Sam Nabi

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

Including supportive and affordable housing in all new municipal building projects — e.g. fire station, community centre, library, maintenance facility... we should use the most of our land by adding housing to any new capital project meant for the delivery of core city services.

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

The encampment at Victoria and Weber, like several other encampments across our region, exists because there is a lack of suitable supportive housing, shelter, and treatment options. When I visited the encampment to speak with neighbours there, I heard that there are many reasons why someone might find themselves unhoused. These range from fleeing intimate partner violence, to being unfairly evicted, to suffering a workplace injury, to struggling with addiction and mental health. Because there are so many different causes that might lead to homelessness, we need many different types of solutions. Kitchener is not unique in this scenario. Many cities across Canada are coping with the systemic underfunding of mental health and addictions supports, and the lack of social housing options relative to the need that exists. Justice Gibson ruled that evicting vulnerable people from the Victoria St. encampment without providing alternatives infringes on their right to life. A similar court ruling about an encampment in Montreal stated, “a human being cannot exist nowhere”. The conversation around growth can sometimes pit neighbours against each other. But something interesting happens when we design neighbourhoods with enough density for efficient transit, utilities, district energy, and housing choice. We get more options for homes at every stage of life. This means someone who wants to downsize from their single family home doesn’t have to move out of the neighbourhood, and can stay connected to their local community. Neighbourhoods that incorporate mixed-use, mid-rise development also provide more local job opportunities and give us the tax base we need to reliably maintain infrastructure for the long term. Unlike the current councillor, who put forward the motion to ban mid-rise housing in the Auditorium neighbourhood, I will advocate for a zoning bylaw that provides more housing choice in all areas of the city. Together with better protections for renters, new green spaces and trails, and expanded community gardens, our neighbourhoods can rise to the challenge of accommodating new growth while supporting livable communities.

• Reallocate space on selected streets (e.g. road diets, transit lanes, protected bike lanes)
• Adjust signal timing, curb use, or intersection design
• Focus improvements around schools, transit corridors, and commercial areas

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

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

Yes, for specific groups

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

People with disabilities, Low-income residents, 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

Adequate service coverage, especially for low-income neighbourhoods

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

If elected, I will work to implement municipal sidewalk snow clearing, prioritizing streets without adequate snow storage (i.e. curb-facing sidewalks). This would mirror similar improvements already implemented in a pilot program in Waterloo. Snow clearing should also be prioritized for crosswalks, trail connections, routes to transit stops, and school walking routes.

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

Offer affordable heat pumps, electric water heaters, solar panels, and battery storage via Kitchener Utilities to reduce fossil fuel use while diversifying revenue streams as we transition to clean energy.

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

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

Facilitate access to commercial kitchens and harmonize regulations for home-based food businesses across Waterloo Region

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

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

As-of-right permissions for missing-middle and mid-rise housing in all neighbourhoods (except designated Heritage Conservation Districts).

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

Design neighbourhoods with enough density for efficient transit, utilities, roads, and district energy.

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

Explore a land value tax

It should be more transparent and accessible

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

Maintaining access for subsidized recreation programming for low-income households.

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

More details should be provided of actual spending in budget documents shared at council meetings, down to the individual project level, instead of top-line department costs.