Kevin White
Regional Council · Region of Waterloo
Back to candidatesGrowth & 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
- Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
- Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
- Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
- Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
- 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 3 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)
- Eliminate parking minimum requirements
B. Managing neighbourhood opposition
- Proceed with adopted plans even when facing local opposition
- Use public engagement to inform design, not to veto density, "Care for people and the land we share" should also dictate our approach to population growth and welcoming new neighbours.
C. Infrastructure & servicing
- Approve density where infrastructure capacity already exists
- Pair density approvals with targeted infrastructure upgrades
- Upgrade infrastructure with a long-term view for what will need to be built, not just to meet urgent targets. Set up future success for those that will come later.
Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on growth?candidate's own words
No surprises here, it's "care for people and the land we share" all the way through.
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
I'm struggling to recall in the moment, but I believe Steve Pomeroy may have written about some possible options for governments in this regard? I would have to go back through some of those articles to find something more specific, though.