Election questionnaire: Alanna Gillis

Name:

Alanna Gillis

How many years have you lived in Squamish?

4

How many council or committee meetings have you attended since Sept. 1, 2017?

4 not including streaming

What do you love most about Squamish? (150 word limit)

What I love most are the epic, awe inspiring views and having such easy access to nature. I also love the small town feel of the downtown core and all the local businesses that bring Squamish alive.

Are you endorsing a particular candidate for mayor? (question for councilor candidates)

No/Not at this time

What do you think is the biggest single issue facing Squamish? (150 words limit)

Squamish is a rapidly growing community facing many complex issues. Whether it's housing affordability, pressures from external developers, aging infrastructure, managing growth, local economic development, climate change adaptation, environmental protection, increasing tourism, poverty and homelessness or reconciliation with First Nations, there's no clear or straight path forward. Many issues are interconnected and nuanced. The single greatest issue we face is how we all work together to address the issues and the needs of our community today, while also considering our impact on future generations.

In the last term, what was council's single greatest accomplishment? What was council's biggest failure? (150 character limit)

 Accomplishment: the Official Community Plan.

Getting the OCP updated and adopted in two years is a huge accomplishment; one District Staff should also receive credit for.

Failure: working together in a way that inspired public trust and confidence.

I don't believe this will come as a surprise. Council struggled to achieve an environment of trust, respectful dialogue and accountability. Unfortunately, this appears to have negatively impacted public perception and trust in their decisions. I believe our current council has done a lot of good work. Unfortunately, it's been overshadowed by their struggle in the public eye. With that said, the biggest failures in life and business are usually our greatest teachers. The next council has an opportunity to benefit and learn from this council's experience.

Residents often complain about traffic (speeding, parking etc.) What would you do to improve traffic and parking in Squamish? (150 words limit)

Without all the facts, I cannot make any guarantees about what I would do as an individual; it takes a team and resources. Here are my thoughts: The District's aim is to encourage a transition from private vehicle use to alternate modes of transportation. Planning is carried out with this in mind. A number of factors including increased density, tourism and cultural choices are at play, e.g. garages filled with outdoor gear, families with multiple vehicles, driving instead of biking or walking. Safety, perceived and real, is a quality of life concern and is taken seriously. Possible options are: 1. A traffic management policy to ensure areas with the most severe traffic issues are dealt with on a priority basis and to address resident safety concerns. 2. Low cost street parking permits and downtown street metering could provide revenue for active and regional transportation initiatives.

Squamish has a housing affordability crisis. What would you do to improve affordability? (150 words limit)

Affordability hits home for me. I believe in housing as a human right and single earner households are especially vulnerable to high rental costs and need to be considered in any initiatives. Council approved the Affordable Housing Program Final Report in March. I support the initiatives proposed in the Report, including creation of an affordable housing organization and identification of District or Provincially owned land for affordable housing developments. This takes us in the right direction to address affordable housing needs, but will take time. For now, there is a gap. Camper vans are an option for some but not all. AirBnB regulation and a cap is an option, but may have an unintended impact. I'd love to see movement from single to multi-family and/or multi-generational living to enhance social integration for seniors and increase affordability for young families and singles.

Do you support stronger regulation of AirBNB?

Yes

How would you attract new businesses and employers to Squamish? (150 words limit)

What kind of community do we want to be in the future? There is employment available in Squamish, with lower wages. Focusing on attracting high paying jobs alone could lead to driving out lower income residents and losing precious local small businesses and heart. I would love to see local businesses supporting each other and working together by pooling resources to create shared spaces, store fronts or working spaces to ease costs. We also need to protect and ensure sufficient employment lands, as per policy in the OCP and Employment Land Management Plan. Ideally, I would love to see us proactively attract businesses in clean technology, recreational and sporting technologies, geotech and envirotech, environmental conservation and recreation based tourism. I want to see a diverse community made up of all types of jobs as well as a vibrant local business community.

Do you have a strategy to implement regional transit? (150 word limit)

With Greyhound scheduled to close routes at the end of October, I sense we may here something about this soon. The Sea to Sky Corridor Regional Transit Study was released in October 2017. I am confident there has been work in progress to open transit between Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton during peak times. Governance and funding models need to be developed and this takes time.

Transit to Metro Vancouver is another issue but the report indicates a plan to introduce weekday transit to Vancouver by 2020.

Any strategy should encourage an entrepreneurial approach and greener travel options. Two examples are: encourage the Squamish Connector to expand routes now that Greyhound is shutting down, or create a campaign to encourage Poparide usage and reduce the number of single occupant cars on the road. Ride sharing is a great alternative, saves on mileage, gas and reduces GHG emissions.

Given limited financial resources, what do you think is the single highest priority for Brennan Park? (150 word limit)

I would prioritize critical infrastructure such as the fire hall over recreation facilities. Since the District is exploring funding and grants from other levels of governments, partnerships or corporate sponsorship for Brennan Park, I would prioritize planning for future use in accordance with projected population growth, partner with the 55+ Centre to offer additional capacity for activity programming, consider minor upgrades to get the building up to code.

Do you support cannabis retail shops in Squamish?

We need to consider how this aligns with the vision and values of our community and consider where shops are located.

Would you consider yourself pro-WLNG or anti-WLNG?

Very opposed (5)

Are you supportive of the Garibaldi At Squamish project?

Neutral (3)

Do you support development of the Cheema Lands (Lot 509/510)?

Neutral (3)