Kody Thomson

I have volunteered on the board of Capital Bike, a local charity with the mission to create a sustainable community where active transportation is safe, healthy, and a fun part of everyday life. I also volunteer on the Esquimalt Township's Design Review Committee where I contribute to examining new developments in our community and how well they follow the township's environmental design requirements.

In my personal life I strive to have a low-waste lifestyle by reducing consumption, shopping local, buying used over new, participating in our local Buy-Nothing group, recycling/composting, and cycling or walking as much as possible.

I would promote a multi-faceted approach centered on establishing more "missing middle" and non-market affordable housing, and protecting our existing stock of older affordable rental buildings.

Missing Middle housing is the type of homes that fit in between single family homes and apartment towers, such as townhomes, multiplexes, and low-rise apartments. This type of housing allows us to increase housing supply without compromising the human-scale character that we enjoy.

I would create a policy mandating that all new or redeveloped municipal infrastructure projects evaluate and prioritize the integration of mixed-used, non-market housing. Esquimalt's public assets and community centers are often in the most walkable and vibrant areas of town. By pre-zoning and designing these municipal assets to incorporate housing above, we can increase the affordable housing stock without acquiring new land. This policy would need to also safeguard our beloved parks and focus specifically on the existing built-up properties. We need to work with non-market housing operators (e.g., Capital Regional Housing Corporation, Greater Victoria Housing Society) to take advantage of higher-level government funding programs and reduce the financial risk.

We can safeguard our current stock of older, affordable rental buildings by redirecting development pressure away from them. If we allow new multifamily developments in low-density areas across the township, it means the existing buildings that have lower rents aren't torn down and long-term tenants aren't evicted. I also support density bonuses for affordable housing and further improvements to municipal tenant assistance policies to ensure existing residents maintain current rents post-development.

I support renewing our Urban Forest Management Plan, which expires this year, and incorporating Natural Asset Management into it to more effectively track and protect our tree canopy and biodiversity.

I took part in the SSMUH workshop this summer and shared my own concerns about tree protection. The current permit approval process discourages developers from using creative designs and integrating existing mature trees in the case of unique lot layouts. I advocated for a smoother variance approval process to make it easier for SMMUH projects to adapt to specific site layouts, because developers and new residents ALSO want to keep mature trees if it makes sense financially. It's a huge part of the vibrancy, attractiveness, and climate resilience of Esquimalt.

Esquimalt and our entire region is growing. It is not realistic to expect the entire workforce of our region to be able to commute in a single occupancy vehicle everyday and not have traffic congestion. The solution lies in local housing options and enabling commuters to use public transit or active transportation.

Adding a variety of housing options in Esquimalt means more people who work in our community can actually afford to live here, significantly cutting down on the number of people commuting into Esquimalt. Shorter, local trips naturally lower vehicle miles traveled and relieve regional road congestion. Even if residents have to commute out of Esquimalt to work, they are generally going against the traffic congestion.

To make public transit a convenient alternative to driving, we need to make it faster and more reliable. I want to expand transit priority measures (including bus queue-jump lanes and bus-activated signals, where possible) at key intersections along our frequent transit corridors to keep buses moving smoothly past traffic. Similarly, we need to make walking, cycling, and rolling safer for people of all ages and abilities by continuing to expand our Active Transportation Network, which includes protected bike lanes, safe pedestrian crossings, and connected sidewalk routes throughout Esquimalt.

Finally, I support working closely with the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative and the CRD Regional Transportation Service to establish an immediate plan for higher-order transit options. I believe some sort of light rail (LRT) is necessary to form the backbone of our regional transit network.

I support the sauna proposal at Gorge Park because of the way the agreement was structured. The setup relies entirely on temporary/mobile structures, ensuring that park access remains accessible to the community and a new health-focused amenity is available in Esquimalt. The Township gets income through this agreement that can be reinvested into our Parks and Recreation Department.

As a general principle, I do not support the privatization of public parks or municipal services. Public green spaces must remain accessible, inclusive, and protected for everyone. However, there are many services and amenities that could enhance these spaces, such as a food vendors or ice cream trucks, that the municipality should not be operating directly. Any such agreements with private companies must ensure the municipality and public are adequately compensated, and that revenue generated is directly reinvested into the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of our local natural assets and parks infrastructure.

I personally signed onto the Sue Big Oil Declaration two years ago and would move for Esquimalt to join the other BC municipalities in committing to support a class action lawsuit against the worlds largest fossil fuel companies. The cost of climate change adaptation will be seen at the local level, and the profits made through unethically pushing fossil fuels should be recouped.