Tag Archives: housing

Scott Kristjanson Announces Candidacy for Mayor of White Rock

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White Rock, BC – October 14, 2025 — Former City Councillor Scott Kristjanson has officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of White Rock, pledging to restore accountability, transparency, and balance to City Hall — and to put residents and local businesses, not developers, first.

Kristjanson, who served on White Rock Council from 2018 to 2022, is known for his independent voice, technical expertise, and unwavering commitment to the community. He has a proven track record of keeping promises and standing up against excessive development that threatens White Rock’s small-town character.

“White Rock deserves a mayor who listens to residents and local businesses — not developers,” said Kristjanson.

“We need to fix what’s broken: improve our infrastructure, reduce red tape, and bring back common sense and accountability to City Hall. The Mayor of White Rock should get things done for residents and local businesses — not just do what developers want.”

As Mayor, Kristjanson says he will focus on practical solutions that deliver real value for taxpayers — improving infrastructure and city services rather than building more towers.

Actions That Matter

• Getting the Basics Right – Focus on the core responsibilities of local government and deliver them well. It’s not always flashy, but it’s what matters most.

• Reduced Heights & Slower Growth – Stick to the Official Community Plan (OCP) and keep White Rock livable. The city already has a strong tax base from existing towers — collecting over $29 million in taxes that go unspent each year, with reserves nearing $200 million. White Rock doesn’t need more towers — and certainly not a 25-storey “Community Hub” tower replacing City Hall.

• Improved Infrastructure – Upgrade water quality by connecting to Metro Vancouver’s water supply, and improve drainage and roads to better serve existing residents.

• Reduced Red Tape & Wait Times – Streamline approvals for renovations and new homes. It shouldn’t take years to get a permit.

• Fair Taxes, Real Value – End wasteful spending and focus on essential city services. With nearly $200 million in reserves, it’s time to put residents’ tax dollars to work.

• Safer Streets & Better Enforcement – Continue to invest in RCMP, Fire Services, and bylaw enforcement to keep our city safe.

• Shuttle Service to the Beach – Restore the beach shuttle to help customers, workers, and families access the waterfront.

• Real Solutions for Homelessness – Partner with the province and local agencies to provide compassionate, effective support to help people off the streets.

• Protect Our Trees & Environment – Enforce the Tree Protection Bylaw and strengthen environmental safeguards to preserve slopes, prevent erosion, and keep White Rock green and beautiful.

• Support Local Businesses & the BIA – Partner with the business community to revitalize storefronts and patios. City staff should help local businesses and contractors succeed — not stand in their way.

Kristjanson brings extensive experience in software engineering, project management, and computer science, as well as a deep understanding of the arts and public service through years of local volunteerism and community advocacy.

“I’m running for Mayor because I believe in White Rock — its people, its beauty, and its potential,” Kristjanson said.

“Together, we can restore trust at City Hall, strengthen our community, and keep White Rock the vibrant, welcoming city we all love. Let’s build a City Hall that helps us all succeed — not one that gets in our way.”

Does White Rock Need to Build More Towers to Expand Our Tax Base?

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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?

Building Permits Take Too Long

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It can take years to get simple approvals done for renovations or to build a single family home in White Rock, or to get a business renovation approved. That’s costs builders and businesses tens of thousands of dollars in delays, and costs city taxpayers due to extended approval times. We can do better.

The Mayor promised to fix this but it appears nothing has been fixed. Taxpayers deserve to get value for their money and that includes creating a faster and more taxpayer friendly approach to help people and businesses get their projects done quickly. It take years to get approvals in White Rock for simple approvals that takes weeks in Surrey..

The Fieldstone Bakery on Russell took over three years to get approved. In any other city, it would takes weeks, not years. Three Dogs ran into similar problems and delays.

Many home builders frequently have run into similar delays and hassles. Our Engineering department has some great staff but the current corporate culture is not focused on getting things done for the builders of single family homes. Towers can get approved in months it seems, but renovating a business or building a single family homes takes years.

I don’t blame poor city corporate culture and high turnover rates on staff. The Mayor and City Council sets the standard and is responsible for creating the kind of culture that wants to help taxpayers get projects done, not delay them and get in the way.

On Columbia, as an example, the builder was given formal approval to build a home that included a double paved parking pad on Columbia. The building spent tens of thousands of dollars to build a beautifully built parking pad to code as approved by city planning.

However, according to the builder, after it was built at great expense, the city engineering department changed it’s mind and demanded that the parking pad be removed. Council was notified of this, but that same day the City Engineering department drove down to the builders new home with several employees and backhoe, and ripped up the cement pad and the blocked it off so the new owner could not use it.

That was in 2019. The parking pad is still blocked off by the city in 2025. We need a Council that knows how to work together with staff, using continuous improvement techniques for process review and improvement, and create a corporate culture that helps taxpayers succeed. I know how to get it done based on my 40 years of experience in businesses using these techniques. Vote for Scott Kristjanson and I will work with staff and council and taxpayers to create a Can-Do corporate culture that works for taxpayers instead of getting in their way.

I have improved project completion time in business using Continuous Improvement techniques developed by Dr. Deming to reduce project times while also saving money and customer and employee satisfaction. We can do that at City Hall too Let’s fix this together.

The North Bluff Study is bad for White Rock and needs to be rejected!

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White Rock faces a new threat: proposals by the current council for over a dozen 30–40 storey high rises along 16th Ave in what they call the North Bluff Study, as well as other projects like the Community Hub. Once again, City Councilors are pushing for projects that will reshape our community forever. But with 2 seats up for election in this election, we can shift power back to the people of this community.

The North Bluff study has one goal: force hundreds of families out of affordable rentals so large out of town developers can build more million dollar condos.

The Area of the City Affected by the North Bluff Study to build 30 and 40 storey condos

The area highlighted by blue is included in the North Bluff study that hopes to replace the existing homes and rentals with condos and towers. Is this what you want for your city?

I talk about affordable housing and my first priority is to retain as much of the existing affordable rentals that we already have along North Bluff and the two blocks South of that.

On September 27, White Rock voters will decide: Do we stick to the Official Community Plan (4, 8, and 12 storeys) — or do we give developers the green light for more and higher towers?

I’m running for City Council to defend our community. If you live in White Rock, I ask for your vote. When I was on Council from 2018 to 2022, we spent three years in the public input process to find out was residents want and that was to reduce heights and density.

My motion in 2021, as supported by Council, reduced maximum heights from 24 stories down to 12. It can be done! Voters can have a say in the future of your city. I ask for your support once more so we can block the North Bluff Study and keep people in their homes.

Many candidates are funded by big money developers. Check out how many have large numbers of signs with many on newly developed building sites. They may not tell you that they are funded by developers, but many are.

Don’t be fooled.

Vote for someone with a long history of supporting our community, residents, and local businesses, not developers with deep pockets.

Vote for Scott Kristjanson.