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We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

We asked the questions:

Meet Linda Findlay

Thanks to LynnValleyLife for the opportunity to connect with our neighbours and answer some of their questions.  Lynn Valley is a unique community and my family and I have been fortunate to live, work and play here for the past 30 years.

I have always had a keen interest in community service and in local politics and issues.  I consider myself a committed community member looking to bring integrity and honesty to the role of Councillor.  It is important that all issues be approached collaboratively with an earnest intention to find a positive outcome, in the best interest of all. It benefits no one to be adversarial, uncompromising or rude. There is great opportunity, moving forward, to look beyond how things used to be, to scrutinize the changes we are experiencing now and to lay the ground work for a progressive yet sustainable future.

We all know the big issues – housing/density, transportation/traffic, environment, infrastructure and safety. Solving these issues will take a Council that can work together collaboratively in the best interest of all.  These issues cannot be considered individually but rather as a whole. Fostering integrated thinking to develop and implement solutions in the best interest of the entire community is essential. All stakeholders need to be included and recognized. I have no illusions that we will always agree but at least we can agree to be engaged in the process. Nothing is ever black and white, this or that. Workable and sustainable consensus is the goal. We need to work together for the benefit of future generations, not just the here and now.

I have resided on the North since childhood and have lived through many of its changes. Those changes, thought to be outrageous or non-conforming at the time, now seem common place.

Lynn Valley has experienced its fair share of change over the past four years and more has been approved and on the way.  We have to remember that the town centre concept and implementation is a multi-phased process. Yes, there have been bumps and missteps along the way.  Better communication and partnerships between all parties must be far more robust to avoid further oversights. The end game however will provide a vibrant and sustainable community for all to enjoy.  It is also important, moving forward, that we protect our green spaces, expand our walking, trail and bike networks to improve our ability to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. Community gathering spaces, cultural events, housing diversity, integrated transiting options, protecting our streams & waterways, managing eco-tourism, communing with each other all contribute to a dynamic neighbourhood.  I commit to responsible application of OCP objectives so future generations will benefit from the work we do today.

What we are sorely lacking and I will vigorously advocate for is a District-wide Communication Plan. Residents want accessible, coordinated updates of what is happening in the District. It only makes sense to share the status of where, when and what to expect. I commit to always keeping in touch.  An informed public is an engaged public.

Civic elections allow us to vote for those who can truly make a difference in our daily lives.  I am one of those people. I would be honoured to represent you on Council. Please vote October 20th.

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

I want to continue my Councillor role as I am passionate about this community, where I have lived for forty years in Lynn Valley raising three daughters and now seven grandchildren all living locally.

Why should the public give you their vote?

I am a CPA/CA with over 40 years’ experience as a financial executive in both the corporate world and local government. I have chaired the District’s Finance and Audit Committee over the last ten years and represented North Vancouver on Metro Vancouver’s Utility and Finance Committees.

What issues do you want to focus on?

My focus will be on affordable housing, particularly purpose built rentals for current and future service and retail workers. Resolving traffic congestion, and improving transit will also be a high priority.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

My priorities for Lynn Valley:

• Protect our single family neighborhoods

• Enhance the community recreational and cultural activities

• Increase transit frequency and improve traffic flow

• Complete the build out of the town centre.

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

I’ve lived in Lynn Valley for the past 33 years and I think it’s still the best place in the world to live! I have been actively involved here as a resident, in business, and as a volunteer. I would like to be a Councillor, as I think it would be a natural extension of my passion for the community, for listening, and for helping others. I have seen the community change and evolve over the years. In many cases for the better, but I’m not sure it’s always been with the interests of my generation in mind. My vision for the community is to preserve everything we love about it, while ensuring it continues to be livable for all generations. From youth, to growing families, to seniors, it’s important that all voices at every stage of life are heard. I also hope to be the most accessible person on Council, listening to the community at every opportunity.

Why should the public give you their vote?

I think people appreciate the fact that I am running as an independent candidate who is not part of any slate or team. I will provide an independent voice on Council. Furthermore, I am probably the most well rounded candidate on the ballot. My career is in advertising and, while I started my career in community newspapers – at the North Shore News – I have spent the last ten years in media sales with Corus Entertainment (Global BC and CKNW radio). My experience working with the business community is balanced with my passion for the arts – I studied music at UBC and currently sing in Chor Leoni Men’s Choir. I also have strong ties to athletics – I am a runner and triathlete and have completed seven IRONMAN triathlons. Most importantly, I am a strong listener and I have the ability to bring different groups of people together, to work towards common goals.

What issues do you want to focus on?

I’ll tackle the biggest issues facing our community – transportation and housing – and I hope to bring fresh perspective to both of these topics. We cannot solve these challenges at the municipal level, but there is a lot we can do. Working with the District’s largest employers to reduce the number of employee vehicles on the road, making car share programs like Evo and car2go available in our Town Centres, getting more creative in the types of housing we allow, improving customer service levels at the District and making home renovations or upgrades an easier process, working with NVSD to provide much needed before and after school care for children, these are just a few of my ideas. We also must “remove the silos” and work closer with the City of North Vancouver on many fronts and I hope to work with District staff to establish the best framework for this.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

We are living in a construction zone these days, but I am excited to finally see the revitalization of our Town Centre come to life! I was involved with the Lynn Valley Village merchants’ opening over 10 years ago – helping them with their branding and marketing – and I feel the same excitement in seeing the Lynn Valley Centre come to life. I would love to see more events like the summer concert series and Christmas tree decorating in our public spaces happening throughout the year. Other priorities include working closely with organizations like North Shore Mountain Bike Association, and other user groups of our trails, to make sure they are being supported on issues like trail management, as places like Lynn Canyon become more and more popular with visitors to the area. I believe our community has more opportunities than challenges ahead of us, and I hope to hear from many people on the issues important to them!

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

The reason I want to represent the people of the District is threefold; I believe in a strong community represented by the interests of local residents, I support small businesses owned and operated by those living on the North Shore, and I deeply value our unique natural surroundings and feel they need to be protected and nurtured.

Why should the public give you their vote?

I have a passion for the North Shore and all the residents who call it home. I believe in advocating for the people and standing up for their concerns, needs and demands. I am honest, trustworthy, dedicated, and I’m here to listen and represent for all residents.

What issues do you want to focus on?

Residents I have met have voiced their overwhelming concern the pricing of real estate. The will focus on building rental stock to allow our residents’ children to stay on the North Shore and give others a chance to live here. To address transportation, we have an excellent rolling start with the Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project (INSTPP) which makes realistic and affordable suggestions to bring better transit and ease the pinch-points of traffic.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

As a Lynn Valley resident, my priorities are to revitalize or create more rental stock that’s in character with Lynn Valley, support the proposed changes to coach houses, advocate for more transit throughout the community, and call for safer routes for kids who want to walk or bike to school.

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

As a lifelong resident, who’s lived in four different neighbourhoods in the District; it is home. It’s time that the DNV finds solutions to the challenges of housing, transportation and much more. People here are frustrated with the career politicians that have been in council for over a decade and want to see their Councillors offer solutions. I’m ready to offer the residents of the DNV my expertise, energy and dedication as their Councillor to move forward.  I expect to be held to account by my community and to deliver results that are long overdue.

Why should the public give you their vote?

I am a dedicated to my community and the environment and volunteer my time to improve them both.  I helped run my family business here in Lynn Valley and currently work for a membership-based organization. I earned my Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Transportation & Logistics and Information Systems at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. After working for five years, I returned to school and earned my Master’s in Business Administration from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. This well rounded experience has built strong collaboration skills to work with others with diverse perspectives will help to get things done.

What issues do you want to focus on?

When knocking on doors and speaking to fellow residents in Lynn Valley, the main issues we face are transportation, housing and building better communities.

All three of these issues impact each other.

Having the option for more people to live where they work with more affordable housing, builds better communities. People can then spend more time being with family and friends.  Being able to live where you work reduces traffic by allowing people to commute in a different way, spend time in our great neighbourhood and be active, while contributing to local businesses and lessen our impact to the environment.  North Vancouver has added more jobs than working aged residents; this directly adds to the congestion we face because people are commuting here!

This is one example of how these issues are connected, and one of the solutions I am going to bring forward as a member of Council for the DNV.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

My priorities for our community are to:

• Build affordable housing for families, seniors and people working here by looking to fast track rental housing permits, including basement suites
• Accelerate the Lynn Valley B-Line bus expansion to downtown (via Lonsdale) to help ease congestion and give residents another commuting option
• Optimize roads for better traffic flow and to provide safer routes to schools and amenities for people to walk, bike and roll.

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

I have a passion for the North Shore and all the residents who it home. I believe in advocating for the people and standing up for their concerns, needs and demands. I am honest, trustworthy, dedicated, and I’m here to listen and represent for all residents.

Why should the public give you their vote?

After 30 years of volunteering in programs and projects for the benefit of North Vancouver people and the environment, I feel I have gained the understanding of our community and our local government. I would like to take my knowledge of policy writing and implementation to form our policy and regulations so they have purpose, are easy to understand and have reason to them.  I hear “we are losing our quality of life” I feel this is a term we should grapple with, to understand fully and then work towards having Quality of Life across our District.

What issues do you want to focus on?

I would like to step back so we can  monitor what is “in the works” what are we building? Do we have the infrastructure to support what is coming? (roads, hospitals, classrooms, sewage and water pipes…) are we missing pieces? What are the needs of current residents and what are the needs of those who are arriving? We have time to get this right IF we want to get it right.

The lane being built on the north side of Lynn Creek bridge took 22 years that I know of,  from talking of it,  to construction. We best start talking now as to what our future needs are.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

Lynn Valley is my home. When I start to write, a travelogue comes out “A community nestled at the foot of the mountains with clean freshwater streams tumbling over rocks and logs, in our back yards and parks.” My priority for Lynn Valley is that we are able to Be Community, that we recognize our neighbourhoods and our neighbours. That we are able to find rest in our homes, parks and common spaces. Living with Nature.

ZoAnnMorten.ca

www.facebook.com/VoteZoAnnDNV

We wanted to get to know who in our neighbourhood was stepping up and putting themselves out there to help govern our city. We recognize some of the names and definitely want to get to know those we don’t.

We reached out to all the councillor candidates who live in Lynn Valley and submitted their contact details on the District of North Vancouver website. We passed on four questions we thought would be broad enough to showcase their personality and their positions, but would also focus their attention on Lynn Valley and the issues that matter here. The candidates had the option to respond to the questions they chose and how they wanted. Additional responses can be found here. And don’t forget to VOTE October 20.

Why do you want to be a District of North Vancouver councillor?

I am a fourth generation North Vancouverite and a life-long volunteer on many committees, including the OCP Implementation Monitoring Committee.  I attend Council meetings, workshops, and Open Hearings.  In this last term of Council I have seen that the communities questions, presentations, voices are not being heard.  I want to take the communities voices to the decision table and ensure that they are heard, discussed and Council’s decisions are transparent.

Why should the public give you their vote?

Professionally I am an accountant and in the past I have worked at a senior level in the District’s finance department for many years.  I have worked in government, understand it’s protocols and systems.  I was appointed to the OCP Implementation Monitoring Committee last year and have studied the OCP inside and out as my bedtime reading.  It is an excellent document and I have been dismayed at the amount of re-zonings and amendments that the current council has done.  It is a living document and is suppose to be reviewed every 5 years and we are now 2 years overdue.  I want the community to have input a 2019 review.

What issues do you want to focus on?

I have a number of issues I want to focus on but the top three are: transportation & infrastructure, housing affordability and development, council transparency & accountability.

Transportation and infrastructure has not kept up with the pace of development so we need to slow down development until our infrastructure catches up (ie: roads, sewers, lighting, wastewater, sidewalks, schools, hospital etc.).  We need a more efficient transit system to just get around the North Shore never mind trying to get over the bridges.

Housing “affordability” needs to be addressed to accommodate all community residents including the young, the new families, established families, seniors and the disabled.  The District needs to have a diverse range of housing and work with non-profit organizations like Habitat Humanity to provide subsidized housing.  The DNV should also lobby both provincially and federally to get them back into offering incentives such as tax credits to developers to build more “affordable” housing.  I would like to see the definition of “affordable” be tied to income not market.  The last several years we have been building $1.2M+ market condos that are not affordable to most, causing renovictions and people leaving the North Shore as they cannot afford to live here.  Workers are also leaving so businesses are now having trouble getting or retaining workers.  This lack of housing affordability will result in current businesses closing and new businesses will choose to start-up somewhere else.

What are your priorities for Lynn Valley?

I have lived in Lynn Valley for over 38 years and have raised my two adult children here as a single mom during their adolescence so I know Lynn Valley well.  My priorities would be:

       -getting more public transit more often to make connections during more hours of the day

       -lobby for a B-Line bus from Lynn Valley to the Quay

       -slow down development and concentrate any density in the town center

       -phase developments so as not to have a negative impact on the surrounding neighbourhood

       -keep older rental stock to the end of it’s useful life to avoid renovicting people into a .5% rental vacancy market ie:  Emery Village

       -build rental stock

       -build more diverse housing for all stages of one’s life

       -provide a youth center

       -promote Lynn Valley Village (mall) as a good place to do business

       -keep all our green spaces and parks protected