Peggy and I have been residents of St Albert since 1989. We have one adult son and a Yorkie named Dax. In October 2017, I was honoured to be elected by the residents of St. Albert to represent them as one of their City Councillors. Prior to my election, I was an investigator with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. Before that, I enjoyed a successful 33-year career with the Edmonton Police Service, retiring at the rank of Superintendent - serving in several diverse and fulfilling senior management positions. I remain a life-time member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP). I have a Bachelor of Physical Education from the UofA and a Master of Business Administration from AU. Since my election, I have taken on many roles as a Council representative on numerous local advisory committees, the EMRB, the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission and with the AUMA.

How will you support the City of St. Albert'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.

More diverse housing types are required in St Albert, that is why I supported changes to our Land Use Bylaw allowing for back alleys, zero lot lines and back to front housing options. I support the identification and use of surplus municipal lands that would allow non-market affordable housing options. We also provided city-owned land in our downtown (free of charge) to an affordable housing development project. We already seeing some advantages as single residential building permits are up 147% over 2019.

St Albert recently approved our new comprehensive Municipal Development Plan (Flourish Growing to 100K) that is now our city-wide plan for growth and change that envisions a population of 100,000 and provides an overall vision for St Albert in terms of land use, gathering places and major infrastructure.

Municipal tax rates clearly have an impact on housing affordability. I have advocated to keep our tax rates as low as possible and within the 10 year historical average of less than 1.8%, considerably lower than inflation. However, all municipalities will be facing large revenue challenges in the near future due to lower provincial grants and the ongoing impacts on traditional city revenue streams being negatively impacted by the pandemic. I support identifying new revenue opportunities or partnerships that reduce our dependency on grants and will increase our competitiveness in the region. Ernst & Young recently completed an operational and fiscal review identified that significant work has been completed on the cost management side of operations. We were able to find $14.5 million in savings to offset the pandemic impacts. Work is now proceeding on other recommendations to improve service efficiency.

I am also open to offering incentives to address housing needs. We recently approved accepting surety bonds as an alternative to letters of credit as a way to spur more development. This was a win-win situation for developers and the city and increases St Albert's competitiveness in the region.

St Albert and Sturgeon County just completed a successful annexation process that will meet St Albert's growth needs for the next several decades. We also approved significant investment ($90 million) into twinning Ray Gibbon Drive and completing the Lakeview Business District. Growing the city's non-residential tax base will positively impact housing affordability.

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

St Albert has put in place a number of initiatives that have reduced red tape and support business development. This has resulted in keeping our per capita expenses below our comparable cities. The CAO reorganized the organizational structure aimed at improving decision-making and improving service delivery. The city now offers the best turnaround times for permits in the region. Development permits are issued within 6 days, single family residential permits are approved in 5 days and business licenses are issued in 1 day.

Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout St. Albert?

Historically, housing in St. Albert has been dominated by low-density, detached homes. An increasing variety of housing types, such as townhomes and apartment buildings, has emerged in the city in more recent years. As the city grows, a variety of housing options in appropriate locations is needed to meet the increasingly diverse needs and preferences of citizens. I have advocated for a range of housing options and was happy to see this past Council approve a new Land Use Bylaw that now allows for back alleys, zero lot lines, front-back units, suites in multi-family product, tiny homes and back to back townhomes construction. I support looking at accommodating a diversity of housing types in existing neighbourhoods.

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

My priorities in my platform are: Economic Development and Sustainable Growth; Fiscal Responsibility; Traffic and Roads; Regional Cooperation; Environmental Stewardship and a focus on Community.