Cathy Heron
Incumber Mayoral Candidate - City of St. Albert
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I am a home grown St. Albertan and I love this community. I am the mother of 3 almost adult children all of whom would like to stay in St. Albert and raise a family. I was elected to council in 2010 and then as mayor in 2017. I am a believer in collaboration which is why shortly after the 2017 election I wanted to arrange a tour of housing options in the region and with the help of UDI and CHBA we did this. It was a great day of idea exchanges and I hope to repeat this shortly after the election. I am also fortunate to sit on the board of the Alberta Urban Municipalities. This gives me an opportunity to advocate to the provincial government on issues that concern housing in all of Alberta municipalities and press for changes at that level. |
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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. As a parent of three young adults who want to be able to eventually buy a home and raise a family here in St. Albert this is an important question. I was excited to make changes to our Land Use Bylaw which finally made way for the missing middle, the homes that will allow this type of market affordable homes. The city needs to address our high off site levies in order to be an option in the future. I believe in looking at the total picture of what it means to live here in St. Albert. This means not only taxes, but also utility rates, transportation etc. Densification is part of the solution. Building up not out.
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What steps do you believe are necessary to reduce red tape and support business investment in the residential construction industry? St. Albert has been recognized by the province for being a leader in red tape reduction. I support more on line offering and a concierge type service to guide builders through the permit process |
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Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout St. Albert? Absolutely. My parents moved to St. Albert in 1969 because we were the affordable option. At some point this changed and I truly believe we need to become a community that has options for all price ranges and also all preferences. Not everyone wants a big back yard and an attached garage. The next generation may be looking for tiny homes in a more complete and walkable community. |
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Is there anything about your platform that you think CHBA-ER members should know? Next term I want to see a stronger focus on climate mitigation. I believe residents both present and future will demand this. Providing for more complete communities is also a priority. I am hoping to be able to move to a more walkable community. |
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