Kelowna Candidate Matcher
- Responses from Andre Blanleil
| 1. Do support the current rabbit cull program? | Depends | i think we need to try trapping as long as we can then we can decide . |
| 2. Would you give final approval to the CD21 downtown redevelopment zone currently before council? | Yes | |
| 3. Do you think the City should limit the height of highrises? | yes to 27 stories | |
| 4. All other things equal, if you were forced to make a decision that favours neighbours or a developer, which would you choose? | Neighbours | but we also have to look what is best for the whole neighbourhood and city |
| 5. Would you support an increase in Development Cost Charges to reduce the taxpayers' contributions to covering the costs of new development? | Depends | there are many factors that play into the DCC bylaw , staff and the development industry have worked very hard to keep a good balance |
| 6. Are you accepting developer contributions for your campaign? | Yes | i have many businesses that contribute , but all are small amounts |
| 7. Do you support the use of the alternative approval process such as was used with the Mission Aquatic Centre? | Yes | i believe the community elects council to make many decisions every day . |
| 8. Should non-Kelowna rate payers be charged extra user fees for using City amenities such as the future aquatic centre? | No | you could turn that question around and ask if local city people should get a discount as in what the golf industry does with their local rate ) , since the city of the taxpayers will be paying 1.3 million (at least ) per year forever . |
| 9. In general, do you think the City of Kelowna should | maintain current service and taxation levels | i did say maintain but that's only if the local economy doesn't have a major slow down, if that happens the city may have to look at some reduction in service levels to reduce taxes . |
| 10. Have rural / agriculture lands been adequately conserved within the City? | Yes | the ALR is a good thing , the city has a policy to retain agriculture lands , but in each case the land owner has the right to show if their land is a good enough quality to produce food . |
| 11. Do you think big box retailers are a net positive or net negative for the community? | neutral | the reality is they will be in or near the city . its much better that they are inside the city . they also bring shoppers into kelowna which helps all businesses . |
| 12. With regard to the Official Community Plan, do you think past councils have: | struck the right balance | the OCP is a guideline for the future , even with all the work done in the past ,councils need to be able to look at a development and weigh it , and see whats best for our city |
| 13. Do you think local government should subsidize affordable housing? | Yes | yes all levels of government have to play a role in the affordable housing area . but its balancing all the needs of our community and being able to afford how much we can put into it |
| 14. With regard to in-camera (not open to public) council meetings, do you think Kelowna council has: | struck the right balance | land ,legal and labour are the only 3 things that can be in-camera . |
| 15. Do you support the City temporarily closing public spaces for large private for profit events such as concerts or sporting events? | Yes | we need to promote kelowna as a great events center for both locals and tourist . this is a major part of our economy |
| 16. Do you support the sinking of the old floating bridge pontoons in Okanagan Lake? | Depends | yes i support the sinking of the pontoons as long as all the reseach has been done showing that there is no envirmental danger |
| 17. Would you be willing to increase taxes to support more road infrastructure? | Depends | i believe that it is very important that goods and services can move though and around kelowna. Transportion has always been the number one complaint in all the city surveys |
| 18. Over the last three years, do you think that Council has made decisions that treat all neighbourhoods fairly/equally? | Yes | |
| 19. Would you vote to ban plastic shopping bags? | Yes | |
| 20. Would you support the Kelowna's amalgamation with boundary communities such as Ellison and Joe Rich? | Yes | yes i think these areas would be better served . kelowna has the infrastructure and staff to help these residents get better services |
| 21. Which party did you support in the recent Federal election? | Conservative | i believe Ron has done a great job working for us |
Open Ended Questions (Optional) | ||
| 22. The 2008 Citizen Survey ranked the city poorly on conducting business open and fairly as well as being responsive to citizen needs. What would you do to change this? | ||
| 23. The 2008 Citizen Survey identified weaknesses in transit, roads, and senior services, bylaw and police. What would you do to address this? | ||
| 24. What is the greatest problem facing Kelowna and what would be your approach? | ||
| 25. Open ended comment section | ||
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