Glen Finstad is a long-time resident of Leduc and has been a Councillor for almost 11 years. He and wife June raised two boys, one of which lives in Leduc with his family.

Glen is an experienced community leader – minor sports, Black Gold Rodeo past president; Leduc Curling club past president; past board member, chamber of commerce.

His business experience includes ownership of several businesses, business coach and mentor, and is currently a business broker. Glen is known as being knowledgeable about regional issues and is known to have a strong regional voice. He is looking forward to serving his great community for another 4 years.

How will you support the City of Leduc'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.

We have a strict review of our internal policies and permitting processes to make sure we are cost effective and timely in providing permits. It boils down to service and delivery – we promise prompt service and make sure we deliver on that promise. We recently provided development and building permits that took 14 days for a supportive housing project. We apologized to the developer for taking so long. They were in awe as a similar project in Calgary took two years to obtain the permits.

There is a very tough balance between fees, levies, taxes, and municipal cost control. Whether the development costs are added to the cost pf the property or added after the fact to the municipal tax bill, the affect on home ownership is the same – you are either paying as part of the capital cost of the home, or on the monthly/annual operating cost by way of the municipal tax.

Leduc strives for the most cost-effective means regarding fees and levies and has instituted a policy whereby fees/levies are reviewed every three years in order to provide stability and consistency to the builders and developers. We are working closely with industry to make land use and zoning more standardized with Edmonton. Our engineering standards for building very closely mirror those of Edmonton. We believe the more similar and closely aligned with our neighbours' standards become, the easier it will be for builders and developers to do business in Leduc and within the entire metro region.

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

In Leduc we are proud of the strides we have made in red tape reduction in our development and building permit processes. We expect permits will be issued in less than 14 days once all relevant information is submitted. We are proud to know we have had projects completed in less time than some jurisdictions are able to provide permits.

Our planning department is working with industry to educate on the top reasons permits are placed on hold. Once industry is aware of the usual shortcomings, improvements in issuance result. Reducing the number of permits on hold also leads to more efficiencies in the permitting process.

Standardization of processes and land use bylaws throughout the entire Edmonton Metro Region would go a long way in reducing red tape and increase investment in the residential construction industry. Afterall, investment in one area of the region actually benefits the entire region!

Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout Leduc?

Yes, providing housing options means we can remain an inclusive and welcoming community. Based on my personal experience, the housing needs and wants of my family have changed over the years. We as a community need to embrace the changes in everyone's personal lives in order to ensure a family does not need to leave our community in search of different housing options when their circumstances change.

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

Glen values his association with CHBA and its members. He is appreciative of the mutual trust and relationships built over the past several years and is looking forward to continuing in a similar manner.