Election questionnaire: Edward Archibald

Name:

Edward Archibald

How many years have you lived in Squamish?

3

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

6

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

To some up a my love for Squamish in 150 words is near impossible, I think to almost everyone. There is so many elements of Squamish to love. The natural beauty that surrounds us 360 degress, 365 Days a Year; The sense of community, the opportunity to build on a legacy of volunteerism, passion, and sense of pride;

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

Paul Lalli

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

There is no one, single issue that makes it the biggest, the main issues are, Housing Affordability; Economic Growth; Leadership; and Transportation. They are all integrally tied to each other and without success in all 4 we will continue to struggle with providing well paying jobs, with providing ways to be transported, with providing affordable housing that encompasses all levels of socio economic viability, and with a Council that will stand tall together and represent the best interests of the greater good of Squamish, not just special interests.

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

 The single greatest accomplishment was the creation of a comprehensive, community engaged OCP.

The biggest failure is, failing to protect Squamish from un-checked growth in the housing sector, with knee jerk reactions to Affordable Housing, Parking Bylaws and CAC Policies while pushing forward seemingly bizarre agendas with no real concept of the long term ramifications that the decisions being made are (i.e. the BCR Lands at Cleveland & Buckley RZ without an application from Industrial to C4 which resulted in no CAC); approving projects without proper infrastructure/community amenity contributions, and no way to pay for that infrastructure/amenity upgrades

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

I would look to the MOTI and our Engineering Dept to review our traffic light cycles to look at improving potential backlogs at Cleveland and Hwy 99 as well as Garibaldi Way and Mamquam by updating the light cycles to reflect our growing population and the density increases in those areas.

I would work with staff to ensure our Bylaw division is actively enforcing our parking limits and restrictions in Downtown.

I would look to update our Parking Bylaws to ensure we are reflecting the growing needs of the community

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

As a Municipal Government we have limited tools, however with our current provincial government, we have been given more tools than historically have been available to us. I would sit down with BC Housing, our Planning, Real Estate Staff and Squamish Nation along with our other Non-Profit Housing Providers to look at potential DOS owned lands to create Emergency Modular Housing; I would work with our Planning Department to look at some of the new provincial led rental only zoning initiatives on how we could implement in Squamish to encourage the growth of our rental housing stock; look at locals first policies on the sales of new homes for an appropriate duration to ensure locals who can afford to purchase units are the first in line tied to Zoning approvals to ensure compliance.

Do you support stronger regulation of AirBNB?

Yes

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

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

A singular strategy by one individual will only get us so far. I would be meeting with our colleagues to the North in Whistler and Pemberton, as well as to the South, with the District of West Vancouver to start meaningful work on create a Strategy that ties to the communities where a lot of our workforce is employed in . West Vancouver, while part of Translink operationally operates the oldest continuously operated bus system in North America (1912) and looking for ways to partner and overcome the complications with Translink to utilize the West Vancouver infastructure to service the S2S. West Van Transit already runs to Lions Bay, we have West Vancouver Bus drivers that live in Squamish. I won't take no for an answer on regional transit. We've talked long enough, its time to find solutions, work outside the box and create value to our transit system.

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

Looking at our options, where limited financial resources can be overcome by looking at Public/Private Partnerships to ensure minimal impact to Municipal Coffers, while providing the overall renewal that is needed. I have spoken to Ice Rink users, I have spoken to the Soccer Players, I follow the Rugby Team, and as a parent of a 3yr old that gets beyond frustrated I can't get my son into swim lessons, if I don't hope on it immediately, I don't see one issue being greater than the other. They are all of equal importance and a prime example of why our Council needs to be standing up on land use, and ensuring the Community Amenity dollars we receive are reasonable and provide the ability to upgrade and expand our amenities to meet our population growth.

Do you support cannabis retail shops in Squamish?

The regulation of Cannabis industry is up to the Provincial and Federal Governments. I am neither for or against it and will provide leadership on this topic based on legislation provided by the appropriate levels of government

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

Neutral (3)

Are you supportive of the Garibaldi At Squamish project?

Neutral (3)

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

Neutral (3)