Langley City’s first Mercedes dealership is one step closer to opening its doors.
An application to rezone the parcel of land at 20801 Langley Bypass passed third reading, following a public hearing on Monday evening.
However, not everyone is excited by the arrival of the luxury auto dealership, which will be part of the Dilawri Group.
The City received three letters opposing the rezoning and one person came to City Council on Monday night to speak against the project.
City resident Jacob de Raadt told council that he opposes the construction of an automobile dealership at the northwest corner of Glover Road and the Langley Bypass because of accessibility issues and train and traffic volumes.
Before the rezoning passed third reading later in the evening, Councillor Dave Hall commented that transportation issues will be a concern regardless of what type of business is opened at the intersection.
This way, he quipped, if drivers get stuck in traffic or are held up by a train, they can sit and dream of owning a luxury automobile.
The Mercedes dealership will not be part of the Collection automall, which is located on the south west corner of the intersection and, so far, has one operation dealership, selling BMWs and Mini Coopers.
Ajay Dilawri of Dilawri Group — which has businesses in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta — told council that he and his brothers have been focusing their efforts on the Lower Mainland for the past three years.
Dilawri Group also owns Langley Acura, which is technically located in Surrey, as well as a number of other high-end dealerships in Vancouver, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche
“We’ve chosen a major gateway,” he said of the busy Glover Road-Langley Bypass intersection.
“It will signal that Langley is a city of prosperity.”
