Communities First, Bryan Kapitza, Councillor Ward 6

12-12-02 11:37 PM

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RE-INVESTING IN OUR MATURE NEIGHBOURHOODS Council has vigorously pursued the development of distant suburbs and has forgotten about the needs of mature neighbourhoods close to the downtown core. I believe that it is reasonable to expect that some of the taxes we pay for living in mature neighbourhoods stay in mature neighbourhoods to maintain and improve infrastructure and services. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Communities have been left out of the loop on many decisions that affect their livability. I am committed to developing a responsive process that involves communities at the conceptual phase of planning and policy initiatives. By bringing communities, city administrators, planners and private developers together at the onset of a project or policy change all parties will be in a better position to express their positions, address concerns and realize acceptable outcomes. LIMITING TAX INCREASES BY WORKING TOWARDS A COMPACT URBAN FORM Our taxes keep increasing because of the infrastructure costs connected with urban sprawl. By encouraging families to move into mature neighbourhoods we can maximize the use of our existing infrastructure and keep our taxes under control. PROPERTY TAX REFORM (media release Sept. 15th) Presently our taxes are based on the value of our land and on the improvements on that land, i.e., the value of our houses and other structures. It makes no sense to tax somebody for improving their property. We want people to improve their property. Our taxes should be based on the value of what the community provides to that property. We should set taxes in relation to value of the roadway, sidewalk, light standards, sewers, waterlines etc.. For most home owners there would be little difference between their present tax bill and that under the new system. The big benefit would be derived from taxing away the economic advantage, i.e., unearned income, in derelict or vacant lots. In this case the land owner/speculator could only make money by placing an improvement such as a house or business on that land because of an increase in his/her tax bill. Additionally, there would be no need for taxpayers to assume risk by borrowing money through a Community Revitalization Levy in order to stimulate growth in challenged areas of the city. SUSTAINING RENEWAL THRU MICRO-FINANCING (media release Sept. 16th) Large urban renewal initiatives such the Boyle Street Renaissance Project will certainly contribute to the rehabilitation of stressed neighbourhoods. Such projects, however, are only part of the solution to urban decline. We need an approach that enables individuals to invest in building their communities as well. The City, in cooperation with other key stakeholders, needs develop a comprehensive Micro-Financing strategy. Micro-financing allows low income entrepreneurs to borrow small amounts of money to launch new business and contribute to the economic development of their communities. Presently, local microfinancing is fragmented and underdeveloped. Cooperation between public benefit agencies, government and traditional lenders will improve outreach, bring clients and capital together, cut administration costs and reduce risk. Instead of continually relying on raising and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in large-scale renewal projects, we can augment and sustain renewal by providing access to small loans and empowering our citizens. A series of small successes can and will lead to a large success. THE CITY CENTER AIRPORT The airport issue has been decided by the city clerk and our present council. The petition failed to meet statutory requirements there is no legal recourse. A motion to rescind by a new council is unlikely given that other agreements around the airport are already in place. Operations at the CCA will be phased out and the land will, over a period of decades, be redeveloped into a
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Communities First, Bryan Kapitza, Councillor Ward 6

12-12-02 11:37 PM

new urban community. The role that I can play as a potential representative is to ensure that the contracts for development are properly let, existing business are given assistance in relocation, that certain historical buildings remain in place (blachford hanger, home of the alberta aviation museum) and that the new development maintains space for the operation and servicing of STARS and Police helicopters. THE DOWNTOWN ARENA An excellent concept when combined with a hotel, shopping and residential development. The problem is financing. A Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) is an option but it still places taxpayers at risk (in a CRL we borrow against future tax revenue derived from the development). If no other private financing solution can be found I favor creating a Civic Corporation that would enter into partnership with the Katz group to finance the building the arena. As partners the City would be entitled to a portion of the revenue from ticket sales, concessions, and parking in addition to tax revenue and can potentially realize additional gains by selling its interest once its seed investment has been paid back. FAMILY FRIENDLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING Edmonton has become an expensive city in which to live. Housing costs now account for the largest portion of many families' budgets. At present there is no long term strategy to encourage the development of family friendly affordable housing in our city. This must be made a priority of our next council. SCHOOL CLOSURES Council has remained eerily quiet on the issue of school closures. Although the only guaranteed way to save our community schools is to elect trustees that commit themselves to keeping them open, City Council can offer alternatives to the EPSB that make school closures much less attractive - something that has not been done. CONSTRUCTION OF NEW COMMUNITY SIZED RECREATION FACILITIES Our current council has focused on building huge big box recreation facilities at the far ends of the city. A livable city needs recreation facilites that you can walk or ride your bike to. We need to renovate existing and build new community sized pools, skating rinks, and tennis courts in our mature neigbhourhoods. LIMIT SUPPORTIVE SOCIAL HOUSING IN DISTRESSED NEIGHBOURHOODS Several of our communities (Boyle Street, Central McDougall, McCauley) have taken on more than their fair share of supportive social housing. Such a concentration of individuals in need of support in so few neighbourhoods does not create an environment that promotes success - the reality is that it creates even more problems. All communities should participate in providing safe and secure homes from which our most disadvantaged citizens can work to overcome their difficulties. PRESERVATION OF DOWNTOWN GREEN SPACE No one wants to live in a concrete jungle. Preservation, maintenance and improvement of our green spaces is essential to our quality of life and needs to be given a new impetus. LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT Should be expanded to all corners of the City as quickly as possible THE QUARTERS The quarters refers to the destitute area just east of Canada Place. The residential re-development of this area should be a City priority. EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY POLICING Concentrating police in large divisional detachments isolates them from the community. We can make our streets safer by expanding our community police station network and growing our cooperative citizen/police foot patrol programs. RENOVATION OF COMMUNITY LEAGUE BUILDINGS The community league is one of the cornerstones of a neighbourhood (more so now that so many of our schools are being closed). Many of our league buildings are over forty years old and in desperate need of repair. The leagues cannot maintain and upgrade their facilities by themselves - it takes far too long to raise money through gaming revenue, bake sales and bottle drives. A capital program aimed at rejuvenating our league buildings is excellent investment in our communities.
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