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University district approved by Langley Township Councillor Davis gives lastminute presentation to derail Wall property component DAN FERGUSON Times Reporter
Dan FERGUSON/Langley Times
Volunteers John Vanderboom (L) and Barry Tyson (R) polish a classic Beechcraft at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley on Tuesday.
Langley’s Museum of Flight to get new, bigger home
“I ran for council to save farmland. I’m actually dumbfounded (that this is going to be approved).”
Township council approves dollar-a-year lease and engineering study DAN FERGUSON Times Reporter
A newer, bigger home for the Canadian Museum of Flight is a step closer to reality following a Langley Township council decision that approved a $15,000 engineering study of the proposal. The study, “to review and determine the the feasibility and cost implications of the requested relocation with respect to both capital site servicing and long term operational [costs]” was approved during a special closeddoor meeting of council on Monday. A Township staff report shows the
museum plans to build its new home west of its current site in the Langley Regional Airport. The museum would be located on Fraser Highway, near the eastern property line of the Derek Doubleday Arboretum. At 60,000 square feet, the new facility would be several times bigger than the current 7,000 square foot space, considered inadequate to house the growing collection of historical aircraft. A preliminary estimate puts the cost of the new building at $2 million. All the costs of construction and the relocation of the many classic aircraft
will be borne by the museum, the report states. It will take about three years to raise the money, the museum believes. Because the property is within the Agricultural Land Reserve, the provincial Agricultural Land Commission will have to approve the non-farm use. According to the report, the Township plans to lease the property to the museum for a dollar a year. It currently leases its airport space for about $15,000 a year. The museum was founded in 1977 and originally operated in Surrey. It moved to Langley in 1996.
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An impromptu presentation by Langley Township Councillor David Davis failed to convince his colleagues to ditch a controversial plan to build 67 compact residential lots on the 153-acre Wall property located at 22415 72 Ave. Davis used an overhead projector usually reserved for visiting delegations to argue that the project is being built on the site of a former lake and that could be a violation of federal fisheries and oceans regulations. “I believe this was man-made, but it is [fish] habitat,” Davis said, using the projector to show photos David Davis of the lake he Township Councillor recalled using as a teenager. He went on to argue allowing a subdivision in the middle of farmland will set a precedent that will encourage developers to build on agricultural land. “I ran for council to save farmland,” Davis said. “I’m actually dumbfounded [that this is going to be approved].” Davis, along with Councillors Kim Richter and Michelle Sparrow, said the project should have been separated from a proposal to create a “university district” of housing and related commercial development near Trinity Western University (TWU) on three properties at 7645 and 7679 Glover Road, and 22423 Labonte Crescent.
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