My Vision for Vernon: The Work Ahead

 Over the past term on City Council, we have focused heavily on disciplined decision-making, meticulous data-gathering, and building a stronger Vernon. Because of this collaborative effort, 87.9% of our Council Strategic Plan initiatives are already completed or actively in progress.

But we haven't just been making plans; we've been executing them.

From expanding our active transportation networks to approving new housing files, we have focused on tangible progress. Nowhere is this clearer than with our new Active Living Centre. We didn't just break ground and launch construction during this term; we pushed the project forward so efficiently that it will officially open its doors to the public this November, right after the election.

As we look toward the next term, municipal work is an ongoing journey. We have successfully locked in our foundational goals, passed vital long-term frameworks, and proven we can deliver major civic projects on time. Now, it is about keeping that momentum going. My vision for Vernon is the steady, responsible, and transparent execution of our next major infrastructure, housing, and environmental initiatives.

Here is the blueprint for the work we are driving forward next:

Environmental leadership isn’t just a policy discussion for the future; it is about addressing the immediate environmental realities affecting our community right now. Facing our fifth consecutive multi-year drought and now navigating Stage 3 water restrictions, our priority must shift from basic sustainability goals to proactive, protective climate adaptation and resource management.

During our current term, we integrated significant resilience frameworks into the Official Community Plan and advanced our Climate Action Plan. True climate stewardship is an ongoing responsibility, and my vision for the next term focuses on steady execution to protect Vernon's water security, infrastructure, and natural spaces:

• Securing Our Water Supply: Partnering closely with the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) water utilities to ensure our municipal infrastructure supports strict conservation measures, while actively exploring long-term water storage options and regional drought-management strategies.
• Drought-Resilient Infrastructure: Ensuring that future capital projects, municipal parks, and public landscaping adopt water-conscious, climate-resilient designs, including xeriscaping, to lead by example in city operations.
• Adapting to Extreme Weather: Safeguarding our community by continuously adapting our urban drainage and stormwater networks to manage intense weather shifts, while expanding fuel-mitigation work in our local parks to reduce severe wildfire risks associated with prolonged drought.

👉 Explore our ongoing climate initiatives and live drought response updates via Let's Talk Vernon

We are at a historic turning point for one of our city's most cherished public spaces. With the multi-phase Vernon Creek Naturalization Project nearing its final completion stages, restoring riparian ecosystems, stabilizing groundwater, and welcoming spawning salmon back for the first time in generations, we now have a clean slate to revitalize the rest of the park. 

As one of many champions of the Polson Park Revitalization Plan initiated under our current Strategic Plan, my vision for the next term includes:

• Infrastructure Renewal: Actively advancing past Phase 1 (Condition Assessment & Public Engagement) to implement conceptual designs that renew aging infrastructure, including upgrading the playground, tennis courts, and bandshell. 
• New Amenities: Evaluating public feedback and feasibility studies for highly anticipated features like an upgraded spray park and expanded community gathering areas. 
• Safe & Inclusive Spaces: Ensuring Polson Park is developed with enhanced lighting and universal accessibility so that seniors, young families, and visitors feel secure and welcome year-round. 

 👉 Learn more about the ongoing Polson Park Revitalization & share your input 

 We have worked hard to confront the housing crisis head-on by establishing clear targets and breaking down systemic barriers. We implemented Short-Term Rental Regulations and completed our baseline frameworks. However, the path forward requires an active, continued push to ensure families, workers, and seniors aren't priced out of our city.

My commitment to the next four years focuses on the deliberate execution of our core housing files:

• Meeting Our Targets: Accelerating work under the Housing Supply Act frameworks to guarantee we achieve our provincially mandated housing targets through continuous tracking and adaptation.
• Non-Profit Partnerships: Continuing to leverage City-owned land and regional incentives to partner with BC Housing and local non-profits to replicate successful attainable models like Thunderbird Manor.
• Streamlining Development: Finalizing the digital transformation of our development approval processes (including the rollout of digital development permits) to eliminate bureaucratic red tape for homeowners and builders alike.
• Monitoring Short-Term Rental Regulations: Review and adjust short-term rental regulations once we have reached the provincial requirement of achieving vacancy rates above 3% for 2 consecutive years.

👉 Review our long-term goals in the Vernon Housing Action Plan

True structural growth requires infrastructure that stays ahead of demand. In late 2025, we passed the comprehensive City of Vernon Transportation Plan, mapping out a 20-year blueprint featuring 170 distinct projects to optimize day-to-day travel.

My vision for implementation over the next term focuses on:

• Prioritizing Road Safety (Goal 1): Actively funding and deploying tactical safety upgrades to lower accident rates and ensure every trip, whether by car, transit, or on foot, is structurally safer.
• Expanding Active Transportation (Goal 2): Expanding our network of multi-use paths, protected bike lanes, and continuous sidewalks, seamlessly linking our neighbourhoods to commercial cores and transit.
• Fiscally Responsible Phasing: Utilizing our newly minted Transportation Prioritization Framework to verify that short- and medium-term capital funds are spent on the projects that deliver the highest value to tax-paying residents first.

👉 Read the complete 20-Year Blueprint: City of Vernon Transportation Plan

A healthy city is a connected city where people can comfortably age in place. In 2024, we launched Vernon's very first Age- and Dementia-Friendly Community Plan, signalling our entry into an international movement prioritizing the quality of life for our seniors, individuals living with dementia, and caregivers.

I will continue championing the systemic integration of this plan across all departments:

• Accessible Infrastructure: Prioritizing future sidewalk expansions, park trails, and civic buildings based on universal accessibility designs.
• Informed Public Spaces: Supporting cross-sectoral training for City staff and partnering with local organizations to foster community spaces that are physically and socially navigable for seniors.

👉 Read the full Age- and Dementia-Friendly Community Plan

We have built an ironclad foundation. We have the data, we have the community-backed plans, and we have the momentum. True community work is an ongoing journey, and now it is about steady execution, turning these long-term visions into real, everyday results for Vernon.

If you believe in a future for Vernon that balances progress with structural fiscal responsibility, evidence-based choices, and true community fairness, I invite you to join me.