The first public hearing on Langley’s proposed new rules for subdivisions will be this week.

City officials hope to adopt the new rules by early April so they can lift the city’s moratorium against new neighborhoods that has been in place since June 2007.

The first public hearing, conducted by the city’s Planning Advisory Board, will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, at city hall on Second Street.

A second PAB public hearing will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, at city hall.

The new rules are expected to guide development that will be designed to fit with the city’s existing character, preserve as much natural vegetation as possible, link neighbors and neighborhoods, promote diversity in housing types and the people who live in them, and lessen Langley’s “global footprint.”

Some local developers are skeptical, saying the proposed changes will drive up the cost of housing and scare builders away.

An outline of the proposals is available at the city’s Web site, www.langleywa.org, or at city hall.