What The Other Issues Are
Public safety is on the top of everyone’s mind this election and I assure you that the Surrey First team has an excellent plan in place to address today’s needs and requirements, and to proactively look at future public safety needs. In this post, I will conclude my list of ideas and initiatives which I bring to the Surrey First team and hopefully to a seat on Surrey City Council.
Our Senior Citizens
As the Fire Department liaison, I sat on the Seniors’ Advisory and Accessibility Committee (SAAC) from February 2013, until my recent retirement. This Committee is made up of City staff and community groups and advocates who have a passion for ensuring our Seniors have a voice in our City.
Our Seniors are one of the most cherished resources we have in our community. They are our pioneers and historians and they should be respected and honoured for what they have achieved and contributed.
We need to ensure that our Seniors have access to resources to keep them physically and socially active. The SAAC focuses on safety, health and wellness, transportation and mobility, housing, buildings and outdoor spaces, as well as legal issues such as power of attorney, living wills and estate planning.
To educate our Seniors and the public, forums are conducted four to six times a year, in our City facilities. Speakers are invited to deliver short talks on subjects such as personal safety, elder abuse, wills, power of attorney, fire safety and financial abuse, to name just a few.
There are also resource tables set up, that provide informational handouts and other resource information for those in attendance. There are also some light snacks, beverages and a lunch provided for those who are there for these six-hour sessions. The forums are presented in different locations throughout the City and delivered in different languages to suit each community.
In addition to the forums, the Committee has created a successful Community Outreach Program for our Seniors. This program is mobile and delivers two-hour programs in locations for those who are not always able to attend one of our larger forums.
The Committee worked for a number of months with staff and the public in creating an “Age Friendly Strategy”. In May of 2014, the SAAC made a presentation to Council on the results of this work and submitted a 38 page document for their consideration. The document can be found at:
https://www.surrey.ca/files/AgeFriendlyStrategyForSeniors.pdf
My goal is to ensure the vision of the Committee is preserved and the work continues, as our Senior population continues to grow. I look forward to working with this Committee and the Chair, Councillor Barb Steele, in the years to come.
Secondary Suites
Secondary suites have multiple issues that need to be addressed. There needs to be a more consistent By-Law developed and applied. Clayton Heights and the Janice Churchill areas are examples of how the By-Laws are not enforced and/or silent. Fortunately the zoning rules that created the issues surrounding coach houses, have been changed to ensure the garage sizes were increased to allow for parking.
With more people living under one roof in a residential home there is a larger demand on the City’s infrastructure and services. While there are fees attached to a residential home with a secondary suite, the communities were not properly designed to handle the additional population and the problems created by the addition of many secondary suites. Our streets, schools, recreational properties and other services were not developed to accommodate the increased population due to homes with multiple suites.
There are five main factors when looking at the issues around secondary suites:
- Number of suites
- Parking
- Affordability
- Safety for those residing in these suites
- Demand on City resources
The City permits one suite in a house and is taxed at that rate. Additional suites are not permitted, in accordance with our By-Laws, and infractions are rarely enforced.
Parking becomes an issue for the residents who may have mobility issues and for those who need to use the roads for access, including our emergency services.
Affordability refers to the owner of the home who invests in the property, and for the tenant who is looking for a place to reside in the city at an affordable price.
Safety issues can arise when home owners create these suites without a building permit, and therefore are not inspected for safety according to the BC Building Code and BC Fire Code requirements. I am all too familiar with suites that have no egress in the case of a fire and in some cases, no working smoke alarms.
Demand on the roadways, schools, parks and other city services are not easily planned for, without the population numbers of these suites being taken into account.
The City should consider adding to the By-Laws, the requirement of a business licence, at a nominal fee, which verifies there is one suite. The business licence could also address street parking. There should be an incentive for those homeowners to create parking on their property to hold all vehicles respective to that address. The purpose here is to ensure the streets are open enough for all emergency response vehicles, and for homeowners who have visitors from time to time.
If a business license became a requirement, annual inspections from the fire department would be required to ensure general fire safety conditions are being met for those who reside there and the Fire Code is being upheld. Both the Fire Services Act and the City of Surrey Fire By-Laws, permit access to businesses by the fire department for inspections without notice. Homeowners who have suites, in addition to the one permitted, would be required to close the additional suites through a process of attrition. We need to ensure we aren’t displacing those who are in those suites without ample time to find other suitable accommodations.
The ability to offer an incentive for creating off-street parking could alleviate the issue of access for emergency vehicles and for those just trying to navigate the cluttered streets. The next steps could include street parking passes, to motivate the creation of off-street parking spots. This would not affect a low income earner who uses transit but would affect those with multiple illegal suites with vehicles.
I hope these blog posts have provided you with an understanding of who I am, where I came from, and where I want to go.
When you are at the polling station this November, please remember Mike Starchuk and the Surrey First Team.
An Apology
Last week, at an All Candidates Meeting, in one segment, I used the ‘R’ word, to describe a situation. This was reported by the media. At the event, I immediately and sincerely apologized. This was not reported by the media, but has been confirmed to the reporter, by an independent source.
I’m sorry for using it, and I understand the comments and feedback I have received, especially given that my immediate apology wasn’t publicly reported.
I have worked with various organizations that support people with special needs for many years, and I regret my choice of words, during an intense political debate.
I can’t change this, but I intend on moving forward with my campaign, hoping this regretful choice of words is now behind me.
This is not a reflection on my family, nor those I am running with in this election, so please direct any comments or concerns to me.
Crime, Lies And Damned Statistics – Adrian MacNair – The Now Newspaper
Adrian MacNair of The Now newspaper, wrote a great article, exposing some of the fear-mongering and bullying tactics of some OTHER campaigns.
Crime, lies and damned statistics – Surrey Now-Leader (surreynowleader.com)
“I don’t have any objection to offering a plan for crime in Surrey. Where I have a problem is in the inaccurate, misleading and outright lies perpetrated by some candidates seeking office.”~ Adrian MacNair – Author of ‘Crime, Lies And Damned Statistics’ – printed in The NOW Newspaper
“THANK YOU ADRIAN. Finally, one of our local papers has put this information up. The Vancouver Sun also put up an excellent article on Oct 24 including some very easy to read graphs. I have recently been to the all candidates meetings for mayor and councillors and was disappointed at how many candidates were pushing this issue and insisting it is much worse than it is. When one councillor candidate (ret. RCMP) pointed out that this is not the case… that crime rates are down and have been for some time… he was interrupted by remarks from a couple others that were insisting that was not true. Stats Canada doesn’t lie folks. Unfortunately, certain politicians do. Be very careful who you vote for. I for one do not want to return to the crime rates that were pre-Watts and team. (For the record, I have lived here for 40 yrs. Thirty-eight of those, I was a short walk from City Centre/Whalley on residential property. I am probably far more aware of what those crime rates were like than most Surrey residents are today. I noticed a change around the late summer of 2007 and it has continually gotten better.)”
~ – Commenting on The Now Newspaper website
Downtown Surrey BIA – All Candidates Meeting
Last night, at the Surrey SFU Campus, the Downtown Surrey BIA, hosted an All Candidates Meeting for Surrey Council Candidates.
Mike Starchuk and the Surrey First Team were all there, and here are some photos and highlights from Mike’s speeches:
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“…growing seniors groups are valued, protected and cherished for ideas that they bring forward.”
~ Mike Starchuk – Surrey First Candidate
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“…recovery houses are a priority… and regarding unregistered recovery homes, we need to ensure those in need of treatment, are given the help they need.”
~ Mike Starchuk – Surrey First Candidate
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“…in order to be successful with schools, you have to have a successful school board.”
~ Mike Starchuk – Surrey First Candidate
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“I don’t want to be part of a fractured council, I want to move forward as a team”
~ Mike Starchuk – Surrey First Candidate
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Where I Am Going
With the election just over three weeks away, every effort is being made to ensure those in Surrey know what my personal goals are and what my interests are.
As a member of the Surrey Fire Department (newly retired), I was afforded many opportunities to grow as a member of the Department. As a member of the Surrey Fire Fighters Association, I was presented with a different set of opportunities to grow as a member of the Union and to affect change in a leadership role. These experiences with the Fire Fighter’s Union positioned me to accept the challenge of stepping into a new leadership role in Surrey.
The last few weeks have been very rewarding with respect to the conversations that have taken place with the people I have met along the “campaign trail”. It has allowed me to share my background and history, both municipally and provincially, with those I have had the opportunity to speak with. In return, I have heard that people view the knowledge and experience of a “seasoned” firefighter as a great asset for a City Councillor.
My personal campaign issues are part of Surrey First’s concerns as well. What I bring, is the first-hand knowledge of what is actually happening at the ground level – and not from an upper floor of a bureaucrat’s office. Something that is not lost on the people I have spoken with.
The issue of crime is at the forefront of everyone’s mind in the City during this election. While my policing knowledge is limited, there is an issue that I am very familiar with, which will assist with eliminating some of the root problems in Surrey.
Recovery homes are a reality in Surrey and have been flying under the radar for years. With other neighbouring cities creating regulations and by-laws to deal specifically with residential recovery homes, our City became the easy choice for those “less than scrupulous” Operators to set up.
The Fire Department took the lead role with the safety of these houses. While the Fire Department didn’t have the ability to determine locations, they did have the ability to request the Operators meet Fire Code provisions as set out by the Fire Department in Surrey. This became one of the required conditions for an Operator in becoming registered with the Provincial Ministry of Health.
Residential recovery homes, when set up with the intent to treat those with addiction and substance use issues, can be located in residential settings, without any impact on a neighbourhood. However, when unregistered houses set up under the guise of a recovery house, these buildings often attract those with criminal intentions and sometimes create localized property offences.
When it comes to the inspection, detailing and written orders to the Operators, everyone had to deal with one consistent – and persistent – person in the City. That was me. A “shopping list” if you will, was created to ensure all of the recovery houses were treated exactly the same. Something I saw the need for and something that was now being enforced by me. Unfortunately, the next building blocks for the program have yet to be set in place.
For an Operator to become registered by the Assisted Living Registry (Ministry of Health) they are required to be compliant with the Fire Department’s Fire Code regulations. Nothing else is required by the City, unlike our neighbouring cities where they have some by-law licensing aspects they need to conform to. The requirement in Surrey is if you are compliant with the Fire Department and you were registered with the Assisted Living Registry, then you were OK to operate in the City.
The problem with the current process in the City is there are no consequences for those who are not registered with the Assisted Living Registry. Over 60 percent of the recovery houses in the City that I walked through were not registered with the Assisted Living Registry. In most of those houses, they were not compliant with the Fire Department’s Fire Code requirements either. No one was enforcing the registration requirement and no one is following up with the Fire Code regulations.
What we need now is a more coordinated effort between the Fire Department, By-Laws Enforcement and the Assisted Living Registry to protect those in these houses and the neighbourhoods they are located in. We need to do this with two things in mind.
Firstly, we need to ensure that if a recovery house is being shut down, there is an opportunity for the residents, to find other accommodations. Often it is the case, the Operators collect their funding for housing directly from the Ministry and if a resident leaves, mid month, funding for another location could become an issue. We definitely need to ensure the end result doesn’t become an issue of homelessness. We need to ensure that if a recovery house is closed, the displaced residents still have the basic necessities of life.
Secondly, we need to create and enforce by-laws that allow the City to have a voice in who can operate a recovery house. We need to make comparisons with other cities and look at their experiences and create something that will work in Surrey.
We have some well run and well established Operators in the City. They are doing a good job in providing treatment services for those in the house along with providing safe and comfortable housing. We need to use these Operators as models and at the same time remove those Operators who don’t conform to the City’s requirements. We need to ensure our staff consistently monitor and inspect these buildings to ensure the sites are always safe. We also need to ensure our staff is well versed on what to look for while inspecting these properties with respect to any illegal activities that may be underway.
Next – What Are The Other Issues?
73 % of Voters Believe Surrey is Better Today Than Nine Years Ago
The research company that successfully called close elections in Alberta and Ontario says Surrey First mayoral candidate Linda Hepner leads Doug McCallum and Barinder Rasode among decided Surrey voters, and that 73 per cent of voters believe their city is better today than it was nine years ago.
Innovative Research Group’s Greg Lyle said his firm’s survey puts Linda Hepner at 40 per cent support among decided voters, McCallum at 33 and Rasode at 22. The telephone poll, which took place October 6-12, also said that reducing crime was the most important issue at 36 per cent, followed by keeping property taxes low at 16 per cent. Other issues included reducing traffic congestion, more open government, reducing spending and attracting jobs. The survey noted that about one-third of Surrey voters are undecided.
Commissioned by Surrey First, the Innovative Research survey also has Linda Hepner leading McCallum and Rasode in terms of “net favorable” results, with Rasode coming out ahead of McCallum in this important category. The “favourable” question asks voters to rate candidates on a scale ranging from strongly favourable to strongly unfavourable. Linda Hepner has a net favourable rating among Surrey voters of 25 per cent, Rasode has 15 per cent and McCallum has just 2 per cent. After nine years in office, outgoing Surrey First Mayor Dianne Watts has a net favourable rating of 63 per cent.
“Dianne Watts’ legacy in Surrey is a big factor among voters because people feel good about her and their city,” said Lyle. “One of the most interesting things about the race in Surrey is just how many voters like the direction their city is taking, and how much they tie that feeling to their outgoing mayor and the team she’s lead.”
Lyle also expressed concerns about the recent online poll that put McCallum ahead in the mayoralty race, saying online polls also predicted the NDP would win big in British Columbia’s last provincial election.
“Relying on online surveys for elections is risky, and their failure to get it right was highlighted in British Columbia during the last provincial election,” noted Lyle, who polls nationally for major Canadian media outlets. “We pioneered the use of online polls in Canadian elections during the 2006 federal election and they can be useful, but we are careful to validate online results with telephone surveys to verify the reliability of the online sample. The industry’s own professional association notes that ‘Online survey participants are self-selected, meaning that a margin of sampling error cannot be calculated or quoted for online panel research studies. Using margin of sampling error to describe the accuracy of online polling is misleading, and prohibited under MRIA’s Code of Conduct.’”