Last year marked record growth in Langley, and city councilmember Robert Gilman is part of an effort to make sure the changes impact the community in a good way.

Langley has seen about 10 to 15 new housing units per year over the past decade.

But right now, there are more than 100 new units being proposed and working their way through the land-use process.

If these trends continue, the city will double in size in five to seven years.

“It could be the new trend. It may not be,” Gilman said. “But in either case, it’s something that not only the council, but the whole community needs to pay attention to.”

So this year the councilman, with the help of the Government Process Committee, will focus on developing a system to deal with the stretched-out workload the city is now facing.

“The policy responsibilities of the council involve making sure we have the policies in place that will enable the kind of growth the community wants,” Gilman said.

And if anyone is qualified for the job, it’s Gilman.

Gilman holds a PhD is astrophysics from Princeton University, and served as a research associate at NASA’s Institute for Space Studies.

Later in life, Gilman decided “the stars could wait but the planet couldn’t.” He turned his attention to study sustainability and positive cultural change. Gilman created a non-profit and produced a magazine called “In Context,” which dealt with issues involving smart growth, green building and livable communities.

Shortly after moving to Langley in the mid ‘90s, Gilman’s wife and work partner Diane became ill. She passed away in 1998.

This experience changed Gilman’s life in a number of ways. He would spend the next few years healing and taking care of his then teen-aged daughter. Support Gilman received from the community is something he is still thankful for.

At the start of 2004, Gilman joined the city council.

“I was personally at a place where I was coming back out of my inner journey and ready to be back involved somewhat more,” he said.

Langley was at a point where it was facing significant development issues. Gilman said it was apparent that there was opportunity for positive changes in Langley, but also the possibility of adverse effects.

“Having received a lot from the community, I was willing to see if there was something I could give back,” he said.

One of the council’s main roles is policy making, but all too often councilmembers find themselves “rubber stamping” and giving the seal of approval after a significant amount of time and energy has already been invested on an issue, he said.

“Even though policy making is supposed to be the job of the council,” Gilman said, “it hasn’t been developed as much as it could have been.”

In the coming year, Gilman would like to see the council’s role in planning policy reach the same level as their responsibility in planning policy.

So Gilman and the Government Process Committee are looking at ways that the council can get involved earlier in the process. The committee is made up of city councilmembers, city staff and local residents.

“I’m hopeful that we will be able to get some new structures in place and focus some significant attention to upgrading Langley’s comprehensive plan,” Gilman said.

The changes the councilmember and the committee would like to see would be those that maintain and enhance Langley’s character.

New planning policies would draw on “smart growth” practices and meet the requirements of the Growth Management Act, while respecting property rights.

While those involved in planning reorganization see these changes as plausible, they also say it will take a lot of work.

Community participation will be a key to success.

“One of the things we’ve got going in the council is how we can make various parts of the government process both more efficient in some ways, and also more tied into the community so that we strengthen community participation,” Gilman said.

“My own hope is that we will have a process that will be available to every interested citizen, and every citizen will have a constructive way to participate,” he said.

Opportunities for public participation could include everything from attending town meeting and public hearings, to involvement in committees and researching policy issues.

“We’re trying to find practical ways that will mesh with people’s lives today that will also allow them to have a voice in their community,” Gilman said.

Overall, the committee would like to improve the planning process for the council, city staff, Langley residents and development applicants by improving the system as a whole.

Although still in preliminary stages, the Government Process Committee hopes to make some solid changes to planning processes in the year to come.

“I’m hopeful that we will be able to get some new structures in place and focus some significant attention to upgrading Langley’s comprehensive plan,” Gilman said. “So we can feel well-prepared for whatever growth wave may or may not come to us.”