There is a lot of misinformation out there that says White Rock is mandated to build more towers and that we need to do this to cover city costs and expand our tax base.

None of that it true!

White Rock has already built enough towers that were approved in 2016 to cover our regional growth targets past 2040. I know because I sat on the Metro Vancouver board when these targers were reviewed.

In addition, the Province’s Bill 43 and Bill 47 make it clear that the mandate for more towers do not apply to White Rock since we do not have any rapid transit such as sky train in White Rock. Only areas near sky trains are mandated to have towers approved. Bill 44 suggests that White Rock must approve multi-unit 4 story housing in single family neighbourhoods, but there is plenty of opportunity for cities to push back. Cities such as Port Coquitlam under Mayor Brad West have successfully done so. With the right people on City Council, White Rock can push back on Bill 44 too!

What about the need to expand our tax base?

No! That was already done by the push for towers in 2016.

• In 2010, our unspent cash reserves were $20M or 50% of our annual budget
• In 2018 when I was one Council, the reserves were up to $35M or about 80% of the budget
• Today, the White Rock surplus is about $240M or about 400% of the annual budget
• Taxpayers continue to get overtaxed even with the new towers and 30% of your taxes go unspent
• City Staff have said that they want to increase this to $1B, but these funds are only for emergencies and other contingencies, and 50% of the annual budget is much more typical
• What are they doing with this money besides getting very little interest in the bank

So why the push for more towers in White Rock?

• Follow the money!
• The new 30 and 40 story towers being pushed by Council is worth about $2.7B to real estate investors and developers.
• The Mayor has said that she cannot stick to my version of the 2021 Official Community plan because developers cannot make money at 12 stories, and so they need at least 25 stories to make a profit! Shouldn’t the Mayor be more focussed on creating a better community for residents, visitors, and local businesses, rather than focusing on Developer profits?

The Mayor has said that she cannot stick to our version of the 2021 Official Community plan that reduced heights uptown to 12 stories because she claims that developers cannot make money at 12 stories, and so they need at least 25 stories to make a profit!

During the election, the Mayor promised voters that she would stick to the OCP 12. What happened to that promise?

Shouldn’t the Mayor and City Council be more focussed on creating a better community for residents, visitors, and local businesses, rather than focusing on Developer profits?