Kelowna Candidate Matcher
- Responses from Michele Rule
| 1. Do support the current rabbit cull program? | No | |
| 2. Would you give final approval to the CD21 downtown redevelopment zone currently before council? | No | |
| 3. Do you think the City should limit the height of highrises? | Depends | There are some zones where highrises make sense. The height is subjective and I am always interested to hear the input at public hearing from the community |
| 4. All other things equal, if you were forced to make a decision that favours neighbours or a developer, which would you choose? | Sometimes a project is not supported by immediate neighbours but makes sense for the community overall. Sometimes the immediate neighbours do support it, but it is not in the best interests of the community. SO it always depends on the individual project. | |
| 5. Would you support an increase in Development Cost Charges to reduce the taxpayers' contributions to covering the costs of new development? | Depends | Staff are currently reviewing the DCC Assist program which see some funds put into parks and roads that will be used by more than just the new development. Otherwise DCCs are meant to cover the entire cost of new development infrastructure. |
| 6. Are you accepting developer contributions for your campaign? | Yes | If a developer were to offer me a small donation I would accept it just as I am accepting contributions from all other citizens. |
| 7. Do you support the use of the alternative approval process such as was used with the Mission Aquatic Centre? | Yes | The AAP is a tool to gauge citizens' non-support of an issue and to decide whether a referendum is needed. The AAP allows one whole month of input and is very convenient for people, so it allows good representation. People who are opposed to something tend to come out and voice their opinions, so the AAP provides that opportunity while allowing council to see if there really is enough concern in the community to move to the referendum stage. |
| 8. Should non-Kelowna rate payers be charged extra user fees for using City amenities such as the future aquatic centre? | No | I would like to see Kelowna residents receive a discount on the new aquatic centre - I was thinking about coupons for school-aged children. This way no one feels different at the gate. We want visitors to feel welcome as well as residents. |
| 9. In general, do you think the City of Kelowna should | maintain current service and taxation levels | Understanding that tax levels have to increase, not just with inflation but with what I consider to be "Municipal Inflation" based on costs of labour and materials (like concrete and asphalt). I think there is room within our current taxation to shift some priorities such as new roads over to improved tranist that would allow increased service while not affecting taxation. |
| 10. Have rural / agriculture lands been adequately conserved within the City? | Yes | The Agricultural Land Reserve is meant to preserve farmland and I am happy with the level of protection it affords. Unfortunately some prime land never made it into the ALR and has subsequently been developed. I think there is a lot we can do to encourage urban agriculture and this is something I am pursuing through my work on the Central Okanagan Healthy Food Council. |
| 11. Do you think big box retailers are a net positive or net negative for the community? | neutral | I'm hoping the balance is neutral! While the big box stores do attract shoppers from outside of Kelowna, which is good for economy, and also provide entry-level employment, although with not enough pay, there are the negative effects on small local businesses and also the environment because they are automobile oriented. I think the big box stores could do a lot to enhance their properties with plantings and pedestrian corridors and that they should look at co-op housing for their employees. |
| 12. With regard to the Official Community Plan, do you think past councils have: | struck the right balance | The OCP is meant as a guideline for the future of development. No one has a crystal ball and sometimes a better idea comes along. I think Council has done it's best to balance the need for certainty with new plans that benefit the community. It is absolutely vital to review the OCP regularly and that the citizens give their input. |
| 13. Do you think local government should subsidize affordable housing? | Depends | If you mean using land to partner with other levels of government, such as the recent provision of land to BC Housing, then yes. And if you mean creating a fund from surplus land sales and from developers who want density bonuses, then yes. And subsequently using that fund through some kind of housing authority which can then partner with non-profits to get the housing built than yes. If you mean increasing taxes to subsidize housing, then no. |
| 14. With regard to in-camera (not open to public) council meetings, do you think Kelowna council has: | struck the right balance | Legislation requires council to discuss certain matters in camera and allows council to discuss certain matters in camera and then subsequently release the information. Most in camera discussions have to do with land or personnel issues, and occasionally legal advice. |
| 15. Do you support the City temporarily closing public spaces for large private for profit events such as concerts or sporting events? | Depends | I'm assuming you mean park spaces - I don't generally support the idea, however we need events that inject money into our local economy so sometimes it makes sense. |
| 16. Do you support the sinking of the old floating bridge pontoons in Okanagan Lake? | No | The province needs to do more research on what might be disturbed at the lake bottom - we get the majority of our water from the lake and can't afford to endanger that source. |
| 17. Would you be willing to increase taxes to support more road infrastructure? | No | I'm assuming you mean for new roads - new roads should be paid for through DCCs on new development. |
| 18. Over the last three years, do you think that Council has made decisions that treat all neighbourhoods fairly/equally? | Yes | I always look at the whole city when making my decisions. |
| 19. Would you vote to ban plastic shopping bags? | Depends | Staff are currently looking at the best way to handle plastic bags and I would like to wait to hear their input before deciding. We use cloth bags at our house but there may be other considerations that I am not aware of yet. |
| 20. Would you support the Kelowna's amalgamation with boundary communities such as Ellison and Joe Rich? | Depends | Possibly Ellison, which is becoming more urban, but probably not Joe Rich which is still very rural. |
| 21. Which party did you support in the recent Federal election? | Won't say | I don't think federal political affiliations have any bearing on municipal government. Councillors have to be prepared to work with whatever party is in power and with whoever our local MPs are. |
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? | I think this reaction was based partly on the Simpson covenant issues. Staff are working continually on ways to better serve the public and I support them in their efforts. I believe we can do a better job in communicating to our citizens - although I've noticed now that we are even using Facebook for our Kelowna 2030 OCP review! The new correspondance system is helping to ensure that no issues get left unanswered and also that there is no duplication of work by staff. My personal promise is to return phone calls and e-mails within 24 hours so that citizens know I am looking for answers for them. | |
| 23. The 2008 Citizen Survey identified weaknesses in transit, roads, and senior services, bylaw and police. What would you do to address this? | If we improve transit that will help ease congestion on the roads. It's a two way partnership though, citizens have to be willing to take the bus! The RCMP are continually doing internal reviews to become more efficient in their service delivery and I support that. Some of the issues relate to staff shortages in both by-law and RCMP and our HR department is working on that. | |
| 24. What is the greatest problem facing Kelowna and what would be your approach? | Major issues include affordable housing, the environment and the economy. I think we need to to go back to the recommendations made by the Affordable Housing Task Force and see which or those are being implemented and also continue to impliment others, especially the creation of a housing authority. I am proud that Kelowna was one of the first cities in BC to sign on the the Climate Action Charter and I support the steps that need to be taken to reach those goals. Finally, we need to continue to attract "green" industry such as high-tech by making sure there is very little redtape and by continuing to support the Economic Development Commission. | |
| 25. Open ended comment section | Thank you for this unique opportunity to connect with the citizens of Kelowna! It's like a dating matching service except for people and politicians! Very innovative and I'm curious to see how it works out! If anyone would like more information on any of my answers please feel free to contact me directly at therules@telus.net. | |
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