In addition to regular business, including finance, human resources, and correspondence, there were a couple of significant happenings at this month’s meeting of the North Cypress-Langford Council.

After many months of research, planning, and alteration, the new Municipality of North Cypress-Langford zoning bylaw has been brought back to Council for a second public hearing. The first hearing was held last year and received several comments and recommended changes to the draft bylaw. Following this second hearing for the amended bylaw, which was circulated and drew no further comments, Council passed second and third readings of the bylaw to finally enact it. It replaces the old zoning bylaws that applied to the former municipalities of North Cypress and Langford individually. North Cypress and Langford were amalgamated in 2015.

Council was also visited by Agassiz MLA Jodie Byram to discuss issues affecting the municipality. One pressing issue is the need to get a doctor into the community, and Council brought attention to the red tape that has been involved in trying to recruit an internationally-trained physician. Road safety was also discussed, especially in light of the tragic bus collision that took place near the community in June of 2023. The province released its proposal for changes to that dangerous intersection in January but residents are unsatisfied with it, and with the amount of land that is being held for a future overpass that is not in the current proposal.

That land issue as well as problems with provincial road maintenance, were the foundation of the third main point discussed with Byram. Because of the held land, no new businesses can be built in proximity to a major highway with significant trade potential. The state of the highway leading to the U.S. border is also in such poor shape that it is causing cross-border trade to bypass the area. In both these cases, provincial decisions are negatively affecting the rural economy.