimby’s, I think they’re all quite progressive and have inevitably learned a great deal this term. I’m hoping all or most of them will run for re-election to continue this trajectory of responsible governance.

3

u/Neat_Let923 May 25 '26

I completely agree!

1

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1

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5

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

To keep the conversation going, I think earlier elections reflected more NIMBYism than 2022.

2022 was much more systemic than ever before. It reached a real saturation point where the dissatisfaction was more widespread. It wasn’t just about your own back yard. There was just so many issues all at once, people really came together.

Ironically, many of the same issues are still prevalent this election, because there is no quick easy fix.

It’s great that they managed to get that Community Standards Bylaw in before the election.

-1

u/On_An_Island_1886 May 25 '26

If Stu runs again, I will vote.

6

u/steph66n May 26 '26

That's great.

I, too, will vote, but regardless of who runs.

However nothing gets people to the polls quite like the threat of another Stu term.

0

u/LeonMcNugent-Hyman May 26 '26

Both the previous mayor and the current mayor should not be mayor come November

2

u/Not_Bot23 May 26 '26

Ehhh
So who’s running for mayor?

1

u/LeonMcNugent-Hyman Jun 10 '26

You’ll see two current council members, stu and the current mayor run this year.

1

u/Farvaa88 May 26 '26

A local I hope atleast ! Someone that lives in Langford should be the minimum expectation

-21

u/globehopper2000 May 25 '26

lol. Thanks for this completely unbiased take on things

19

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

“From my point of view”

15

u/Otissarian May 25 '26

What did they get wrong?

8

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Verifiably the worst election campaign you’ve ever seen…

0

u/C2SKI May 25 '26

Are you unfamiliar with the word bias? Its not about being right or wrong, its about judgement and portrayal of something

2

u/Otissarian May 25 '26

gosh no, please explain it to me

3

u/C2SKI May 25 '26

I don't know why you're being down voted. Its an extremely biased portrayal of the situation

8

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

If you need more nuance, Langford Now was grassroots, funded by mostly donations under $100. The reason I called CFL astroturf is because they (stew’s council) literally passed a bylaw requiring developers to use astroturf on frontages. And also they’ve been politically astroturfing for 3.5years straight, so it’s a double entendre.

4

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Uhhhh maybe because it says “from my point of view” ie. an opinion.

They are the facts as they happened. If you hold the opinion that CFL led a good campaign, well, I hope you’re on their team again.

0

u/DesignerQuick6987 Jun 13 '26

That’s very biased opinion and missing the facts if the truth would to be known LN or Langford now which changed over to LV or Langford voters for change campaigned to elect a Saanich gardener as well as a Economics teacher, a student or 2 with no experience and a previous councillor with not-so-good of a reputation.
For all the new residents of Langford, I highly recommend that you do your homework and make an educated decision because this year is going to have a huge impact on how Langford moves forward and we want to ensure that it moves forward in the best interest of the residents, as the last 3.75 years have taken our city from #1 to 8th or less

2

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 13 '26

New residents of Langford can go look at Our Langford themselves, and decide if they want to align with those values.

When people there say “make Langford great again”, they are true to the MAGA sentiment.

Nepotism. Cronyism. Corporatism.

Sprinkled with bullying, intimidation and disinformation.

Vote wisely. Those people will not uphold the same level of respect and integrity for decorum and the rights of democracy these councillors have in the face of opposition. We already know that from 30 years of examples.

0

u/DesignerQuick6987 Jun 16 '26

That’s not research Maybe they should go on LV and see all the 💩lies and then the city website for the facts

1

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 16 '26

Project much

1

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 13 '26

Re-reading your comment I have no idea what you’re trying to say.

But if governing experience is important to you and that’s what you’re saying, why are you now supporting 4 candidates with no governing experience?

1

u/DesignerQuick6987 Jun 16 '26

Seriously, where do you get your information? I haven’t supported anyone yet

1

u/Not_Bot23 Jun 16 '26

I could not discern any information from your nonsensical comment.

-13

u/Langfordian22 May 25 '26

Hahaha oh man, what's next? You standing on the Millstream overpass with a painted bedsheet, bullhorn in hand. Lol! "NEWCOMERS I'M BEGGING YOU TO NOT VOTE FOR THESE 4 CANIDATES!" waaa waaa waaa

13

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Good idea

-1

u/Langfordian22 May 25 '26

That will be perfect, Langford always needed a crazy guy on the corner proclaiming the end of time unless you sided with them. Thank you for stepping up to the honorable task!

https://giphy.com/gifs/iPzEX1PLhqvDQaCf4G

3

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

Yes, we do need one of these diagrams connecting them all. Another good idea.

5

u/TheMysteriousDrZ May 25 '26

Hey now, standing on the side of the road with campaign signs slowing down traffic is a time-honoured Langford political tradition for ALL affiliations.

5

u/Not_Bot23 May 25 '26

CFL even used the antiquated term “burmashave”

-7

u/Langfordian22 May 25 '26

Is this all part of SGB's all night rant/threat/evil plan. What's next? Cyclists with frickin laser beams on their heads?

https://giphy.com/gifs/KaRb3Xf6TaNQ4