I have worked in municipal government for almost a decade. I started in a rural municipality in planning and development working primarily with rural developers and industrial developments. I moved on to working in planning and development in a smaller urban town, I then gained the experience working alongside the builder and developer community to update the Land Use Bylaw, the Municipal Development Plan and other statutory documents. I am currently in the economic and business development field within municipal government. I bring a unique perspective to a Council because of my practical experience working within municipal government. I am running on six platform branches, economic health & prosperity, transparency & accountability, housing opportunities for all, regional collaboration, environmental sustainability, and community well-being.

How will you support the City of Spruce Grove's competitive advantage and market affordable housing? How do you see fees, levies, taxes and municipal cost control playing a role in housing affordability? Note: CHBA-ER refers to “market affordable housing” as housing that is market priced and meets the general requirements of affordability based on household income. Market affordable housing may include market rental housing and market home ownership.

I would support Spruce Grove’s competitive advantage in affordable housing by reviewing the current fees, levies, and municipal costs to ensure they are competitive based on the region. Currently, Spruce Grove is leading the region with the highest number of housing starts, in order to keep this momentum I would advocate to our builder and developer community to reduce red tape and turnaround times. I also believe the City of Spruce Grove could investigate Inclusionary Zoning, allowing developers to have an option to include affordable housing into a subdivision in return for additional density or to provide monetary contributions in-leu of inclusion of affordable housing units. No major municipality in Alberta has adopted this zoning – I would advocate for Spruce Grove to pave the way!

What steps do you believe are necessary to reduce red tape and support business investment in the residential construction industry?

I believe there is room to with work with home builders and developers to reduce red tape and support business investment, an example of an investment strategy can include the deferral of off-site levies and the municipal portion of taxes on bare land until the home has been sold and there is more of a cash flow. I am also in favour of allowing builders to start construction after receiving the development permit approval while the building permit is being reviewed, this results in less of a delay. Furthermore, I would advocate for having pre-zoning systems to help reduce permitting time, I would advocate to ensure the City’s processes are clear, transparent, and predictable every time. As someone who used to be a municipal Development Officer, I understand the logistics behind residential permitting and know the appropriate timelines that need to be met for business to succeed.

Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout Spruce Grove?

Absolutely! I think Spruce Grove has done a good job of supporting different housing types. I look around and see multiple neighbourhoods that have mixed use residential which I think is so valuable because that allows different demographics to be able to live in their desired neighbourhood. I would like to see more high-density subdivisions in Spruce Grove and a country residential subdivision to allow for an area with larger lots within the City.

Is there anything about your platform that you think CHBA-ER members should know?

I am here to break barriers and to bring a different viewpoint to help implement solutions to continue to grow our community.