As part of our coverage for the 2022 municipal election, The Squamish Chief sent out questionnaires to all candidates running either for council or the mayor’s office. Identical questions were provided to each candidate, who had the chance to send written responses.
What follows are the unedited responses for this candidate. Those who did not respond by press deadline do not have answers to publish.
Furthermore, candidates were also invited to film a short elevator pitch. This candidate’s elevator pitch is embedded in this story.
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Please state your name and political party.
John French - independent
How do you think council can help with the housing affordability crisis in Squamish?
Commit to support the new Squamish Housing Society while working with developers of new projects to negotiate community amenity contributions that include units to be managed by the housing society. And, council can work efficiently when projects come forward and ensure projects only get sent back to staff for more work as a last resort. Every time projects go back to staff for more work it causes delays and pushes up the cost of the project.
Some locals have been calling for a pause on development on private land, but council does not have the power to do that. How will you reconcile that disconnect?
Council does have the power to pause development on private land. It's happening right now with the growth management boundary to prevent development of areas designated as future neighbourhood planning.
Setting that aside, some believe council has the ability to just put a halt to all development. That isn't possible because property owners with land that doesn't require rezoning have the ability to develop their land by simply getting the required permits from staff at municipal hall. The communications team at the District of Squamish works hard to educate residents on the realities of development in our community. I support funding the communications department so they can use all the district communication channels to provide information to the community.
Do you own property in Squamish? When was the last time you were a renter?
Yes, I have owned property since 1995. I was a renter prior to that and since have rented dwellings for my children as they attend post secondary school.
How do you typically get to work? When was the last time you rode a bus?
This summer I started riding my bike to work almost every day. The last time I rode Squamish Transit was July 26. I rode the bus to council meetings a number of times after the transit strike ended.
Have you had to find child care in Squamish?
Yes, in 1999 when our oldest was born. We were very fortunate to have my parents open a day care for our children and others in the community.
Do you or have you ever owned a business in Squamish? Do you pay commercial rent?
Yes. No.
In your opinion, does Squamish have a parking problem? If so, what will you do about it?
Yes. There's a number of things to do. One is to increase the bus service frequency to downtown. This will make it easier for more people to opt to take the bus to downtown from other neighbourhoods. I support an on-street pay parking program in the commercial area. And, I won't support any more on-street parking spot losses to street vendors.
What ways would you support council addressing the climate crisis?
I fully support the Community Climate Action Plan, which is a comprehensive plan that sets out six big moves for Squamish; close the loop on waste, shift beyond the car, decarbonize transportation, construct better buildings and take other organizational actions. The full plan is found at https://squamish.ca/climateaction/
The municipality has control over passing bylaws, budget planning and approval, committees, board and commission appointments and general oversight of municipal administration. Within those powers, what didn’t the last council do that you want to make a priority?
We need to create a neighbourhood plan for downtown that sets a cap on development south of the railway tracks. In setting the cap analysis needs to be done to determine the optimal number of units and people the downtown area can reasonable handle. With the emergency access route closed now at the insistence of CN the Laurelwood Drive connector bridge is required as soon as possible so that project needs to be made a high priority issue.
