What does Growth for Good mean to me?

• Housing for all.
• Amenities to enjoy.
• Infrastructure that works.

BIG planning matters to keep your eyes open for as we enter a new term:

• Zoning By-Law Updates
  • I will request that we develop Urban Design Guidelines
• Development Standards Updates

Housing

I don’t go very long without talking or venting about housing.

I have personally lived the real estate nightmare – buying a home “as is” that the lender deemed uninhabitable because it was truly the only thing I could afford as a young professional in Lakeshore. I’ve lost multiple bids, felt hopeless, and have spent many a night wondering if I could afford to stay close to family, and in the community that I love and love to serve. Does everyone need to buy? No. Do we have enough purpose-built rentals at attainable prices? Also no.

Where infrastructure allows, I will support:

• A mix of housing types
• Increased density targets
• Urbanization in the primary development nodes defined by our official plan
• Policy that enforces, not just encourages, the development of affordable units
• Amendments to our Zoning By-Laws that will allow for secondary/additional dwelling units that are already supported by the Province as a “right”
• Design that prioritizes place-making, walkability and access to green space

Amenities to Enjoy

Where are the big box stores? Why can’t I buy underwear in Lakeshore? Please, not another pizza joint of vape shop.
We’ve heard them all.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” That’s true. So let’s make the most appetizing body of water we absolutely can! There are several policy considerations that Lakeshore can take on, infrastructure improvements needed, and funding opportunities to consider to make Lakeshore even more attractive to commercial and industrial businesses – but also full of communities that support those mom and pop shops we love!

I will continue to support the work undertaken over the last term to create an economic development position and department that gives businesses a go-to place for all their questions and needs for everything from retention to scaling!

Now, when it comes to all the other ways we love to spend our time, we need to be prioritizing parkland and greenspace development. Complete communities, with connected trails, sidewalks, greenspace and parks are essential for placemaking.

On the go or complete in the last term:

• Implementation of the Parks & Recreation Master Plan (ongoing)
• Update Parkland Dedication Fees (coming)
  • This long overdue udpate will ensure that new development is paying their fair share of parks

As your councillor, I have made motions to support:

• Development of small, centralized green spaces in new subdivisions to ensure folks have opportunities to connect outside of their backyards
  • This kind of representation and voice is so important to ensure that administration gets a sense of what it is Council wants to see when developments come forward

Infrastructure that Works

With treatment capacity about to be expanded at the Denis St Pierre Treatment Plant, we will start to see more development coming, but it doesn’t mean our conveyance capacity will exist. The simple truth is that most of our communities were built to handle single-detached homes or low-density development, and any increases will require infrastructure upgrades. In other terms, we can’t go putting the horse before the cart. So, we will do what we can for now, and focus on infrastructure improvements in areas of Lakeshore where we ought to be seeing density to support the amenities we all want.

I understand that residents do not want to see us prioritize new development while we are still worried about flooding and traffic.