paulhillsdon.com

Just got my $100 in the mail yesterday. Regardless of your position on this government sponsored dividend that will be given to every single British Columbian, the reality is that we have the money. Now what to do with it?

First, the government has given you an opportunity here to make a choice for a greener future. Sure, you may just add it to your chequing account and buy a new bathing suit for the summer. 

But, if you are truly concerned about climate change, and want to do something about it, here is your chance! You’ve just been given $100. Spend it wisely. Spend it in a way that will bring about a more sustainable future. Here’s a few ideas:

• Compact fluorescent lightbulbs
• A low-flow toilet
• Repairs to, or a new, bicycle
• An electric lawnmower
• Weather stripping your home
• Install low-flow showerheads

And of course,

• Support a green politician

Putting your $100 towards my campaign for a seat on Surrey City Council may very well be one of the most productive means of investing that money in a sustainable future. If elected, my plans and ideas could completely revolutionize the South of Fraser area, and put Metro Vancouver back on the world stage as a leader in green transportation, compact living, and the preservation of natural areas. 

Here’s just a few of my initiatives that could be initiated if I am elected:

• The construction of light rail across Surrey and the Valley
• Modern, comfortable, safe, and accessible bus shelters across Surrey
• A vast cycling network featuring physically separated routes from car and truck traffic
• The preservation of Campbell Heights as a green space for the region
• Vibrant, walkable Town Centres filled with unique businesses, community services, and compact housing options for those seeking more urban and sustainable lifestyles
• The implementation of a Green Building Strategy in a city that welcomes over 1,000 new people every month!

If you think I’ve made a worthy case, you can donate your Climate Action Dividend right here securely over Paypal. 

Would someone please tell me what all this ridiculous raucous over the carbon tax is about?!

The escalating carbon tax is a mere 2.4 cents to begin with. That is absolutely nothing compared to the market’s 10 cent increase over a week! People are looking for someone to blame for the high gas prices and the media has jumped onto Campbell and his carbon tax.

I’m not trying to support them - the Liberals have done a lot of things wrong in their time. But the NDP are by no means are a reasonable alternative, and they are simply playing into people’s fears - no different than the federal Tories policies! That’s politicking at its highest!

At least Campbell is doing something. The point is that the carbon tax will fund the provision of alternatives. Yes, alternatives should be happening much sooner, and yes, we’ve had a general gas tax for how many years? And yes, there will be regional discrepancies. But to call off a progressive climate change and taxation policy like the carbon tax because gas prices are getting higher is absolutely ridiculous and illogical - especially when the tax itself will only cost 2.4 cents a litre!

Which, according to calculations will only come out to $46 annually in carbon tax for a year’s worth of fill ups for a family of four’s van. That’s less than one fill up a year. 

So really people, put the friggin’ tax into perspective. 

Not to mention, low income British Columbians will receive an annual Climate Action Credit of $100/adult and $30/child. Which works out well for them, since presumably they’d be taking the bus anyways - which is much cheaper than driving will ever be. That could get them one month’s transit pass - certainly a better choice than one tank fill up!

If there is one certainty about the current rise in gas prices, it is that it will not continue forever.

Sooner or later, global demand for oil will come more into balance with its supply, and prices will fall. [The Province]

And, I’m sorry, but the reality is, gas prices are not going to go down. They may fluctuate, but prices will continue, over the long term to go up. 

Think about the demand that’s coming from India and Asia. Think about how much resources our “North American” lifestyles use up. Considering neither of these groups is likely to demand anything less anytime soon, demand will not cease. 

The concept of peak oil is that as soon as we have passed the midpoint in global oil resources, prices will skyrocket. That is because, from that point on, we will never have enough supply to meet the demand. 

So, you think $1.50 is bad? Are you fearing the $2 mark predicted to arrive by 2012? 

Well, consider this. Peak oil is estimated to hit between 2010 to 2013. Then the shit will hit the fan because you ain’t seen nothing yet. Prices will zoom to numbers never before imagined possible.

So please, stop trying to find someone or something to blame. Please stop trying to find some way of sustaining this unsustainable way of life. 

Think positively for once and coming up with creative solutions to this big problem: electric vehicles, or moving closer to work, or bringing the bike out of the garage, or buying locally grown food.

And of course, support the politicians who will help facilitate this transition towards a sustainable way of life. 

Yes, I have decided, that I will run in this year’s municipal elections for a seat on Surrey City Council.

Over the past year or so, as my projects have come and gone, I’ve become frustrated. I developed policies and plans to fix many of the problems I encountered in daily life. I created the South of Fraser Transit 2011 proposal because transit is lackluster out here. I created the Surrey Cycling Initiative because biking anywhere wasn’t a safe or viable transportation alternative in my city. I created the Transit Metropolis Vancouver vision because I wanted to be able to move around the region quickly, comfortably, and cheaply.

But, without political will behind any of my, or any other person’s ideas, they are worth nothing. It is for this exact reason that I have chosen to enter politics. We need more creativity and idealism in our politicians - I think those are two qualities I possess in mounds.

Sustainability is the cornerstone of my entire platform. I am part of the generation that will inherit this planet from the baby boomers. It is imperative that Surrey take a leadership role in protecting our environment, developing green transportation, and providing equal opportunities for all citizens to succeed in life.

My platform revolves around four pillars: Sustainable Development, Green Spaces, Transportation Options, and Vibrant Communities. They all interconnect and create a much larger vision of the livable lifestyle - complete walkable communities with close access to sustainable transportation options, affordable housing, and green spaces.

It is time for Surrey to become all that it is capable of being and step up to the plate. To do so, we must take the lead in developing a city that will become a sustainable urban hub of Western Canada for the 21st century.

London, Curitiba, Dongtan, New York, Copenhagen, Freiburg, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne, Bogota, San Francisco, Sydney, and Vancouver can do it.

Why not Surrey?

I think with my vision and optimism, I would be an ideal councillor to help usher in the political will needed to make this transformation.

This is the first pillar in my civic platform.

Development has always been a major issue in Surrey, ever since it’s inception many moons ago. This young city has always been a place of rapid growth and change, and projections show this will continue for a long time to come. In fact, it’s estimated that within 20 odd years, Surrey’s population will surpass that of Vancouver’s.

Now, it’s certainly debatable on how well Surrey has handled this growth throughout the years. I will definitely admit that with our sidestepping of the LRSP and a continuous “anything for development” attitude, our reputation around these parts has always been that of the raunchy stepchild. The attitude still pervades the city, even despite the boot of Doug McCallum - Dianne Watts certainly hasn’t slowed anything down, or taken a long term look at the impacts of certain developments. Just take a look at Campbell Heights.

While we may be beginning to make bigger steps in terms of density by building townhomes rather than single-family houses (which I would argue is for due to the market forces of high housing costs and developers wanting the most bang for their buck), there is still a *ton* of work to do.

What new do I bring to the table?

I can tell you right now that development can be good - if it’s done properly. So I’m not about to halt all future growth in the city. However, that does not mean that all developments must proceed. Council has a duty to only accept those which advance the wellbeing of the city as a whole. And with the plans I lay out below, I will ensure that the city of Surrey becomes a national leader in terms of sustainable development.

1. Green Building Strategy.

This one is big. Building structures have a huge effects on our communities, depending on their size, style, and efficiency. Buildings can contribute not only to huge energy savings, but also to substantial reductions in greenhouse gases - if they are built sustainably. Cities across the world have implemented Green Building strategies, typically in accordance to the LEED certification system.

Under LEED, new buildings, or major retrofits, take a look at a checklist of options that make a development greener. Depending on how many they fit, they will get a better and better LEED certification. LEED certification has proven to only cost approximatively 2% more than existing construction costs, and will produce huge savings down the line.

Most cities have the strategy applied simply to municipal buildings. Some even give incentives to private developments to encourage them to adopt the specifications.

Surrey will go ten steps farther to establish itself as a true leader in this space and to take a major step forward in the fight against climate change.

Obviously, all details and specifics regulations or targets would be marked down by staff, but here’s a general idea of what the strategy would be:

Beginning immediately, all new and major retrofitted civic buildings most adopt a LEED Gold certification - the most stringent in North America. The City must broker an agreement with the Board of Education that all schools will follow the same standard. In addition, major incentives will be given to private developers to encourage them to adopt the new standards. This includes a fasttracked system for building permits, a huge reduction in the cost of the building permit, and a huge reduction in DCCs (development cost charges), all based on what level of LEED certification has been proposed. These rebates will be offset a year or two later with the introduction of a levy on all new developments that do not feature LEED certification. Over time, again, based on the level of LEED certification that has been proposed, the “carrots” or incentives will decrease, and the “sticks” or disincentives will increase. This will continue to the point, over the course of a good 8 years, where all new developments in Surrey are LEED certified.

Such a plan gives developers a timeline to work off of to ensure they receive the best deal possible, and potentially avoid larger taxation in the future. With this reasonable market based system, Surrey can ensure that it lowers in carbon footprint, which increases it’s citizens overall wellbeing. In addition, Surrey will be a newfound national leader in the transition to a green economy.

2. Affordable Housing Strategy

As housing prices continue to escalate, hopeful homeowners have been priced out of the market for a single family house. Meanwhile, new options have sprung up, such as condos and townhomes, providing residents with brand new housing for an achievable pricetag. However, as of 2005, the average annual income of a citizen of Surrey is $32,000. And considering a whopping 90% of citizens are not in a common law relationship, the typical formula of having two people share a mortgage is no longer the reality. In fact, it is doubtful a large majority of residents can even afford to buy *any* form of housing.

Although renting continues to be an affordable alternative to home ownership, these citizens are unlikely to ever be able to enter the ownership market. In such a system, we are simply expanding the split between “haves” and “have nots” - something which has huge societal rebounds in the future.

An affordable housing strategy depends on a variety of measures to ensure that *all* citizens in Surrey can afford to live in reasonable accommodations. The strategy I’m proposed has four major sections.

• 1) The legalisation of secondary suites: This has been talked a lot for a long time, but has failed to be implemented in law by the current council. Such legislation will ensure that secondary suites are safe and built to the appropriate codes, in addition to providing tenants with legal venues for protection from landlords. This step can be done quickly and efficiently and will improve the housing stock in the City.

• 2) A market based incentives program similar to that of the Green Building Strategy: The City should set a baseline for the price a typical housing unit shall cost to be deemed “affordable”. For example, in Austin, the City that this program is based off of, deems “affordable” to be developments that are accessible to citizens at or below 80% of the average median family income for the area. Based on this bar of accessibility, the City gives developers incentives based on the number of affordable units in the development. These incentives should include an expedited building permit, and could also include a reduction in the building permit cost. The goal should be to provide affordable housing for all those at or below the average median family income. For example, if 30% of Surrey’s population fits this designation, then the City’s goal should be to have 30% of all housing priced for this bracket of the market. I believe that this market based approach to increasing affordable units in Surrey is far more sustainable than having the City build and run it’s own units.

• 3) Homeless partnerships: The City needs to proceed with partnerships for homeless shelters with the ultimate goal of having enough beds for the City’s full homeless population. Homeless shelters are an essential piece of the puzzle to helping those less fortunate get back on their feet. Most shelters include bathing facilities, food, and support staff. With these facilities in place, we can ensure that the homeless, or those at risk of becoming homeless, have a place to get help and, in due course, get a job and likely live in one of the proposed affordable housing units from the second section of the Strategy.

• 4) Ensure that the City has a large, diverse market of housing units: This follows the simple economics of supply and demand. If we ensure there is enough supply to meet, or even potentially exceed, demand, then we are ensuring that prices aren’t artificially inflated for housing. This strategy will be met with other initiatives in the Vibrant Communities pillar.

I’ve been pondering a lot recently about my position in the community and how to best realize my vision for this region, and, more specifically, for my home city of Surrey. You see, a person like me tends to have a lot of projects and ideas swirling around his head - it’s just a matter of how best to make these a reality. Rather often, it seems that the power to truly improve things lies in the hands of decision makers. To that end, I’m pondering a potential run for political office in Surrey during the November municipal elections.

I’ve written before about what I believe is a lack of boldness in this region. You know, that spice of life, that energy… that ability to make, support and rally around the *best* decisions and ideas - and I think it’s something I inherently possess. It’s a quality that could make up for my lack of experience in politics and support my candidacy as I’m advocating for the important issues.

And what are the important issues?

Well, take a look at the “four pillars”, so to speak, of a Surrey civic platform that I’ve been brainstorming.

1. Sustainable Development
2. Green Spaces
3. Transportation Alternatives
4. Vibrant Communities

I’m a logical guy, so trust me when I say that I already have many plans on how to achieve measurable improvements in these four categories - something rarely seen from political candidates vying for office. November’s a long ways away still. Does the platform sound intriguing to you? Something you would support?

Stay tuned, the rest of this week, I’ll give a full rundown on each of these “pillars”, including specific policies and plans.

Naturally, I’d really appreciate any and all comments :)