Excavation in the City of Langley
A compact urban centre on the Nicomekl River, with two SkyTrain stations planned. The City has a specific policy for excavations 3 m and deeper.
About City of Langley
- Langley City is a 10-square-kilometre urban centre of about 35,000 people, with the Nicomekl River and its floodplain running through it. Source: City of Langley: About
- The Official Community Plan focuses growth in core areas within roughly 400 m of the planned SkyTrain stations near 196 Street and 203 Street along the Fraser Highway corridor. Source: City of Langley OCP Bylaw No. 3200 (PDF)
Local rules that affect excavation
Checked October 2026. Each point below links to the City’s own bylaw or web page. Bylaws change, so confirm with the City before work starts. General information, not legal advice.
Excavation and shoring
- Excavation and Shoring Policy CO-87 (approved March 31, 2025) applies to all non-single-family building permit applications that need a plan; plans proposing excavations 3 m or deeper require an independent review. Source: City of Langley Policy CO-87 (PDF)
- Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw No. 2498 requires a permit before work including excavation related to construction, and a permit for retaining walls 1.2 m or higher. Source: Bylaw No. 2498
Tree protection
- Tree Protection and Management Bylaw No. 3321 (adopted January 2026) protects trees of 20 cm DBH or more on lots under a development application, significant trees of 75 cm DBH or more, City trees and trees in environmentally sensitive areas. Source: Bylaw No. 3321 (PDF)
- Barriers must go up before construction, demolition or excavation wherever disturbance is within 10 m of a protected trunk, and excavation, stockpiling and site access are not allowed inside the protection zone. Source: Bylaw No. 3321 (PDF)
Erosion, sediment and watercourses
- Watercourse Protection Bylaw No. 3152 requires an engineer-sealed ESC plan with the servicing drawings, and a Qualified Environmental Professional retained before construction starts on all sites except single-family residential. Source: Bylaw No. 3152
- Zoning Bylaw No. 3300 sets building setbacks of 30 m from Class A watercourses, 15 m from Class B and 5 m from Class C, unless a QEP sets an alternative under the provincial Riparian Areas Protection Regulation. Source: Zoning Bylaw No. 3300 (PDF)
Provincial and federal rules apply too
Municipal bylaws sit on top of provincial and federal rules: BC 1 Call locates and WorkSafeBC requirements on every dig, the Agricultural Land Commission for fill in the ALR, soil relocation notifications for some commercial and industrial sites, and the Water Sustainability Act and Fisheries Act near streams. Our Excavation permits checklist for BC projects links each one to its source.
PCE in City of Langley
PCE is based in Langley and works across Langley and the Fraser Valley. Services we take on here:
Got a big job coming up?
Tell us where it is, what needs to come out of the ground and when. We’ll tell you how we would do it.