Council to discuss gas station moratorium, Coles Valley agreement

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 15, 2026

In the words of one Langley official, next Monday’s council meeting may be quite a humdinger.

On the agenda are two potentially hot-button topics — a Coles Valley Land Use Agreement and a proposed moratorium on gas stations.

The proposed moratorium on new gas stations, specifically “service stations,” would give the city six months to update design regulations specific to that type of development.

The moratorium isn’t specific to a project, but the city did receive a pre-application communication from someone who wants to build a convenience store and gas station at 249 Cascade Avenue. Gas stations require a conditional use permit and a decision by the city’s hearing examiner, according to a staff report by Community Planning Director Meredith Penny. A pre-application meeting is scheduled for May 21.

As the council packet explains, the moratorium could go into effect immediately, but then a public hearing would be held on the interim ordinance on June 15. The process will include public outreach, a SEPA determination, a comment period, Department of Commerce review and a hearing before the city planning advisory board.

“Without an immediate moratorium, applications for new service stations could be submitted and processed before these regulations are in place, with potential to negatively affect the character of the bity’s built environment and economy,” the agenda item states.

The council will also discuss a proposed agreement with the South Whidbey LLC, which hopes to build the Coles Valley development on 40 acres located south of the Langley Water Treatment Plant.

Mayor Kennedy Horstman outlined the history of the property and the project. In 2005, the property was annexed into the city with development restrictions in an annexation agreement. South Whidbey LLC initially applied for a planned unit development, but that was withdrawn “in part due to complications associated with affordable housing development.”

Last July, South Whidbey LLC applied for long plat permit to subdivide the property into 65 single lots and four cottage tracts.

“Separately, SWLLC expressed a desire to update the annexation agreement to facilitate their proposal and a willingness to work with the city to include permanently affordable housing as part of the development,” the mayor wrote.

The developer also expressed an intent to pursue a legal challenge over the conditions in the annexation agreement. As a result, the city and the developer worked on a new agreement, which the council will discuss Monday.

“While I anticipate and welcome discussion, I want to emphasize that this agreement reflects a good-faith collaborative effort by all parties to establish a practical foundation for development that will deliver meaningful, broad-based benefits to our community,” Horstman wrote.