Langford, B.C., is growing rapidly. Its new mayor and council intend to be strategic about development

Residents in Langford, B.C., one of the country's fastest-growing cities, say they are ready for change after electing a new mayor and largely new council.

Businessman and Saanich resident Scott Goodmanson won the mayor's seat, upsetting veteran municipal politician Stew Young, the first person to be elected mayor after the city was incorporated in 1992.

"I grew up in Langford, my dad grew up in Langford, and my great grandparents grew up in Langford, and our family property is still here. It's my home," Goodmanson said Monday on CBC's On the Island.

Goodmanson will be joined on council by five members of Langford Now, an organization launched earlier this year that endorsed candidates for mayor and council. Those new council members include Kimberly Guiry, Colby Harder, Mark Morley, Mary Wagner and Keith Yacucha.

Lillian Szpak, who ran as an Independent, was the only incumbent to keep her seat. She credits her connection to Langford Now and her history with council for her win. 

"What's been happening at council, it's been really awful, chaotic kind of atmosphere at meetings with the mayor," she said.

"I brought forward several notices of motion that were ... soundly defeated, and they were from the community. So I think it's because I was listening to the community."

Development

Langford is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, according to census figures from 2021. The population jumped 31.8 per cent to 46,584 people from 2016 to 2021.

Goodmanson said he ran on a platform of affordable housing and accountability at city hall as the cost of housing is a growing concern in the community.

"Langford has been building houses at like 182 per cent of its need, and that's not bringing house prices down," he said. 

"So just building houses hasn't and isn't going to solve the problem."

He says he will be asking for more community input into what residents want to see and need from developers.

"We want to build communities, not just houses," said Goodmanson.

Resident Janette Galbraith said as a senior, she wants to see more affordable housing. 

"Even the young people, how do they afford a place out here?" she said. 

Julie Lawlor, the executive director of the Westshore Chamber of Commerce, says business owners in Langford have been struggling to find and hire new employees who can afford the cost of living in the city.

New councillor Colby Harder said that while it would be unreasonable to stop current development, the new council will be strategic about what new developments it approves and ensure existing infrastructure, such as roadways, can accommodate it.   

"I think the piece that we're missing is really the connectivity between all of those new [neighbourhoods]," she said.

"And then, of course, working with B.C. Transit to make sure that our transit infrastructure is keeping up to pace with the development."