It has been an honor to serve as your White Rock City Councillor for the past 4 years. I am proud of all we have accomplished but we have so much more we need to do. In the past term, it was my motion that reduced maximum heights downtown from 29 down to 12 stories and limited heights on Marine Drive to three stories. I also chaired the Dogs on the Promenade Committee as well as the Environmental Committee. My current focus is on the environment and improving city services. Solid waste pickup for Strata's and a gondola connecting uptown to Marine Drive would both help our residents and improve our environment.
Thank you @whiterockcity for your trust over the last 4 years. It’s been an honour to serve this city, its residents, and small businesses. Thanks to city staff for all your hard work. Many thanks to those who supported my campaign and my run for Mayor!
Congratulations to Megan Knight on being elected White Rock’s next Mayor! I wish you all the best and for a very successful four years! Your success will be White Rock’s success!
Congratulations to the newly elected City Councillors Christopher Trevelyan, Ernie Klassen, David Chesney, Elaine Cheung, Bill Lawrence, and Michele Partridge.
Election Results below. Congratulations to all candidates for running excellent campaigns! Putting your name on the ballot is never easy. You should all be proud and stand tall!
As one of your White Rock City Councillors for the past four years, it has been my honour to serve the community. I am proud of all that we have done together, but there is so much more we can do. It would have been easy for me to run as Councillor again. I have built up a reputation for making strong data driven decisions. I read staff recommendations, but I am able to ask the tough questions to get below the surface and make the right decisions.
While I enjoyed being on Council with Mayor Walker and my other City Councillors, I believe I can provide stronger leadership to get Council and Staff working together to serve our community better.
I have a proven track record of voting according to the Democracy Direct principles of listening to residents, and following my fiduciary duty to vote in the best interests of the city. I make data driven decisions, I listen to residents and local businesses to ensure I understand the issues that affect people the most.
City Hall has become a toxic work environment under Mayor Walker. Staff attrition is at an all time high under Mayor Walker with almost 100% turnover of senior staff during our term as well as about 20% of middle management have left. That’s not right and it is not being addressed.
I believe I have the skills and work experience from working in business at Nortel Network and Amazon for almost 30 years. Let me bring that level of excellence to City Hall. During my 26 years in Nortel as a software engineering leader, I received awards for being on the first Continuous Improvement team in Nortel. We took on the task of improving work productivity and employee morale. When we started, employees spent 4 out of every 8 hours of the day setting up the lab and being unproductive. As a team, we took a deep dive into the processes involved and gathered data on where the time was being wasted. We worked together to make small changes to the process and measured the improvement to ensure we were going in the right direction. It was a team effort full of collaboration and team morale climbed as we started to see improvements. After a few months, instead of spending 4 hours to set up for the day, employees set up time was reduced to 5 minutes. The company saved money, we delivered to the customers faster, and employee satisfaction went way up. I believe I can bring that same spirit of cooperation and process improvement to improve city service and boost employee job satisfaction and retention. A win-win for staff and for our residents.
As your next Mayor, I want to focus on improving our city and creating a better community feel and quality of life for our residents and local businesses.
Our Official Community Plan (OCP) talks about Connecting to the Water. I would like to do more to help seniors and other residents travel easily between the waterfront and town center. In 2019, our current City Council met with residents to determine what our taxpayers priorities were. The top three were: Reduce OCP Maximum Heights, provide clean drinking water, and build a gondola or funicular connecting the waterfront to town center.
As a Council, we passed my motion to reduce building heights in town center from a maximum of 29 stories down to 12. We also opened the Water Treatment Plant started by the previous Council and our water has never been cleaner. But we made no progress on other priorities such as the creation of the gondola or restoration of solid waste pickup for stratas. I want to change that and as your Mayor, I will ensure we get these things done and more!
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We now have a large population in town center, but finding parking during the Summer can be almost impossible. Imagine being able to walk from town center, take a gondola near where the farmer’s market is, and take a scenic trip down to Marine Drive near the pier.
It can be paid for through our existing CACs and grants from TransLink to enable people to travel to and from the beach without using their cars. Imagine being able to take a gondola from the beach up to the Farmer’s market using a gondola. All those living in the town center could use the gondola to support our marine drive restaurants or enjoy the beach, without the hassle of driving and all the exhaust created as people search for a parking spot. Less cars means better air and less noise and pollution. Let’s make things happen White Rock.
Vote Scott Kristjanson for Mayor of White Rock.
I may be last on the ballot, but I hope I will be first on your mind on voting day Oct 15th. It is your city by the sea, and with Scott as your Mayor, you’ll definitely have your say. Together, we can get good things done.
My Platform
Stick to reduced heights and density within our OCP. No spot zoning.
Ensure we have clean Drinking Water at a lower cost
Improve City Services
Rebuilding the relationships between City Council and Staff
Restoration of Solid Waste Pickup for Strata’s and Restaurants
Review and guarantee reasonable timelines for single family home approvals
Single family home approvals used to take 1 month in White Rock, under Mayor Walker it now takes 2+ years. My goal in my next term is to reduce this to 6 months with the eventually goal to get it back to one month in most cases.
Use our cash reserves of $17M to improve our infrastructure
This money was paid by developers from the last council for bonus height. Let’s use the money paid to use by developers to make our city better. It has been sitting unused for 4 years. That’s your money. Let’s create a plan to use it to make our city awesome!
$4M in affordable housing
$3M for the Helen Fathers Memorial Walkway
$10M left to still available for other amenities. I will work with residents to create a plan!
Improve our infrastructure, roads, and parks
Reopen Coldicutt Ravine
Create an Arts Hub to replace the Landmark Gallery
Build a gondola to connect Town Center to Marine Drive
Rebuild the West wharf on the pier
Support Local Businesses and help them rebuild after the pandemic
Help seniors stay in their homes by reducing taxes and retaining older affordable rentals
Reduce taxes by eliminating wasteful spending and consultant fees
Maintain the excellent relationship we built with our Semiahmoo First Nations neighbors
Support new development within our city, but only if it makes are city more livable and is supported by the majority of residents who speak at the public hearing.
What I won’t do as your new Mayor
I won’t repeat what Megan Knight, Bill Lawrence, and Grant Meyer did as part of the White Rock Coalition when they took donations from developers and then approved over ten high rise buildings during their term. That included approving the 21 and 24 storey Elegant towers on Oxford Street even though 98% of all White Rock residents who spoke at the Dec 7th 2015 public hearing were against it.
I won’t do what Mayor Walker did in 2022 when he hired a pro-development consultant to undo all the good work we did to limit heights and density in White Rock. The city paid over $160k for this consultant who wrote the “12-Apostles of Affordable Housing” document that does nothing to create affordable housing. While it is written in rosy language of affordability, it is disingenuous and advocates for more height (25 floors) in Town Center, elimination of public hearings, and the eliminations of single family neighborhoods and encouraging 4 storey commercial buildings on every street corner and conversion of single family homes to triplexes without public hearings or a vote by Council. No wonder Darryl Walker left Democracy Direct! Because Democracy Direct was about being transparent and listening to taxpayers. The “12-Apostles” eliminates all this and more.
I will not do what Mayor Walk did and shut down public input by closing committees such as the Water Quality Public Advisory Committee that was an important opportunity for hearing concerns and addressing them. I will act with integrity to work with Council and staff to work together and focus on providing better quality services to taxpayers at reduced costs. I will ensure residents on committees have a voice to create positive change. Together we are stronger when we listen to all voices, not just those that agree with staff.
Why a Gondola connecting Town Center to Marine Drive?
Great question! It is contrary to my frugal nature but its a good long term investment.
First, as your Mayor, I would never take on a big project like this without public consultation.
A gondola would allow all new residents easy access to the beach without driving.
The gondola would ease parking at the beach by providing an alternate to driving.
Cost of a gondola would be about the same as the Vidal Parking Garage. Rather than encouraging more congestion and traffic on Marine Drive, a Gondola makes it easy to stay green by leaving the car and the parking hassles behind.
This would help Marine Drive businesses by making their stores easier to access.
It would be a tourist attraction and another reason for visitors to enjoy our beautiful city.
By partnering with Translink and the Province, grants will ensure taxpayers are protected.
Partnering with Translink, long term we can use the gondola to transport commuters to the train station for rail travel to downtown Vancouver, reducing congestion on Highway 99. No commitment from Translink yet, but even the longest journey starts with that first small step.
To find out more about the plan and how the plant emissions may affect your health and the environment, check out the Clean Air Alliance website at https://nobiofuel.wixsite.com/learnmore
Send your comments and concerns to MetroVan by emailing: andioncomments@metrovancouver.org
Here is what the Clean Air Alliance suggests that you write in your email to andioncomments@metrovancouver.org:
The Andion proposed biofuel facility does not belong in our residential area. We are asking Metro Vancouver to DENY their permit request, preserving the quality of life for our residents, tourists & all living creatures within our beautifully diverse ecosystem & environment.
If you feel strongly about shutting down THIS location, here’s some additional ideas to include in your email as the next step.
Your personal story
How this plant will effect you and your family
Health Issues and concerns you may have from the pollution
Noise concerns
Traffic Concerns
Smell Concerns
Environmental concerns
Significant drop in property value
The gas emissions of Nitrogen Oxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Volatile Organic Compounds, Ammonia, Methane, and Hydrogen Sulphide can affect my family’s health and mine.
According to the Clean Air Alliance, research shows that exposure to these emissions can cause the following health issues:
There’s a push from a citizens group in South Surrey to convince the Semiahmoo First Nation to abandon plans to build a biofuel plant in the area.
The facility is set to be built on the First Nation’s land, not far from The Hills at Portal Golf Club. According to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, the project is to be built on about two hectares of land, near the Canada-U.S. border.
The plant would take organic waste and turn it into biogas, which the company behind the project, Andion, says can “be used as fuel in place of gas retrieved from harmful extraction methods.”
However, there’s been much opposition to the plan. Some locals fear the project will worsen air quality and cause unpleasant odours, among other issues.
“We deserve to breathe clean air and that’s a really big part of our message,” said Suzanne Smith with Clean Air Alliance, a local citizens’ group.
“We just feel that that land is a living, beautiful piece of property, with the little Campbell River only 500 metres away.”
A biofuel plant that Andion Global plans to build on the Semiahmoo First Nation near Surrey, B.C. (Courtesy Andion Global)
Andion acknowledges there will be brief periods where people in the area may smell odours, based on air dispersion models. However, Philip Abrary, the president of Andion North America, insists many of the fears being expressed by locals are not based in reality.
“Everything is processed inside buildings and inside vessels, and then all of the air is through negative pressure sucked out of these vessels and buildings and put through a multi-step odour handling system,” he told CityNews.
“Generally speaking, this facility should not be emitting any odours outside of its, sort of, buildings,” Abrary added. Abrary says air dispersion models can be difficult to interpret, and worries that misinterpretations “perhaps led to conclusions that there was a sort of toxic fumes coming from the plant.”
“But there’s no such thing in terms of that. And, keeping in mind, all the modelling we did ignores all of the background pollutants in the air that already exist,” he explained.
According to the company, the plant in South Surrey would divert 70,000 tonnes of organic waste away from landfill, and claims it will eliminate more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Abrary is assuring the public the facility would adhere to all environmental regulations, adding reviews have been conducted by Health Canada and other agencies to ensure requirements are met.
“And if we would surpass any health limits, then the permit would not be granted. So we have to ensure that we’re always below the minimum requirements,” he said.
Surrey city councillor Linda Annis has also expressed her concerns about this project, urging the Semiahmoo First Nation to reconsider the facility she says will “negatively impact nearby residential neighbours.”
Surrey Councillor Linda Annis during an interview in September, 2023. (CityNews Image)
Annis says the concerns don’t just surround odour. She says noise, pollution, and traffic are also aspects to consider.
“The traffic that’s coming into the area, the number of large trucks coming in and close to a residential area with very limited access in,” she explained. “Quite frankly, this isn’t a place for this type of facility, it should be more in an industrial environment.”
The councillor notes that while the city doesn’t have a say in this project, she felt compelled to speak out.
“I applaud Chief (Harley) Chappell for moving forward with economic development for the Semiahmoo First Nations folks. But people have been speaking out, and quite loudly. There’s been several rallies taking place and we’ve received hundreds of emails here at city hall, people expressing their concerns about this being in a residential neighbourhood,” she told CityNews.
Annis says she’d like the First Nation to include local residents in consultations to fully understand the concerns being raised.
Meanwhile, Andion says it has consulted with the public, and is sharing information in an attempt to ease concerns.
However, many against the project are continuing with their push to stop construction at the proposed site.
“We believe that the establishment of such a plant would have detrimental effects on our quality of life, property values, and overall well-being,” a change.org petition explains.
Given the project would be built on First Nation land, in addition to approvals from Natural Resources Canada and Canada Infrastructure Bank, the plant would have to be green-lit by Indigenous Services Canada.
CityNews has asked the Semiahmoo First Nation for comment on this story.
Thank you for all the White Rock residents who supported me and for those voted for me and my platform. I will continue to keep working for our community and support our local businesses by following City Council and keeping voters updated on their progress. Let us all hope this new City Council will follow-up on their election promises to White Rock voters. Their success is White Rock’s success!
For those who missed it, below is a copy of my mailout to voters. While I was not elected Mayor for this term, I remain committed to these ideas and to our community.
#VoteSmart White Rock! There is only one Mayoral candidate that cannot be bought by developers and who is also a strong leader who can stand up for residents by making staff work for residents, not developers with deep pockets.
Darryl Walker claims that he is not interested in increasing heights, but he recently approved the 21 and 24 storey condo towers on Oxford Street. He also alowed staff to hire a pro-development contractor who was paid $160k to write the 11-Pillars of Housing document. This document recommends increasing building heights, encouraging single family homes be replaced with triplexes throughout White Rock, and eliminating single family neighborhoods by allowing more density everywhere.
This document also recommends eliminating public hearings and Council votes on OCP compliant developments, and instead having staff decide what development proposals get approved.
We need public input on new developments, and decisions made by elected officials who are answerable to the voters. Approving developments should not be left to staff to decide.
White Rock All Candidates Forum Sponsored by the White Rock BIA and SSWR Chamber of Commerce
Want to help elect a Mayor that will actually get things done that matter to you?
We have lawn signs! Show your support and spread the word.
I am running for Mayor because taxpayers deserve a Mayor who fights for taxpayers, not just for developers. White Rock deserves a Mayor who will be honest about high rises, not one who works approves 21 and 24 storey towers on Oxford, then tells votes he wants to keep heights low. We need a Mayor who can bring Council and Staff and taxpayers together to get things done, not just talk about it!
White Rock’s Official Community Plan (OCP) is available on the White Rock City Website here and was written in 2017. The OCP before it was written in 2008 and is also available on the city’s website here.
The Community Charter and Local Government Act dictate that the OCP should capture how members of the community want their city to look like in the future. While the ideas behind city planning are complex, the OCP should be written with clarity in mind so that the average residents can understand what the OCP says, and how it affects the future of their city, yet the OCP also needs to precisely describe that vision so that Council an City Planners and developers can use it to make good decisions.
One way we can do better as a community is to make the OCP more accessible to the public, so they can use it to make informed decisions about their homes and home purchases in the future.
Scott talks at the Sept 9th All Candidates meeting sponsored by Peninsula Homeless to Housing (PH2H) task force. In this talk, I speak about my background and why he started volunteering to help the seniors raise awareness of a proposed South Surrey Casino coming to White Rock, and how Mayor Baldwin’s “I am the Boss” speech during the White Rock Muffler Site Public Hearing convinced him to create the Facebook community page NoMoreHighRisesInWhiteRock so he could call out Council on their bullying of the public and to raise public awareness of issues and awesomeness within their community.
In 2012, whle at SFU as a PhD Candidate in Computer Science, I started attending Council Meetings in my spare time. I met a group of seniors who warned that a South Surrey Casino was being proposed by White Rock. I had friends who got addicted to a nearby casino, got into credit card debt, lost their home on Lake Simcoe, and got divorced. All because of Gambling Addiction.
So I attended the Casino meeting and got involved when I learned that this excellent group of seniors had no website to help get the work out. So I volunteered my time, created the No Casino in South Surrey Facebook site, the NoCasinoSurrey website, a twitter account, and I became the Vice-President of the NoCasinoSurrey association.
I ran the social media campaign for them as a volunteer, and combined my research with others to produce a 42-page report called All That Glitters is not Gold for Surrey Council in 2012 that showed how Casinos hurt society, are being used to launder drug money, and also showed that BCLC was likely targeting White Rock Seniors.
We presented our findings to Surrey City Council at the Public Hearing in January 2013, and Mayor Diane Watts agreed with us that a Casino would be a negative impact on Surrey residents quality of life and would increase crime, and the Casino was defeated. Meanwhile, Mayor Baldwin would not even discuss the matter in White Rock Council meetings.
Since 2012, I have spoken many times in White Rock Council meetings and Public Hearings. I have spoken about affordable housing, how tax dollars are being spent on helping developers rather than on providing infrastructure, about how building towers pushes people out of our community, and the need to switch to safe and clean Metro Vancouver drinking water as recommended by Fraser Health in 2013, and by the White Rock Safe Water Alliance in 2013, and the White Rock Lead, Arsenic, and Manganese Working Group.
Watch this short 7 minute video that Dr. Lanphear presented last night in White Rock on the dangers of even small amounts of lead and arsenic in our White Rock drinking water.
There are NO safe levels and fetuses and the young are being placed at risk because the city wants a “cash cow”. That’s not right!
White Rock water has far higher levels of both of these toxins in our drinking water than the maximum amount allowed. Their plans to reduce the levels will do little to help our most vulnerable residents: our children.
Fraser Health recommended in 2013 that we switch to Metro Vancouver water which has ZERO lead and arsenic.Council chose to ignore that recommendation and continue to use lead, arsenic, and manganese contaminated White Rock well water because it was a “cash cow”. That’s not right!
#VoteSmart on Oct 20th because #HealthMatters.
Vote for Democracy Direct because your health and the health of children matters.
Thank you to Dr.Lanphear and thanks to Ross Buchanan for bringing White Rock this important information about the impact of our drinking water on our health.
scott4whiterock 