On Thursday morning, the Canadian Home Builders Association of the Central Okanagan hosted a debate for three mayoral candidates: David Habib, Tom Dyas and incumbent Colin Basran. 

Silverado Socrates and Glendon Smedley, also on the ballot, did not participate. 

The forum, hosted at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, was one last chance to hear from the candidates, with election day just around the corner. The debate centred on housing affordability. 

After opening remarks from the three, the questions began to flow.

The first one of the morning was on how (if elected) the mayor would commit to increasing housing supply within the city. 

Basran touted his success in the last five years for issuing over 13,000 building permits for residential units in Kelowna, along with building 700 purpose built rentals last year, with 1,400 in construction right now. He stressed that developments need to continue to be approved in a timely manner.

Dyas responded to Basran saying that touting a record in value of building permits is odd to brag about. He explained that permits and building elements are determined by hard costs of development and said that when more luxurious homes are built and when materials get more expensive, people pay more for those development fees. He said that bragging about having the most money collected from those permits is truly just bragging about how expensive the housing is. 

Habib jumped in, expressing his concern on why the city is buying more land instead of turning it into affordable housing. Habib wants the city to have bought land be turned into affordable housing, rather than having it re-sold and not put back into the community. He brought up the 13,000 new building permits number that Basran stated and wondered why the millions of dollars collected by Development Cost Charges (DCCs) have yielded no infrastructure changes. 

Basran responded, saying that DCCs cover the cost of the infrastructure needed to grow, as it is the true cost of infrastructure, not an inflated cost to pad city reserves. 

He said that the city does purchase property and use it for affordable housing, citing that that’s what the Housing Opportunity Reserve Fund Bylaw is actually for, countering Habib’s claims. 

Then, Basran barbed back at Dyas saying he didn't recall himself championing a value of housing. He stated the 13,000 new permit number again and explained that some of it was through the city’s rental housing grants. He concluded by talking about looking into incentives like the Infill Challenge, where developers can build missing middle housing and be fast-tracked, so family housing can be built quicker. 

The next question was on (if elected) how would the mayor better engage realtors on housing and real estate issues in Kelowna.

Habib answered, saying that it is imperative to bring people together to talk about this issue and explained how much knowledge he's gained in the past month from individuals in the community has been amazing for him.  He concluded that the only way to solve all of our problems is to bring everyone together and hear what all the citizens have to say. 

Basran responded, giving praise to realtors in the city for their part in helping build Kelowna. He expressed his openness in giving realtors a formal process in getting their input.  

Dyas then answered, saying that in his time canvassing the city, he heard the same messages that people and experts are just not consulted and are ignored. Dyas then said that he would commit to hosting a housing summit, which would bring together groups like the CHBA, UDI, UBC Okanagan, realtors, environmentalists, community groups and also mayors from across the Okanagan.  He concluded his statement by providing an example of a recent discussion he had with a high profile realtor in the city, where that individual reached out consistently to the City and Colin Basran, but was unable to get a response. 

Basran responded to Dyas’ claim, saying that the mayors from Penticton, West Kelowna, Vernon and himself meet quarterly and oftentimes they have deferred to him to take their messages to Victoria due to his Co-Chair role with the BC Urban Mayors' Caucus. 

Dyas refuted Baran’s statement, saying that he took a drive over the bridge to talk to Gord Milsom (West Kelowna’s mayor) and that Milsom had a totally different opinion than what was just said by Basran. 

Basran then said that they meet quarterly and questioned if Dyas didn't believe that the meetings took place. Basran then offered to show Dyas the minutes of the meetings to prove that he does meet with the other mayors. 

Laughs then erupted from the gallery as the moderator, Daniel Winer, said that this was exactly what he was hoping for. 

The next question was on the costs associated with energy standards in new homes and how would the mayor balance affordability with the city's energy efficiency goals. 

Dyas answered, saying that the city needs to advocate to improve the energy efficiency in older homes. He wants to implement a property-assessed clean energy program, where cities like Halifax, Toronto and Guelph have similar programs. 

Basran responded, citing the importance of collaborations with different groups. He said that the city is currently in the process of working on a Home Energy Retrofit Grant program as a way to help with affordability. 

Habib chimed in, stating that structures built in the last 25 years has had to live up to the building code. The problem is that we are not keeping up for funding built 30 years ago. He wants to go back and retrofit the old homes. Habib recognized Basran has programs in place, but said that it is impossible to look online to be able to find funding as a homeowner and he wants a way to make life easier. 

The next question was on what steps the mayor would take to make sure DCCs are equitable and if one would commit to having a review of DCCs if elected. 

Basran answered first, saying that he admits that there should be more regular updates so that increases are not drastic. He said that he is open to having them be reviewed, but wants to make sure that the infrastructure deficit doesn’t continue to grow in the process. He stressed that housing affordability needs to be a collaborative effort and it isn't something that a municipality can fix on its own. 

Habib then jumped in, saying that through his experience living in this community (for 43 years, or close to the age of Basran, as he cheekily mentioned), he recognizes the need for DCCs but is frustrated when he doesn't see infrastructure growth take place. Habib wants to build a 100-home development on Lakeshore and said that he doesn’t understand why the government needs $600,000 to do a study on a roadway, especially when it has been studied before. 

Dyas chimed in, saying that new DCC charges for a single family home in the north end has increased by $17,000 in the last two years. He said that sidewalks still aren’t being built, street lighting is lacking and bus shelters are uninviting. Then, he attacked Basran for the curious timing of the $600,000 road expansion project that was just announced and said that, according to his calculations, it would cost upwards of $35 million. 

Basran then responded saying that it isn't a study to expand Highway 33, it is design money and said that no one here would be able to build homes without designs and blueprints. He then said that it is not $600,000, it is matching funds, so it would cost $1.2 million to design the road.

He then quoted Habib’s idea of building a development on Lakeshore and said that that is why the city is currently building South Perimeter Road, which is a DCC road and those DCCs collected go back into the projects to help provide the infrastructure.

Then he ended with saying that anyone who says they would decrease DCCs are saying that they would be increasing the city's infrastructure deficit, which in turn limits development because the city would lack the infrastructure for growth. It would also increase tax for everyone in the community, which isn’t equitable.

Habib then responded, saying that is not what is being said. He doesn't want to decrease DCCs, he just wants some value for his money. He wants to see all the roads come to fruition and wants to put a shovel down to go to work. 

After a couple more questions, Dyas’ main theme of the debate began to be clear.

He stressed the importance of missing middle housing, as basement suites, town homes and carriage homes are far more unlikely to be used for short term rentals. Then he asked if the city was building housing for home buyers, or for investors.

Basran answered next, shifting the conversation into how the city attracts new cities. First off he said that Kelowna needs to be a city where everyone feels welcome, continue to denounce acts of racism and discrimination and continue to protect our natural assets like lakes and mountains by building our city differently. Imagine Kelowna and the new 2040 Official Community Plan (OCP) were cited as great guides for looking into the future of the city’s growth. 

Habib jumped in, saying it isn’t difficult to attract people to Kelowna and that everyone who visits wants to move here and wants to live here. He said the biggest problem we have is affordability. Then he said that in the last eight years, Basran and council have indicated that they have done a lot to try and bring affordable housing to the table, he just hasn't seen much come to fruition.

Habib then stressed, again, how he would turn vacant agricultural land (from the ALC) into affordable housing.

In a later response, Dyas brought up a vote back in July 2020, where Basran voted to move funding out of affordable housing and instead to promoting the city of Kelowna. He then said that thankfully the majority of council overruled him. Dyas pressed Basran on if he truly wanted more affordable housing, as moving money out of it during a time when COVID was rife was something that does not benefit the community at all.

Habib then belaboured on getting land out of the ALC to be turned into affordable housing, saying that if it can’t be done currently, then it is clear that the person behind the 'wheel’ shouldnt be there. Basran jumped in, saying that if the guy who owns the land (Brad Bennett) can’t get it out of the ALR with the liberal government, then he looks forward to seeing how Mr. Habib is going to make that happen.

Then, in probably the funniest exchange of the event, Habib responded that he has dazzled many, not only in the ring, but on the street and he will be sure to bring Basran along to ‘mentor’ him’ so that he can do it next time, which brought rapturous laughter from Dyas and the gallery.

Later, Habib expressed his dismay for the new Revelry Food and Music Hub, set to be built at 1383 Ellis Street, and questioned why it is being built right next door to a condo complex and how something like this was able to be built. He then said that the RCMP has already spoken out about it. 

On the question on crime and what can be done, Dyas discussed the need to stop bicycle chop shops and then talked about how he met with the cab companies recently and they told him that they have been unable to meet with the city in over four years. Basran responded to that claim, calling it false and also refuted Dyas’ statement on Kelowna being the crime capital of Canada. He then agreed with Dyas, saying that chop shops need to be eliminated. 

Basran then passionately explained how it was unrealistic to think that we can arrest people with mental health and addiction issues and simply lock them and suddenly be rehabilitated after release. He wants to continue to advocate for changes to our justice system and to have all three levels of government to work together. 

In the final question of the day, on defining what affordable housing is to each candidate, Habib got emotional about seeing the trauma in the mind of a child or a parent when they are trying to feed their kids. He ended with saying that for a lot of people in the community, all they want is a home and a bed and to be able to get a meal and that we as a community can pitch in to help them out. 

Election day is tomorrow, 8 am- 8 pm. Click here to see all the voting locations. To view the full debate, click here. 

For more information on all the council and mayoral candidates, be sure to check out Kelownavotes.com.