David Alton

City/Township Council · Kitchener

All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes

This candidate finalized their responses after this guide and scoring methodology was published.

Housing & Homelessness 3 questions

Housing & Homelessness

How should municipalities and the Region balance providing permanent housing with the management of encampments in public spaces?select up to 3 per part

A. Pathways to permanent housing

Prioritize rapid acquisition or conversion of existing buildings
Partner with non-profit and supportive housing providers
Use publicly owned land for permanent or interim housing

B. Interim management of encampments

Establish and maintain clear minimum standards (sanitation, safety, outreach)
Allow temporary encampments to persist while permanent housing options are actively being developed
Rather than just extreme weather shelters we just need year round low barrier shelters. Too many options are not set up to support people and end up winnowing people into supportlessness.

C. Accountability and collaboration between levels of government

This question is confusing. It needs more context for what you are talking about. But I will say on the homelessness front the region has struggled to have functional project management due to hostile political interference especially from the big city mayors and the province.

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

Tripling supply of Kitchener Housing and Region of Waterloo Housing.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on housing?candidate's own words

I have a whole platform unpacking the right to housing that was co created with lived experts. You can read it on davidalton.org I also have a video unpacking how Canada's housing system functions as social apartheid.

Getting Around 4 questions

Getting Around

How should municipalities use existing street infrastructure to better prioritize walking, cycling, and public transit?select up to 3

Reallocate space on selected streets (e.g. road diets, transit lanes, protected bike lanes)
Adjust signal timing, curb use, or intersection design
Transportation Planning should be reoriented around accessibility and the most vulnerable road users.

What role should public transit play in regional growth, and how should future transit investments be prioritized?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Prioritize maximizing operational efficiency
Invest in rapid transit to anchor growth
Use transit to shape land use
Prioritize expanding coverage area
Prioritize lower-cost or incremental transit improvements

Do you support the municipality taking responsibility for snow removal from sidewalks adjacent to private properties?single choice

Yes, sidewalks should be cleared alongside roads as part of regular winter maintenance

Do you support expanding fare-free transit for the Region?single choice

Yes, for specific groups

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on transportation?candidate's own words

I have a whole right to mobility platform co created with low income and disability advocates it can be read at davidalton.org

If you selected "Yes, for specific groups" above, which groups?candidate's own words

Seniors (ex. extend Older Adult Day Pass pilot), People with disabilities, Youth (age 12 and under)

Please describe one criterion or principle that should not be compromised when making transit investment decisions.candidate's own words

That transit is public infrastructure. We should not undercut transportation planning with private public partnerships or expensive consulting. We should not emulate Metrolinx but should instead increase our local transit development capacity.

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Transit needs to be decoupled from economic development. To often it is designed not for efficient mobility but for land speculation. Affordable transit and frequent transit are priorities to build trust and ridership.

Please name one specific street, corridor, or project where you would prioritize these changes.candidate's own words

Victoria street from Park to Lancaster is need of a redesign. This route is supposed to support high density development and a transit hub and yet is not safe for vulnerable road users.

Climate & Sustainability 3 questions

Climate & Sustainability

How should municipalities and the Region incorporate climate and sustainability into policy, including development and infrastructure decisions?select up to 3 per part

A. Perspective on climate change

Climate change is an urgent and defining crisis of our time; reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be a primary consideration across municipal decision-making
Our local and regional governments need to renew coordinated action towards implementing the Transform Waterloo Region strategy

B. Building and development standards

Where possible, require or incentivize energy efficiency standards in new development, beyond current provincial minimums
Require green infrastructure as part of development approvals (e.g. stormwater management, tree canopy, permeable surfaces)
We should be leveraging social housing as a model of fiscal and environmental sustainability.

C. Infrastructure and capital planning

Require climate risk and lifecycle cost analysis in major capital decisions
Prioritize active transportation and transit investment
Require climate change mitigation and adaptation impact assessments for large growth decisions (greenfield expansions, settlement boundary changes)

Describe one concrete policy, incentive, or decision you would prioritize to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Where possible, explain how it balances environmental goals with fiscal responsibility.candidate's own words

Schneider's Creek Watershed Park. Implementing a secondary planning framework for lands adjacent to the Schneider's Creek watershed to create more active transportation corridors, sustainable ecosystems, water conservation and quality measures, and responsible human/nature relationships.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on sustainability?candidate's own words

I have a whole platform on the rights of land and water that was co created with local advocates. It can be read at davidalton.org

Food Systems & Security 3 questions

Food Systems & Security

In the context of growing pressure for economic development and the connected loss of farmland, what role do municipalities and the Region hold in promoting local food livelihoods, production, and processing?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Promote and support low-barrier spaces for local producers to distribute and sell food
Partner with other levels of government to develop local food hubs that reduce costs and barriers for small businesses
Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers
Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
Leave local food livelihoods to the private market

How should municipalities and the Region approach food insecurity and affordability?select up to 3 per part

A. Access to food

Partner with local charities, non-profits, and other organizations to strengthen access to food and redistribution of surplus food and produce for low-income residents
Support the development of community buying clubs or municipal grocery stores
Set community gardens and urban agriculture mandates so every neighbourhood has local garden access.

B. Access to land for growing food

Make public lands (Regional and municipal) available for sustenance food provisioning, including in urban and peri-urban spaces as cities expand
Enable access to land and resources for local people who want to grow their own food (e.g. the community-garden model)
Turn the Wilmot Land Assembly into a small scale agriculture incubator. Explore similar opportunities in South Plains area.

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words

Setting up agriculture innovation spaces. These would be regional or city owned land that is leased to small scale farmers in partnership with agricultural and academic networks.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on food systems?candidate's own words

I deliver food every week to food not bombs and the food system roundtable network.

Growth & Planning 4 questions

Growth & Planning

How should councils weigh the long-term cost of maintaining existing infrastructure when making decisions about outward growth and expansion?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
Proceed with outward growth to address housing supply

How should councils balance provincial and regional mandates for increased housing density with neighbourhood opposition and local infrastructure constraints?select up to 4 per part

A. Planning & zoning tools

Expand as-of-right zoning to reduce case-by-case political decisions on housing forms
Allow small-scale housing forms city-wide as-of-right (e.g. up to four units per lot)
Set up an age in place program to acquire and convert low density senior housing into midrise affordable seniors housing

B. Managing neighbourhood opposition

Cities are not honest with residents about the economic pressures fueling development pressures. I want to do a study comparing the infrastructure debt of neighbourhoods with their ability to generate property tax revenue. I want to publish this widely and then do targetted neighbourhood level planning with the low density neighbourhoods that are currently being subsidized at an unsustainable rate.

C. Infrastructure & servicing

Approve density where infrastructure capacity already exists
Pair density approvals with targeted infrastructure upgrades
Use development charges or conditions to fund needed upgrades

Describe one concrete zoning, planning, or development decision you would support (or oppose) that reflects how you would balance these priorities.candidate's own words

Eliminating stable neighbourhood zoning. I want to do an aggressive public education campaign on the immense cost of low density development.

Please describe one concrete example of a growth or infrastructure decision you would support or oppose using this approach.candidate's own words

Holding the Countryside line. Low density development is causing a municipal finance crisis. Last year property taxes were raised but all services (except police) were frozen or cut. We need to actively address the inefficient development portfolio of the city so that capital debt is not undermining operations.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on growth?candidate's own words

I was really informed by the book You'll Pay For This.

What can the municipality/region do, if anything, about land which sits vacant for years because it is being used as an investment (land banking)?candidate's own words

Setting up charges for land that is underused and pairing it with a municipal acquisition strategy and land leasing to get that land back in public benefit.

Budget & Taxes 5 questions

Budget & Taxes

Do you think the Region's or municipality's budget process should be more transparent and accessible to residents?single choice

It should be more transparent and accessible

Municipal and regional costs have generally risen faster than revenues restricted by property tax rules and limited local revenue tools. How would you balance tax increases against maintaining service levels and long-term financial sustainability?select up to 3 per part

A. Revenue approaches

Exploring new local revenue tools where permitted by provincial legislation
I am interested in exploring density based property taxes to better reflect the cost of land use. I want to learn on land acquisition
land leasing and social housing construction to get more of the land portfolio into financial sustainability

D. Growth & cost recovery

Re-evaluate development incentives or subsidies that create long-term liabilities

B. Service levels

Housing services need to increase as this economic situation worsens. I would look for savings from police budget and a reduced reliance on PPPs and consultants. Leveraging vacancy tax
land leasing
and social housing as revenue tools.

C. Capital & infrastructure

Prioritize maintenance and state-of-good-repair over expansion
Require lifecycle cost analysis before approving any new infrastructure

Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words

Setting up a designated percentage of tax to go toward social housing construction.

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

The budget needs to treated as a public education process. Like people's property tax returns should delineate how much of the budget is programs that were set up due to provincial and federal neglect. And it should single out the police budget which the province has insulated from accountability

About the Candidate3 questions

About the Candidate

Why are you running for this position?candidate's own words

As an urban planner and community facilitator I have seen how progress on key issues is consistently blocked by the current political class. I work currently in the housing system, specifically bridging between municipal staff and people experiencing housing precarity. The current political direction is actively violating human rights and keeps disrupting the ability of all the stakeholders I work with to make progress. I am running for Mayor to unlock the social housing potential and community building infrastructure of both the Region and the City. I want to model leadership that takes responsibility for the decades of neglect and ensures that everyone can survive and thrive. From affordability to mobility to access to greenspace, municipalities can do so much more to improve our lives.

How does the current two-tier structure of municipal and regional government affect the Region's ability to make coherent decisions on housing, planning, and infrastructure?candidate's own words

The current structure works well and coordination between levels is sufficient

Please describe one specific area where you think the governance structure helps or hinders good decision-making.candidate's own words

I think the biggest issue with amalgamation is the consolidation of power in a wealthier class of people. The multi-tiered system creates more accessible opportunities for people from underrepresented groups and lower incomes to access power. There are already enough barriers in Waterloo region to having lower income representation imagine if you had to canvass the whole region for less seats against deep pockets.