Residents packed into the Tsawwassen Arts Centre Wednesday night for a final chance to hear from the candidates running to be the next Delta councillor.
The Sidekick Players Theatre Company hosted the all-candidates meeting/debate.
In attendance were 17 of the 20 candidates including: Robert Campbell, Craig DeCraene, Cen Du, Darcy Freen, Param Grewal, Kay Hale, Joan Hansen, Lois Jackson, Jeannie Kanakos, Kim Kendall, Dylan Kruger, Lori Mayhew, Bruce McDonald, Sandeep Pandher, Garry Shearer, Mike Smith and Simran Walia.
Unable to attend were Dan Copeland, Alicia Guichon and Cal Traversy.
The evening opened with remarks from all the candidates followed by two questions posed to everyone.
That was followed by a series of questions from the audience that were addressed to three candidates of their choice, followed by up to three rebuttal comments from candidates chosen by way of hand and recognition from moderator Carroll Ritchie Lefebvre.
The first question asked for a yes or no answer as to whether the candidates supported industrial greenhouses on agricultural land in Tsawwassen.
Across the board everyone said no.
Up next was a three-pronged question asking about housing, the size of lot sizes and tree retention.
Jackson said it’s vitally important trees are retained when considering subdivision approvals.
“The face is changing, particularly in the North where the trees are coming down. We have to have a council that believes in retention and it may be changing the style of the house or working around something that will retain these for our birds and our creatures,” said Jackson.
Hansen said she is also in favour of trees, but that she also knows we need more housing options, that we need to sit down as a group to come up with ways to make more reasonably priced homes available especially so young people can stay in the community.
Kanakos said the needs have changed for many in the community and the tree canopy has been improved.
Kruger said this is an issue that showcases the need for a younger generation on council.
“Many on the doorsteps have said that the lot sizes with these monster homes could have and should have accommodated up to three smaller homes,” said Kruger. “It’s a big issue that I hope to address for young people to afford homes here in the community if I’m on council.”
Shearer said it’s imperative that bylaws and rules are consistent throughout the community and that he is in favour of developments that produce more housing options for young people and seniors as well as retaining the tree canopy as best we can.
McDonald said we need a variation of house sizes and types. He also pointed out that the tree canopy has actually increased in the past few years in the community.
Green said the question ties into development and that neighbourhood area plans need to be put in place in each individual neighbourhood.
“That way we can look at what the individual needs are from the development standpoint, but also takes a look at a sustainability standpoint, keeping trees in the neighbourhoods that have high tree density,” said Green.
Pandher said the reason we have large homes on lots in South Delta is because there is not a cap on house sizes in South Delta, but that exists in North Delta. He said consistent guidelines are needed throughout the community.
Grewal said the issue is not about removing trees, the issue is about fairness.
“You have to be reasonable to accommodate other people’s desires to live in a manner, which does not disrupt or impose on others,” he said. “There is a vast disparity of what is happening in South Delta and North Delta, so equitable playing field is important, but there has to be creative ways of renovating, or expanding your households. It can’t be one size fits all.”
Kendall agreed that getting creative with all housing choices in Delta is needed.
“We need to look at our future generation and how we will house these kids and how they will bring up their communities,” she said, pointing to Team Delta’s commitment for a housing summit looking at ways to better development housing in the community.
DeCraene said housing should be built with the environment in mind.
“If you have to buck down 15 trees to build your house, you shouldn’t. You should find a better way,” he said. “Consultation is needed between home owners and builders to reflect the needs of the situation.”
Mayhew agreed with previous comments on neighbourhood plans, saying we need to find a balance between the greenscapes, multi-family developments and single-family homes.
“We need to be creative, find solutions, make them affordable and attractive to make them fit in the neighbourhood,” she said.
Campbell said everything pretty much has been said, adding creative solutions are needed.
“Young people and seniors need to be able to stay in the community. We need to find the balance between private property rights and what the community needs and then we need to find affordable solutions.”
Hale said we have to encourage investors to include secondary suites for rental properties and proper planning must be looked at the development stage for better tree retention.
Walia said we need different types of housing options and proactively look at tree retention.
Smith said one rule won’t fix the solution, adding that public engagement is paramount to determine what those neighbourhoods need.
“The other thing that I would suggest and be an advocate of is a vacancy tax,” he said. “We need to fix this system, but we have to be proactive, we can’t sit back and say we are going to do it we have to do it.”
Du said neighbourhood consultation is key and that council should encourage economic and mid-level developments, not luxury developments.
Other questions were asked about sea level rise and climate change, a vision for arts and culture, improved public transit to help curb congestion in the tunnel, pot legalization and whether retail outlets would be supported in the community, seniors’ bus service and casino revenues.
On the question about public transit as a solution to congestion in the tunnel, Grewal said the tunnel situation has to be handled right away through a bridge which would have a provision for rapid transit.
Jackson said she has been advocating for the tunnel replacement for a long time.
“The bridge has the capacity for the two centre lanes to be rapid transit or a bus line,” she said. “I would really like to see that line from Bridgeport come down through Richmond over a bridge, come through Delta and all the way out to the Valley. It would be a smart, futuristic move for everyone. We have to build the bridge and it has to have transit on it.”
Walia pointed to Team Delta’s commitment to talking with Translink to resume the express bus service to downtown Vancouver and bring more busses and frequent service.
The question of casino revenues and how those should be handled offered up a lively discussion as it was posed to Hale, Jackson and Green with rebuttals from Mayhew, Du and Hansen.
“For starters the casino shouldn’t have happened at all,” said Hale. “I don’t want the casino and I don’t want to think about where the funds will go. It will bring too much crime and too much traffic. Ask the public if they want the casino for starters.”
Jackson said if the casino is approved in Victoria, there are lots of checks and balances in place both at the local and provincial level.
“The funds, and council has not dealt with this as a policy, but the funds should go into a special reserve and allocated on a yearly basis as they come forward and they are known,” said Jackson.
Green said we don’t need a casino in Delta and if you wants a casino you can drive to New West or Richmond for one.
“If a casino is built, we have to keep funds as separate as possible to regulate what we are spending them on,” said Green.
Mayhew said she spoke out against the casino at the public hearing.
“Should it be approved I would strongly advocate that the funds be kept in a separate account, so we can account for it and we know what we have to increase our arts, our parks space for our citizens,” she stated.
Du said he was also against the casino, saying if it gets built, funds should be dedicated to education programs for children on the negative effects of gambling, while Hansen said funding should be segregated and put towards health care improvements.
“We are sadly lacking in family doctors, so we need to use that money to attract new doctors to the community, attract staff and find ways to open their practice,” she said.
After more than two hours of questions and answers, all candidates were given a chance to offer closing remarks, followed by additional time to meet one-on-one with residents.
Election Day is this Saturday, Oct. 20.
