Growth That Makes Sense
Growth is not just numbers.
It is not more people, more roofs, more traffic and more fast food joints.
Growth is a room full of generations and a yard full of children.
Growth is a world-class education and the job of your dreams.
Growth is a vibrant economy built by the people who call Cowichan home.
We need to build for the future we want, not the crisis we have.
I do not want us planning for the bare minimum people need to survive here.
I want us building a community where people have the opportunity to pursue what they want and wish for in their lives.
A bigger home as their family grows.
A smaller home when the children leave.
A place for grandparents close to their grandchildren.
A first home close to the friends and family they grew up with.
A business they can build here.
A career that does not require leaving Cowichan to find it.
That is the kind of growth I want us planning for.
Build for the People Who Are Already Here
Housing starts with the people who already call this home.
Your children should not have to leave because there is nowhere here for them to build a life.
Your parents should not have to leave because the home they raised a family in no longer works for them.
Your friends should not disappear one by one because the next stage of their lives is unaffordable here.
A healthy community lets families grow, change and stay together.
That means choices.
Apartments have a place.
So do townhouses.
So do suites, duplexes, accessory homes, multigenerational homes and detached houses with yards.
There is no single kind of home that works for everyone.
When elected, I will support housing that gives the people already here more choices about how they live and allows families and friends to remain close as their lives change.
Growth From Somewhere Else
People will continue to move here.
Cowichan is a beautiful place. People want to live here.
When that growth comes, I want people who want to grow with us.
People who want to build businesses here.
Raise families here.
Create jobs here.
Join our community.
Contribute something to the place they now call home.
Growth should make us stronger.
Homes, Not Units
Housing reports talk about units.
Council has to think about homes.
Our housing report says we will need thousands of additional units.
The next step is deciding what those homes actually are and who they are for.
A unit count does not tell us whether a young family can afford a home.
It does not tell us whether there are enough bedrooms for their children.
It does not tell us whether someone who grew up here will ever be able to own a home here.
It does not tell us whether grandparents can stay close to their family.
A housing target counts doors. A community has to think about the lives behind them.
When elected, I will look at housing through that lens.
What we build should give people choices, give families room to grow, keep generations close and create opportunity for people who want to build their lives here.
The OCP Is a Tool
The Official Community Plan is controversial.
People have disagreed strongly about parts of it, about where growth should happen, what land should be protected, how dense our communities should become and when the OCP itself should be amended.
That debate is not going away.
But this is the OCP we have.
It is the principal document Council uses to guide growth, housing, infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, economic development and the shape of our communities.
So let’s use it.
The OCP should not simply tell us where more people will fit. It should help us build the future we want.
Our OCP directs most new residential development toward designated growth centres. It sets expectations for the kinds of homes we build. It influences where businesses can grow, where infrastructure will be required and what land will remain protected.
Those decisions will shape Cowichan long after the current Council is gone.
When elected, I will treat the OCP as a tool, not as something carved in stone.
Where it works, use it.
Where it does not, change it.
And every time Council makes a major decision under it, the standard should be the same:
Are we building the Cowichan we want our children to inherit?
Infrastructure Before Crisis
Every new home connects to something.
Water.
Sewer.
Roads.
Fire protection.
Parks.
Transportation.
Municipal services.
Approving development does not make those costs disappear.
We cannot approve today’s growth and hand tomorrow’s taxpayers the bill for figuring out how to service it.
When elected, I will push for infrastructure planning before the crisis.
We need to know where the water will come from before capacity becomes an emergency. We need to know what our roads, sewer systems and other infrastructure can support before approving growth around them.
Good government reads the writing on the wall.
Protect What We Are Growing
Growth cannot come at the expense of everything that makes Cowichan worth living in.
We do not create more farmland.
We cannot replace a neighbourhood once its character is gone.
We cannot pave our way to a better community.
When elected, I will support growth where it makes sense, protect farmland, make better use of the infrastructure we already have, and give people more choices in how and where they live.
The goal is not to stop growth.
The goal is to make sure growth makes life here better.
We should not simply build for more people. We should build a better Cowichan for the people who are here, and for the people who want to grow with us.
What Our Housing Report Says
Those are big numbers.
They tell us how many units our planning work says we need.
They do not decide what kind of community those units create.
That is Council’s job.
When elected, I want every major growth decision measured against the future we are trying to build.
We need to build for the future we want, not the crisis we have.