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My PLATFORM



Housing





I am proud to have been the vice-chair of our Housing Strategy Task Force. Many thanks to them and staff for all the work done to create this award winning strategy. I commit to increasing our housing supply in the manner outlined in the housing strategy.


I will do this by

- focussing on a district wide approach to housing through a Centres, Corridors and Villages approach that will increase densities and the variety of housing types in the most logical areas within the UCB and create and/or enable 15-20 minute communities that are livable, vibrant, sustainable, transit connected communities that help to reduce our dependance on cars;


- supporting the development of a Missing Middle Policy;


- reviewing planning processes to create efficiency and significantly reduce timelines as recommended in the recent KPMG report, and creating metrics of acceptable timeframes in processes;


- delegating OCP compliant housing proposals to staff for approval; and


- simplifying further the processes for Garden suites as well as the legalization of secondary suites currently in place.



Parks and Environmental Stewardship





As chair of the Environment and Natural Areas committee, it is clear that we must focus our attention and energy where it will make the biggest difference.


That means that the 90% of sensitive environmental areas which are found in and on Saanich owned lands must be our priority - so parks restoration needs to be our focus in terms of natural areas and biodiversity. This is a huge undertaking and we are fortunate to have many volunteers, but this is not enough. We need to have better metrics about where we are, and more education programs. The report from the Resilient Saanich Technical Committee will be essential to us moving forward in this area.


In addition to direct attention to the environment in our parks, our housing policy is critical to the environment as well. As has been noted - Housing policy is Climate policy. Hence the need for densification in the right places. A recent study out of Berkeley looked at 700 cities and concluded that the single most important thing to do to achieve greenhouse gas reductions is urban infill housing. It had double the impact of housing electrification, and outweighed every other measure significantly.


As we create infill we also need to be sure to increase our green space through parks acquisition, as access to green spaces is important for for healthy living. Saanich has added significant park space this term, with an excellent example being the Kings Park area.



Fiscal Responsibility





I will continue to recognize the limits to the residents’ ability to pay for services. As such, I will continue to push for a more transparent budget process that starts in the early fall, to ensure that the public can provide meaningful input before the budget is set, and to assist with creating the budget guidelines that are used in budget development.


I will also support and encourage finding new and more efficient ways of delivering services - one very important component of that is through leveraging our IT to allow for more efficient ways to deliver a variety of services, and create and monitor metrics of how we are doing. IT has been identified as an area of significant opportunity that could create huge efficiencies for the organization.



Housing



Endorsements





Karen Harper has a strong record on housing. She has voted in favour of all housing proposals brought before council during her term in office. She also voted to legalize garden suites, move away from local area planning, and voted in favour of the interim building height policy.


Her response to our housing survey was detailed and demonstrated a deep understanding of the housing crisis. Her housing platform identifies material steps the municipality could take to address many of the city’s housing issues.


Homes for Living

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Karen is a knowledgeable, engaged and very down to earth representative for the residents of Saanich. We experienced first hand her valuable assistance as we attempted to navigate the process of obtaining a building permit for the addition of a secondary suite to our home. It was apparent in our dealings with her that she devoted the same focused effort, and attention to detail, to whatever she was faced with, whether related to housing, finance, or other community issues. Karen is one of those rare individuals who brings both a skill set and an intelligent and balanced approach in her approach to municipal concerns.


Adele and Bill Donaldson



Parks and Environmental Stewardship



Endorsements





We strongly endorse Karen’s re-election to Saanich Council. Over the last five years and as the current Chair of the Environment and Natural Areas Committee she has demonstrated a strong understanding of where Saanich should be focussing its attention in terms of biodiversity and stewardship programs. She supports a strong focus on our parks system as the basis of our biodiversity strategy and a voluntary stewardship approach for private lands.


Please join us in supporting Karen’s re-election.


Anita Bull, President

Saanich Citizens for Resilient Environmental Stewardship (SCRES)



Fiscal Responsibility



Endorsements





Karen has years of hands on experience in challenging municipal and project budgets to limit the financial impacts on property taxes. She is a firm believer in focusing on the efficiency of core municipal services to ensure budgets deliver value to tax payers. Experience matters when it comes to ensuring your property tax is spent wisely.


Dave Marecek

Leadership executive for private, public and charitable organizations



KAREN HARPER
for Saanich Council



Authorized by Sandra Menzies, Financial Agent, 250-595-8185




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