A Feb. 23, 2026 Township of Langley council agenda item tied to the draft capital budget shows how two major sports projects are being financed in the 2026 budget. Staff recommended that council fund $15.66 million from the Community Amenity Contributions (CAC) Reserve and internally borrow $52.2 million from the Neighbourhood Parkland Reserve, $25 million from the Sewer Capital Works Reserve, and $1.85 million from the Public Works Equipment Replacement Reserve for Smith Athletic Park and the Ice and Dry Arenas projects. The recommendation says the internal borrowing would be repaid by CAC and/or general revenue within a maximum of 30 years at 4.69 percent.

The Township’s Neighbourhood Park Land Policy says money collected for park land acquisition is to be deposited in a reserve fund for acquiring neighbourhood park land and used to purchase land for neighbourhood parks as new neighbourhoods proceed with development. The Feb. 23 financing plan would use that reserve as part of the funding mix for the two projects.

The Township’s Amenity Cost Charges page lists Smith Athletic Park and the Langley Events Centre Ice and Dry Arenas Facility among the major projects ACCs are intended to help fund. The current financing plan adds internal borrowing from the parkland reserve to that picture.

Both projects are ongoing. The Township’s capital projects page lists the New Ice and Dry Floor Arenas Facility at LEC and Smith Athletic Park as underway. The LEC project page describes three ice arenas and two dry floor arenas and lists a project value of $149 million. The Smith Athletic Park page describes a 20-acre site, says phase one funding was approved on July 25, 2024 and phase two on January 16, 2025, and lists a project value of $129.95 million. Together, the current project pages place the two projects at $278.95 million.

Those current project-page totals are different from the revised ACC-program figures in the Township’s December 2025 ACC report. That report says revisions removed approximately $144 million in debt from the ACC amenities allocated to the LEC Ice and Dry Arenas and Smith Athletic Park, reflecting a different accounting view within the ACC program.

The funding picture changed after the Supreme Court of British Columbia decided on June 20, 2025 that the Township’s CAC Policy No. 07-166 was invalid. On July 7, 2025, council adopted an interim CAC policy directing staff to discuss amenity contributions with applicants, negotiate them case by case as part of phased development agreements, or allow them to arise through applicant initiative or rezoning negotiations.

The Township’s Budget and Financial Plan 2026 page says the draft budget reflected a 3.98 percent increase, or $108.22 for the average residential home, and listed $1.166 million in operating costs associated with opening the LEC Ice and Dry Arenas over five months in 2026. The same page says changes approved on March 9 reduced the final 2026 property tax increase to 3.97 percent, and that council approved the 2026-2030 financial plan on March 23, 2026.

Council voted 5 to 4 on March 9 to give the budget bylaw first three readings. The councillors in the minority said they were not opposed to every spending item, but raised concerns about transparency, rising debt servicing costs, and infrastructure they said remains unfunded.

The budget documents describe a financing plan in which a reserve intended for neighbourhood park land acquisition is being used, on an internal borrowing basis, to help fund two large sports projects that are already underway. A key question is how quickly that internal borrowing can be repaid, and what it could mean for future neighbourhood park acquisition, given the stated purpose of the reserve.