What Stew Young
Left Behind.

Young’s council put the sewer system into a private franchise that now runs to 2046. Westhills utilities, household garbage, and recreation deals reveal a broader pattern: residents pay while private businesses retain control or ownership.

Langford issued occupancy permits in 2019 and 2022 under Young. Both were later revoked over structural safety concerns. Residents were displaced twice; the owner now expects to dismantle the tower.

Fire protection fell behind. Police budgets missed the City’s staffing target. Parks staff were stretched across facilities work. Young left the next council to fund the catch-up.

Young’s council budgeted $6.17 million in reserve subsidies for recurring costs over four years. The next council inherited the funding gap and raised taxes.

Young missed 95 of 309 council meetings across four terms in a community compilation: nearly one in three.

Young opposed adopting a code of conduct before the term ended. Two long-serving councillors later said they felt bullied by him.

Young claimed to listen to residents. Too often, he pushed ahead anyway. South Langford forest, the Speedway lands, and years of resident objections show the pattern.

Developers joined budget-priority retreats. When their association objected to a proposed dust-control bylaw in 2016, Young’s council removed it from the agenda.

Young’s council sold the recreation centre to a private buyer for $425,000 below its appraisal, tied to promised improvements. Residents lost public ownership and were left with a recreation-use restriction that expires.

29 years of growth. No transportation master plan. Residents inherited missing sidewalks and disconnected bike routes. The next council had to plan the catch-up.

Young co-owned Alpine while Langford left household collection to private subscriptions. He opposed a public garden-waste alternative in 2014 and left coordinated household collection to a later council.

Langford invested $2 million in a training facility under Young and provided City land for $1 a year. Later, the City reported substantial unpaid bills and unmet obligations.

Young’s council renewed a parks-maintenance contract in 2021 for five years, with five more available. The provider had held the work since 1992; the first year cost $2.34 million.

Langford financed the parkway under Young. Years later, the City sued over a missed developer repayment and sought legal protection for a trail route subject to private access restrictions.

A support reserve for manufactured-home owners remained a policy promise without an actual fund. Staff also found that an intended agricultural reserve had never been formally created.