Stew Young’s
Record as Mayor
Privatization & public control · 2004–2026

Public services.
Private control.

Under Stew Young, Langford transferred its sewer assets into a private franchise, built Westhills utility services around a developer-associated company, and left residents buying garbage collection individually. His council also guaranteed a privately owned pool’s lease and sold a public recreation centre. These were decisions about who would own essential infrastructure, collect residents’ payments, and hold the leverage for decades.

Updated September 30, 2026

Young’s council put essential services into private hands. Residents still had to pay. The clearest example is the sewer franchise: approved in 2004, extendable by either party, and now running to 2046. The City says it cannot change sewer rates on its own. See the records

A sewer deal that could run for 42 years

The September 2004 Sewer Utility Agreement1 gave West Shore Environmental Services an exclusive franchise. Article 13 provided for transferring Langford’s existing sewer assets for a nominal price, in exchange for the company’s contractual obligations. Article 4 authorized private ownership of new infrastructure. This went well beyond hiring a maintenance contractor.

The company did not need a fresh council vote to secure another 21 years. Article 3.2 allowed either party to extend the agreement by giving notice. The City’s current explanation2 says WSES exercised that option, extending the franchise to 2046. It also says Langford cannot unilaterally set sewer rates: changes require negotiation with WSES. Young’s council wrote that loss of unilateral control into a deal that outlasted his mayoralty.

The City identifies WSES as the owner, builder, operator and maintainer of Langford’s sewer system3. This concerns the local collection system; it does not mean the regional wastewater treatment system is privately owned.

The original contract provided for the City to acquire the assets for $1 at the end of the term. That eventual purchase did not give residents public ownership during the franchise. The City now describes proposed amendments involving a larger future purchase price and lower current fees. Those negotiations belong to the later council; the renewable private franchise began under Young.

Westhills: the utility relationship continues after the home sale

Westhills lists Sustainable Services Ltd. among its associated businesses5. SSL provides community heating, cooling and hot-water services using a shared geo-exchange system. It also distributes and bills for water in Westhills, supplied upstream by the CRD. Residents served by that system have an ongoing utility relationship with SSL after buying their homes.

Young’s council adopted Multi Utility Bylaw 1291 in June 20104. It established water and energy as municipal services delivered under a framework that names SSL as a service provider. The bylaw allowed unpaid service charges to be added to a property’s tax roll. Its energy terms also allowed the provider to charge a departing customer for costs imposed on remaining customers by disconnection.

A home purchase could come with a continuing bill to a developer-associated utility. That deserves scrutiny alongside the purchase price and property taxes. SSL’s current FAQ6 says the City sets water and energy rates and the BCUC approves Paradise Falls energy rates. The arrangement retains public oversight; it does not give the developer unrestricted power to charge whatever it wants.

Garbage: private subscriptions, without collective purchasing

Young co-owned Alpine’s waste business until its 2019 sale. Langford left households arranging private garbage pickup throughout his mayoralty. He also opposed a public garden-waste alternative in 2014. As our garbage and Alpine story7 documents, the later council’s staff assessment found residents likely paid more on average than households with municipal or municipally contracted biweekly collection.

Private delivery does not require leaving every household to negotiate alone. The next council pursued a coordinated, competitively contracted service. Young left that collective purchasing opportunity to his successors.

Recreation followed the same pattern

At the Westhills YMCA8, the developer owned the building while Langford guaranteed the operator’s lease. At the North Langford Recreation Centre8, Young’s council sold a public asset to a private buyer, with a recreation-use restriction that expires. Public ownership, private ownership and private operation have different consequences. Young repeatedly chose arrangements that left ownership or continuing revenue with private businesses.

A smaller municipal budget does not make a service free. Residents can pay through private bills while the City gives up ownership and bargaining power.

The cost of giving up control

Young’s record should be judged by the full household bill and the control residents received in return. Sewer charges, garbage subscriptions and utility payments do not disappear because they sit outside the property-tax bill. His council committed Langford to private arrangements that later councils must negotiate around, buy their way out of, or replace. Signing the deal was only the beginning. Residents live with its terms.

Sources

  1. City of Langford, 2004 Sewer Utility AgreementArticles 3.2, 4, 13 and 20: renewal by either party, franchise, asset transfer and end-of-term purchase.
  2. City of Langford, sewer agreement and fee-change FAQ2004 origin, renewal to 2046, negotiated rate changes and proposed amendments. The page describes the amendments as a term sheet awaiting a finalized agreement.
  3. City of Langford, water and sewer servicesWSES ownership and operation of the local sewer system; CRD drinking-water role.
  4. City of Langford, Multi Utility Bylaw 1291, 2010Adopted June 21, 2010. Municipal service framework, SSL, unpaid charges and Schedule F/G energy disconnection terms. Historical terms are not presented as current rates.
  5. Westhills, associated businessesLists SSL and its water and renewable heating/cooling services.
  6. Sustainable Services Ltd., service and regulation FAQCommunity energy, water distribution, City rate setting and BCUC oversight.
  7. Garbage and Alpine: source recordsOwnership timeline, public-option debate, City cost assessment and later procurement.
  8. Westhills YMCA: source records · North Langford Recreation Centre: sale recordsLease guarantee without ownership, and public recreation asset sale.