Community Goals | Vote for Ken Izatt

Community Goals for the City of North Vancouver

Fiscal Responsibility - Smart Spending

Smart Budget Optimization. We must prioritize needs over wants. I will push for a comprehensive financial review to focus funding on critical infrastructure, public safety, and core maintenance—ensuring your tax dollars are invested where they matter most, not on ideological pet projects.
Protecting Taxpayers from Wastewater Cost Overruns. North Shore taxpayers cannot absorb the majority of the costs for regional project failures. 8% of the region's population should not be liable for 37% of the cost. I will advocate tirelessly with senior levels of government to secure fair cost-sharing for the Wastewater Plant, exhausting every avenue to protect local taxpayers from absorbing massive project overruns
Sustainable Financial Planning. High-density growth shouldn't mean runaway tax hikes. We need a transparent, long-term financial strategy that relieves the pressure of aggressive property tax and utility fee increases. This is essential to helping long-term residents stay in their homes and keeping our local businesses competitive.
Direct Accountability Town Halls. Let’s bring back true accountability. I will introduce bi-annual "Town Hall Check-Ins," where council members stand before the public and report directly on progress made against election promises and budgetary targets.
Results-Driven Stewardship. I will bring a disciplined, business-like standard of accountability to City Hall. Ensure public projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Real Community Engagement

True Dialogue, Not Just Two Minutes. City Council public input period should be a conversation, not a countdown timer. We need to modernize public input by moving beyond the rigid two-minute limit. By introducing genuine Q&As and productive community discussions, we can turn council meetings back into collaborative conversations.
Public Input Before Big Decisions. No major project should move forward without authentic and accurate community input. I am committed to transparent, professionally designed resident surveys that capture the true voice and actual needs of our neighborhoods—before final votes are cast.
Plain-Language Financials You shouldn't need a FOI request to see where your tax dollars go. I will advocate for clear, jargon-free financial reports and project updates. Every resident deserves easy, accessible tools to track city spending and council decisions.

Fair Paid Parking Revisions

Having connected with over 400 residents regarding the new paid parking initiative, I have gained valuable insight into what is working and where we need to make adjustments. While some are satisfied with the current setup, many others have voiced valid concerns. I intend to directly address these common issues by proposing targeted improvements to both the meter/app payment system and the neighborhood permit parking. Specifically, I will advocate for paid parking to end at 6:00 PM to support our local restaurants, bars, and residents hosting evening guests. I will initiate a comprehensive review of the entire parking framework to ensure it is a more workable system for everyone. We also need to expand the number of accessible parking spaces for seniors and those with mobility needs

A Sensible Plan for Local Mobility

A Common-Sense Review of the Mobility Plan. Our transportation policies must serve everyone. I will push for a collaborative, realistic review of the City’s 2022 Mobility Plan to ensure our road policies match the actual, everyday needs of our growing community.
Keep Main Arteries Moving— Main corridors like Lonsdale, Keith Road, Marine Dr/3rd Street, must remain open and moving traffic smoothly. By keeping arterial roads efficient, we stop traffic from spilling over onto quiet residential neighborhoods.
Breaking the Bridge and Highway Bottlenecks. Local taxpayers shouldn't suffer because of regional gridlock. I will proactively advocate and partner with senior levels of government to secure long-term funding to fix the highway and bridge bottlenecks that back up traffic directly onto our city streets. Keep the traffic moving, It's time to re-evaluate our transportation options through an objective, data-driven lens. We must ensure that both people and commercial goods can move efficiently across our city, prioritizing practical flow over restrictive road-space reductions.

Affordable Housing +Tenant Protection

New construction can never match the affordable rents of our older buildings. When we lose a 50+ year-old apartment building to demolition, we don't just lose housing, we lose the long-term neighbours who make North Vancouver home.
My action plan to protect our existing rental stock and keep our community intact: An Ironclad Tenant Relocation Bylaw: Move beyond flexible, optional "guidelines." I will champion a binding municipal bylaw that guarantees fair compensation, moving support, and a strict right of first refusal for displaced tenants.
Incentivize Building Upkeep (RTE Program): Let's use BC’s Revitalization Tax Exemption to offer a 10-year municipal property tax break to owners of older rental buildings—but only if they invest heavily in modernizing, repairing, and green-retrofitting their buildings instead of tearing them down.
Tie Tax Relief Directly to Affordability: To qualify for this tax break, landlords must legally commit to protecting current tenants and keeping rents at below-market rates.
The Goal: Give landlords a real financial incentive to modernize and preserve our neighborhood character, rather than demolishing affordable homes for luxury redevelopments.

Parks and Protected Green Space

The city-owned vacant lot on the 100 Block of East 1st Street functions as a de facto neighborhood park, it is currently slated for mixed-use redevelopment. This lot can be permanently converted into an official public park. Preserving this vibrant green space within our high-density core ensures that current and future generations always have a natural place to connect, rest, and play.
Investing in Active Communities: We have an opportunity to expand high-quality, all-weather sports fields to support our growing local teams. Upgrading from gravel to modern all-weather surfaces is a direct, valuable investment in the health, well-being, and active lifestyles of our children and adults
Smart, Liveable Urban Design: Let's maximize our community spaces by encouraging new multi-family developments to build beautiful, functional on-site green areas and community gardens rather than concrete plazas. By integrating these spaces directly into new housing, we enhance urban liveability and provide residents with private, usable outdoor sanctuaries right at home

Community Goals for the City of North Vancouver

Fiscal Responsibility - Smart Spending

Smart Budget Optimization. We must prioritize needs over wants. I will push for a comprehensive financial review to focus funding on critical infrastructure, public safety, and core maintenance—ensuring your tax dollars are invested where they matter most, not on ideological pet projects.

Direct Accountability Town Halls. Let’s bring back true accountability. I will introduce bi-annual "Town Hall Check-Ins," where council members stand before the public and report directly on progress made against election promises and budgetary targets.

Results-Driven Stewardship. I will bring a disciplined, business-like standard of accountability to City Hall. Ensure public projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Real Community Engagement

Public Input Before Big Decisions. No major project should move forward without authentic and accurate community input. I am committed to transparent, professionally designed resident surveys that capture the true voice and actual needs of our neighborhoods—before final votes are cast.

Plain-Language Financials You shouldn't need a FOI request to see where your tax dollars go. I will advocate for clear, jargon-free financial reports and project updates. Every resident deserves easy, accessible tools to track city spending and council decisions.

Fair Paid Parking Revisions

A Sensible Plan for Local Mobility

A Common-Sense Review of the Mobility Plan. Our transportation policies must serve everyone. I will push for a collaborative, realistic review of the City’s 2022 Mobility Plan to ensure our road policies match the actual, everyday needs of our growing community.

Keep Main Arteries Moving— Main corridors like Lonsdale, Keith Road, Marine Dr/3rd Street, must remain open and moving traffic smoothly. By keeping arterial roads efficient, we stop traffic from spilling over onto quiet residential neighborhoods.

Affordable Housing +Tenant Protection

Parks and Protected Green Space