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As a tumultuous 2021 comes to a close, and Mayor Karen Elliott enters the last year of this term as mayor, The Â鶹Éç¹ú²ú sat down with her in her office at Municipal Hall for a wide-ranging interview about the year that was and what is next. 

What follows is a version of that conversation edited for length and clarity.
 

Pandemic Economy

Q: Economically speaking, where do you think we are when it comes to recovering from the pandemic at this point?

A: The pandemic has really just added pressure to our small and medium-sized business community that was already there. So the challenge with affordable housing, taking on the that happened pre-pandemic, now they have inflation that's impacting their business. And so we're really trying to work with our local partners to understand where the pressures are, where we can advocate and how we can support. And I think that collaboration has been critical. For example, we provided $50,000 as a grant to the Â鶹Éç¹ú²úChamber of Commerce for a grant writer to support local businesses assessing all the programs. That turned into $500,000 worth of money that came in to our local businesses.

So, I think it's really important for local governments to find those ways to work with others, to make sure that our business community is getting the support it needs.

Q: One of the issues that came up at a budget meeting was that taxation appears to be increasing faster than the cost of living. Why not just keep taxes in line with the level of inflation and just leave it at that? 

A: In the 2020 and 2021, tax years, we worked very hard to make sure the increases were low, or flat. But in doing so, we acknowledge to the community that we were holding back projects, and there's only so long we can ignore the investment that needs to be made in our infrastructure. And so it's a difficult balance for any local government to strike. And I think across the province, we're all trying to find the way forward that balances the need for investment and infrastructure, a growing community and keeping taxes reasonable while responding to what our community is asking for.

Q: How would you rate the District's response to a pandemic this year? 

A: This year, one of the things that I'm really proud of is that the District has both responded to the pandemic as well as fires, and a heat dome, and now, potential flooding events. And, so dealt beautifully with all of those emergency-related situations, while at the same time executing on the policy work and the other work that we have identified in our operational and strategic plans. And that's taken a lot of work and dedication amongst our staff.

Q: I wonder what your perspective is on the wage increases for District staff, and in particular, the 13% for the CAO. When we asked, the District said council reviews that annually to see and make sure it's competitive. But can you give us more details on what that looks like? 

A: No, we have given a response on that question. 

Truth and Reconciliation

Q: This has been a big year in terms of folks' awareness of Indigenous issues — exposing the graves on Indian Residential School grounds brought that to the forefront.

Has that been a wake-up call? Is something different being done at Muni Hall as a result of that? 

A: I think many of our staff were deeply impacted by the discovery of the unmarked graves. But our staff have also been in training around the impacts of colonialism since the last term. We adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people. We started our truth and reconciliation work during the last term. And so, to us, it just cements our dedication to this work. Every day in this organization, we are looking at new ways to strengthen and evolve that relationship with Â鶹Éç¹ú²úNation: whether it's our engagement around the landfill expansion or emergency management that's been critical, especially this year, or the joint procurement design and decision making on the Eagle Viewing diking infrastructure that impacts each and reserve.

Our breakfast meeting that we have with the Nation's council that we've had since last term, that continues, and that is all about the relationship-building so that we can do more together.

Climate

Q:  Do you feel the muni is ready for these big shifts that are resulting from climate change? 

A: On Tuesday night, we had our emergency operations staff report back to council and one of the things that I heard them say was, it was no accident that we did well through the three atmospheric river events that we had. You know, back in 2016, under the last council, we commissioned our community climate adaptation report. And, and that was done by Ian Picketts who's now our manager of climate change. And it was that report that showed that in the short term, flooding and wildfires were our biggest concern. And so we set to work. What we want to do is not only address climate mitigation, but also climate adaptation. That resilience of our community is fundamental.

Our award-winning , looks at the river system, as well as sea-level rise, and we have been investing millions of dollars in our diking infrastructure for years. We identified the weak spots, we prioritize them, we're working on improving our floodgates. We've been very successful with grants. Generally, we're investing around $4 million a year in diking infrastructure. This year, it's over $10 million as we do the build-out. 

There's so much more work to do, and it's not cheap.

And I think we really have to be part of the conversation that the provincial government has started around, you know, this system of municipal governments being solely responsible for diking and competing against each other for dollars to do it.

 I think we do need to look at that.

We also introduced the area this year, which changes how we do subdivisions at the interface. It changes landscaping, roofing materials, decking materials for new buildings. And that is all about, over time, preparing this community for the increase in wildfire risk.

Q: With flooding, should we still be still putting massive developments like the potential Cheekye fan neighbourhood up in a very big flood and debris zone? Should we rethink where we put these developments and consider abandoning some of them? 

A: We have a floodplain bylaw that was implemented after the Integrated Flood Hazard Management plan. And we have restricted density in our most hazardous zones and then increased the flood construction level and designated floodways. Each development is considered within the integrated Flood Hazard Management Plan, and the floodplain bylaw, and needs to be signed off by a professional. The Cheekye Fan development is sitting at third reading and has a huge list of requirements before it can be adopted. And the debris, debris flow hazard mitigation structure being the biggest one there. And so we wait to see what happens with them. 

 

Youth

Q: The Sea to Sky Foundry looks to be a really promising facility for young people, but between the closure of the former Youth Centre and the opening of it, at-risk youth have been left without a location of their own. Was that the right move to shut it down in the middle of the pandemic when folks had no other place to go?

A: The plumbing broke in the Youth Centre broke and that building was an end of life and so it was unfortunate timing. But I know that our service providers have been working hard to make sure that there are supports for youth. We know youth are struggling. The Youth Council has spoken about that topic specifically. And in the meantime, Foundry has the virtual foundry for youth and they have the Foundry BC app to request counselling appointments. The new youth hub will be a game-changer for youth in our community. It's unfortunate that we've had a gap in a physical location, but I think Sea to Sky Community Services has done a phenomenal job trying to reach youth. But they have been massively impacted by the pandemic, and we're going to need to do a lot of work going forward to support them.

Vaccine mandate

Q: Does the District's vaccine mandate also apply to elected officials and if not, why not? 

A: It's a staff policy. But I'm sure elected officials would be happy to disclose. I'm vaccinated.

 

Housing

Q: Thinking of density, because the demand for housing in Â鶹Éç¹ú²úis just so so high, no matter how much inventory we keep on adding, housing prices aren't necessarily going down. Should we rethink the assumption that more housing will mean more affordable housing? 

A: It's an interesting question because I think it's often really a question for provincial and federal governments who continue to enable speculation in the marketplace and are incentivizing homeownership. 

I think the community should be watching which is looking at increasing the supply in communities and potentially streamlining the development approval process, which will have implications for all local governments in this province. I think, to me, Â鶹Éç¹ú²úis a desirable place to live and people will continue to want to come here to recreate, but also to live. With the housing society, we'll be looking at that low to moderate rental market, and eventually homeownership. 

Through higher density development downtown, we are seeing the ability to have units built as part of these that are below market. And, and then with neighbourhood planning, we're looking at how do we introduce different forms of housing, like a gentle density form of housing into our existing neighbourhoods? Because not everybody wants to live downtown. And people still would like a more ground-oriented house. But there's the idea that our single-family homes aren’t attainable here anymore. It is beyond the ability of most people, even families with two incomes. So how do we make housing more attainable? 

It's a complex issue. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but it's something that we talk to our colleagues about we talk to the province about it, we talked to the federal government about and, and again, I think that equation between a broad federal-provincial policy that reduces speculation and then helping with funding to build the below-market housing supply that we need is really important.

Q: There's the perception among some in town that the District is at war with single-family housing. Are you trying to do away with them?

A: I'm not sure where that perception comes from. I think the time of single-family only neighbourhoods — when we're looking at building new neighbourhoods — I think that has passed. It is the most expensive form of housing to support with infrastructure.

Land is massively valuable now when we consider protecting biodiversity and our natural assets. The work that our forests and riparian areas do to manage stormwater is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to this community. And so continue to expand for just single-family homes I don't think is the right direction. And that's why we're looking at mixed-use neighbourhoods to achieve those goals around our healthy community goals of walkability, connectedness — various forms of housing so that people have a continuum of housing that they can live in, throughout their life.

So yes, I think better neighbourhood planning is better for the environment, better for our society and increases walkability and less reliance on the car. So there's a lot of benefits to that. So. But within that, when we think about gentle density, cottage clusters are in there; that's a form of single-family home on small lot. Single-family homes still can be part of the mix. Triplexes, quad-plexes look like single-family homes, but more people can live in them. So, it's really about offering a mix of housing and increasing the attainability of housing for people. Building more single-family homes only is not going to make housing attainable.

Q: There's also an argument presented by some of the Garibaldi Estates residents that single-family homes are actually good for the environment because you can grow a lot on your land. What do you make of that?

A: I think in any neighbourhood planning conversation, we're going to hear lots of different perspectives. And I think where we missed at the beginning of that stage is actually highlighting some of those things that people care deeply about, about their current neighbourhood. So I'd like to try and capture that going forward. And we're working with a Food Policy Council on understanding the opportunities for some sort of urban farming in each of our neighbourhoods.

Q: After a real estate broker was firing off letters to a lot of residents in the estates, some in the Garibaldi Estates said the language in the targets the estates for density. And that kind of prejudices the planning process for the neighbourhood plan. Is that not a valid concern?

A: Yes, we are trying to add gentle density to our neighbourhoods to reach some of the broad goals of the Official Community Plan. But no, the outcomes are not predetermined. And I've been sitting down with residents from that area over the last few weeks to really hear their concerns and hear how we can move forward in a more collaborative way. And I think that's possible.

The OCP identifies neighbourhood planning for all of our existing neighbourhoods. And so what happens is that with the growth pressure Â鶹Éç¹ú²úis feeling, which, unless we have a major economic downturn, I don't see abating, then projects are being proposed in a one-off kind of way. And it's a really difficult way for councils to imagine the future of a neighbourhood. And so, you're basically are leaving it up to the discretion of seven people as each of these proposals come through. I think neighbourhood planning is providing the neighbourhood with an opportunity to say here's where, if we were building a little community. 

We know that developers are going to speculate. I'm not responsible for their speculation. I am responsible for making sure we have a good neighbourhood plan at the end of the day.

Q: There are also folks who say council should just put a stop — or pause — on development. Is that possible? And if so, could council entertain an idea like that?

A: I think what people look at is the bed cap model in Whistler. But I think if you look at the housing prices in Whistler, it's not really something that works in terms of achieving housing attainability unless you have a huge concerted effort around affordable housing, but, even then, you know, it's a debate the community is welcome to have.

But this is a beautiful place. And I think that we can manage our growth thoughtfully. That's why we have a public process around development, but people do have the right to bring forward applications for their properties. I don't think a population cap solves the issues that we're grappling with.

 

Anti-vehicle?

Q: Parking is another big thing that's been coming up a lot this year. There's also a perception that this council is anti-vehicle. People have been pointing to variances that have been reducing required parking. What is your response to that?

A: There's no doubt that the climate emergency requires us to think about our modes of transportation. And we can see the provincial government is focusing on the switch to EVs. But we're focused as well, because I've set a massive goal for a mode shift of 30% by 2030. How do we get people out of their cars? How do we build more walkable communities so they can meet their day-to-day needs, within walking distance of their home? How do we create a vibrant public realm that people want to be in and reflects the creativity and vibrancy of our community? And we are consistently investing in transit, although the pandemic slowed that down because the province cancelled expansions in the first year of the pandemic. And then there's our whole investment in active transportation, infrastructure, which every year gets better and better. We have the new Corridor Trail, which will be lit from downtown all the way up past the Garibaldi Mall by the end of this year, that's really exciting. More separate and protected bike lanes — we continue to execute on our active transportation around safe routes to school, so. So I don't know if that's anti-car. I think that's pro-people.

It costs $65,000, I think, a stall to build a parking stall. In our case, we're facing [a number of] district assets at their end of life. So I'm focused on building two new fire halls, public works yard, looking ahead to the revitalization of Brennan Park. 

Am I going to take $10 million to build a parkade, when I need to build those? Council's decision has been to focus on these key aspects and build those. And then we can look at other things like updating our parking study, considering paid parking, improving transit, improving the active transportation corridor. So again, it's a complex issue at a time and a place in the world where we have to start thinking differently about how we do things, including how we move around.

Q: How do you respond to the accusation that District staff is running the show and not council? 

A: Local government is a conversation between a council and the community and we hire experts. We have an excellent team here who deliver and punch above their weight every single day. We are so fortunate for the professionalism of skill that's within city hall. Council provides direction to staff. We provide it through our strategic plan; we've provided through the resolution resolutions that we pass at council. And then we are the ultimate decision-makers. Staff is working at the behest of council and the decisions are ours.

Camping bylaw

Q: In the meantime, sleeping in vehicles and camping has become either prohibited or a lot more regulated. What do you think of the argument that we're eliminating some affordable housing options by controlling those aspects more strongly?

A: I think this summer's visitor management effort was really important. And another great example of the collaboration. We had Tourism Squamish, Â鶹Éç¹ú²úAccess Society, SORCA, the province — the Conservation Officer Service, or Forest Lands and Natural Resources, BC parks — we're all at the table, because we want people to come here and enjoy what Â鶹Éç¹ú²úhas to offer. But they can't just be everywhere. That was leading to complaints from people. And people dispersing even into the forests around the community was creating negative wildlife interactions, fire risk, all that sort of thing. So this was a great collaborative table that really helped identify some opportunities to improve things and to do education. We really saw the complaints go down. We didn't have to issue any tickets. But we did a lot of outreach and education.

And it's just about helping people respect each others' boundaries. We also have a lot of camping that's available within the district, and encouraging people to take advantage of that — camping at the Stawamus Chief is $10. That's really low-cost camping. So it's just helping people understand that they're welcome here to visit and enjoy our community. But you know, we've got some simple rules, we have to follow, stay out of sensitive areas, use campgrounds. And so I think it worked.

Q: The goal was not to target locals and keep it mainly to visitors, although we've been hearing from vehicle residents that they've been targeted nonetheless. What do we do for people who have no choice but to live in a vehicle? 

A: Our education is for everybody. It's very difficult to know who is passing through and who's permanent when you knock on someone's door.

Q: Will you be running for mayor in the upcoming election?

A: I haven't thought about it.

Q: Finally, is there anything I didn't ask about that you want to say? 

A: I just really want to thank our community for the amazing collaboration and support they provided through the pandemic, and into 2021. This week, I got to review the neighbourhood small grants from 2021. The number of people that applied for grants and made events happen in their neighbourhoods was just outstanding.

I hope people don't lose sight of the optimism and the energy and the talent and the dedication that is present in Squamish. It's a huge asset and while people might not always agree with the decisions we make at council, I think we can all agree that this is a fantastic community. Whether you've lived here for 50 years or five days, people are working hard to make this a wonderful place to live.