Surrey: 6 hot topics
Surrey, the province’s second largest city, will have a new mayor when the dust settles on election day, Oct. 20. To help voters choose among the eight mayoral candidates, Jennifer Saltman offers a brief summary of where each would-be mayor stands on six
POLICING
Police services review within 90 days. Hold a referendum on switching from RCMP to a local force. Create a police board, chaired by the mayor with community representatives. Add 125 police officers.
CRIME/GANGS
Free access for children and teens to city pools, rinks and gyms. Create a “centralized information hub” to help parents find anti-gang resources. Funding for more school and afterschool programs.
TRANSIT
Proceed with planned light-rail line joining Guildford and Newton to City Centre to avoid delaying transit investment in the city. Surrey First has also committed to 150 km of light rail in coming decades.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Provide affordable housing and rental options, while increasing housing supply. Put families first when it comes to affordability, transit and amenities.
DEVELOPMENT
Increase density in the city centreandalong new light-rail routes. Invest in amenities such as pools, ice rinks, parks and playgrounds. Build a 1,200-seat performing arts centre in the city centre.
GOVERNANCE
Create a mayor’s youth council. Buildon the city’s use of apps that provide a direct connection between city hall and residents. Connect with residents instead of relying on them coming to council.
POLICING
Replace RCMP contract with a South Fraser police department; increase budget to add 30 per cent more officers. Supplement officer education and retention programs. Increase community policing.
CRIME/GANGS
Focus enforcement on gang turf rather than gang leadership. Engage youths through free recreation, sports and employment opportunities, and give them safe places to hang out.
TRANSIT
Pull Surrey out of TransLink. Create transit in partnership with other communities and the transit authority. Build the LRT, but base future rapid-transit on cost-effectiveness and fighting climate change.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Create rental-only areas now that cities have that power under B.C. law. Permit greater flexibility in subdividing lots in low-density neighbourhoods. Create a Surrey municipal housing corporation.
DEVELOPMENT
Pause development until infrastructure
— schools, hospitals, roads, transportation, community centres, fire stations — catches up. Deal with house sizes, agricultural land use and empty homes.
GOVERNANCE
Support a new semi-proportional voting system and having the mayor picked by council. Print half of municipal election ballots in reverse-alphabetical order to remove bias.
POLICING
Create a Surrey police board, with citizen representation, to replace the public safety committee. Develop a new working relationship with the RCMP, and hire 160 additional officers over four years.
CRIME/GANGS
Enhance youth and community programs in every neighbourhood, including a youth recreation hub in Newton. Advocate significant jail terms for gun and gang crimes.
TRANSIT
Pause the first phase of light rail, reassess business case and explore reallocation of $1.6 billion in committed funds. Enhance bus service throughout the city. Ensure SkyTrain is used along Fraser Highway.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Develop new rental-only zoning as partofan affordable-housing strategy. Expedite approvals for purpose-built rental projects developed with B.C. Housing.
DEVELOPMENT
Increase density in town centres and along transit corridors. Ensure infrastructure and community amenities keep up with development. Encourage office space development in the city centre.
GOVERNANCE
Do a department-by-department budget
analysis, covering one department a year. Appoint third-party ombudsperson for complaints. Hold weekly public hearings.
POLICING
Support a detailed study, including effectiveness and cost, comparing sticking with the RCMP or starting a municipal force. Also consider a referendum on the issue. Wants mandatory use of body cameras.
CRIME/GANGS
Fight crime by making Surrey a “smart city,” including electronic crime monitoring and response systems to identify, record and prove crimes. Have these systems controlled by citizen bodies rather than the police.
TRANSIT
Expand SkyTrain to move people instead of building LRT because light rail will cause more congestion, is more dangerous and is less cost-effective. More buses, add rapid transit to South Surrey later.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Use a “build up and build more” approach to bring more entry-level homes into the market, particularly around transit hubs. Streamline the development process, using automation when possible.
DEVELOPMENT
Work on an infrastructure investment formula with the province. Ensure tree canopy remains intact. Develop Surrey 2050 Vision. Revisit zoning rules across the city.
GOVERNANCE
Create an e-vote system that would allow all citizens to vote on critical issues online or with an app. Less time-consuming than plebiscites.
POLICING
End the RCMP contract and bring in a Surrey police force that is governed by a police board consisting of the mayor, three people from the province and five community members.
CRIME/GANGS
Make it more difficult for gangs to do business in Surrey. Correct the previous council’s chronic underfunding for policing. Protect younger generations from the gang culture.
TRANSIT
Build SkyTrain down Fraser Highway to Langley and set up bus rapid transit lines south to White Rock on King George Boulevard and 104th Avenue to Guildford. Future SkyTrain from Surrey Central to South Surrey.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Start an innovations team to cut to reduce red tape for affordable housing projects, investigate rental zoning, diversify housing stock, and allow strata mobile-home parks.
DEVELOPMENT
Pause development. Introduce guidelines
to create connected communities and highdensity town centres. Developers should have meaningful dialogue with residents before bringing a proposal to the city.
GOVERNANCE
Within 90 days of being elected, strike a mayor’s standing committee on public engagement. Create an ethics commissioner’s office at city hall to ensure transparency and fair treatment.
POLICING
Hold consultations on the arguments for and against having a local police force instead of the RCMP, so a “reasonable, pragmatic and logical” decision can be made. Leans toward a local municipal force.
CRIME/GANGS
Largely a federal responsibility, but the city should partner with the Education Ministry to provide information to youths about crime, gangs and the dangers associated with that lifestyle.
TRANSIT
Nantel has problems with SkyTrain, at-grade light rail and, to a lesser extent, buses. Prefers suspended rail systems to move people without any ground-level interference.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Housing prices are disconnected from people’s income, says Nantel, who would assess the city’s assets and develop rental suites owned by the city as part of a public-private partnership.
DEVELOPMENT
City should plan and build proper infrastructure before developments are built to facilitate construction and reduce inconvenience for citizens and businesses. More thinking outside the box.
GOVERNANCE
Nantel would analyze the transparency of the city’s decision-making processes. He believes in having “a very transparent city hall.”
POLICING
Switch from RCMP to a local police force to increase trust and improve the working relationship among police, the community and city hall.
CRIME/GANGS
Provide counsellors, social workers, youth and support workers, and programs for youth and families that foster better understanding between parents and the youth to mitigate violent crimes.
TRANSIT
No to LRT and SkyTrain. Reactivate the old inter-urban rail line from Scott Road station through Surrey to Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack using hydrogen-powered trams.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Use federal and provincial funding to build social, supportive and affordable housing in Surrey, including purpose-built shelters for the homeless with counselling for mental health and addictions.
DEVELOPMENT
Invest in more arts and entertainment spaces downtown. Develop the park under Pattullo Bridge to improve public access to the river. Capitalize on new cannabis and high-tech economies.
GOVERNANCE
Support a proportional voting system with ward-like electoral districts that would provide neighbourhood representation and be more democratic than the current system.
POLICING
Unless agreement can be reached for a Metro Vancouver police force, stick with the RCMP, particularly as there is an existing contract.
CRIME/GANGS
More funding for outreach and diversion programs for young people.
TRANSIT
Complete the light-rail project that has already been approved, build SkyTrain down Fraser Highway to Langley and institute a single fare system like that used in Calgary.
HOUSING/AFFORDABILITY
Use city-owned land for a mix of co-operative and social housing funded by senior levels of government. Help seniors age in place. Prioritize any project meeting the rental zoning designation.
DEVELOPMENT
End the era of “willy-nilly” development models; projects should fit neighbourhoods. Build schools before housing.
GOVERNANCE
Seek legislative approval to amend the selection process for mayors, councillors and school trustees, so that voters choose one of each on their ballots.