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

Everton Dixon

City/Township Council · Kitchener Ward 10

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All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes
This candidate finalized their responses after this guide and scoring methodology was published.

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
  1. Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
  2. Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
  3. Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
  4. Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
  5. 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
  • Focus incremental density near transit, schools, and commercial areas
  • Allow small-scale housing forms city-wide as-of-right (e.g. up to four units per lot)
  • Couple as-of-right gentle density with municipal land banking and covenants that protect permanent non-market affordability.
B. Managing neighbourhood opposition
  • Use public engagement to inform design, not to veto density
  • Phase or adjust density in response to neighbourhood concerns about design or servicing capacity
  • Bring residents and non-profit builders together through facilitated community mediation to resolve design and buffering concerns collaboratively.
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

We should be expanding as-of-right zoning for gentle density including triplexes, fourplexes, and garden suites across all residential neighborhoods in Ward 10. Eliminating lengthy, case-by-case political rezoning battles lowers construction costs for local builders and speeds up the delivery of attainable workforce housing. However, density must be paired with infrastructure accountability. I will encourgae council and the region why we should ensure as-of-right approvals are linked to localized utility capacity checks so that water mains, stormwater systems, and neighborhood tree canopies are upgraded alongside new housing development.

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

We should support prioritizing infrastructure reinvestment and infill development along established transit and active transportation corridors, such as the Iron Horse Trail and major arterial roads in Ward 10, over outward greenfield expansion on the city’s perimeter. Developing within established areas maximizes the return on existing municipal infrastructure investments, supports local small businesses, and avoids creating long-term, unfunded road and pipe maintenance liabilities that end up inflating property taxes for working-class residents.

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

Responsible growth is not about stopping progress; it is about ensuring that growth genuinely serves our community and pays for its own long-term costs. When evaluating municipal growth through property assessment and financial planning, the goal is always to build consensus across all wards and between government tiers. We can build a stronger Kitchener through three shared commitments: Protecting our regional agricultural greenbelt and aquifer recharge areas while focusing on gentle, walkable density inside our existing neighbourhoods. Ensuring major capital works, like the Mannheim water treatment upgrades and regional electrical grid, are preserved for residential housing and community needs rather than drained by resource-heavy industrial operations like hyperscale AI data centers. Recognizing that Kitchener sits within the Haldimand Tract by developing land stewardship and economic development policies in genuine partnership with local Indigenous organizations. When we bring Council together to plan with fiscal discipline, environmental respect, and collaborative dialogue, we build a Kitchener that remains attainable, resilient, and welcoming for everyone.

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Requiring complete 50-year lifecycle asset management and full replacement cost modeling before Council considers any settlement boundary expansion.

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

To stop land speculation from starving our city of housing, Kitchener must adopt a proactive strategy modeled on Ulm, Germany’s land banking system alongside Ontario’s municipal taxation tools. First, I support leveraging the Municipal Act to establish a Vacant Land Tax Subclass, imposing higher property tax rates on vacant urban lots held purely for financial speculation to incentivize development or sale. Second, the City must enforce strict "use-it-or-lose-it" clause provisions in all municipal Development Agreements, setting mandatory construction start deadlines so developers cannot sit on approved permits while waiting for market prices to inflate. Finally, where land sits chronically neglected, the municipality should explore strategic land acquisition to dedicate those parcels to non-profit, cooperative, and workforce housing development.