Skip to content

Coun. Linda Buchanan to run for mayor in City of North Van

Coun. Linda Buchanan will attempt to become Mayor Buchanan this fall.
lb

Coun. Linda Buchanan will attempt to become Mayor Buchanan this fall.

The two-term City of North Vancouver councillor announced her bid for the big chair Tuesday evening, identifying affordable housing as a top priority and noting that the city was at risk of becoming an exclusive hamlet unable to house nurses, teachers and firefighters. “No is not an answer and anger isn’t a solution,” she said.

Buchanan has largely voted alongside Mayor Darrell Mussatto and suggested she would have similar priorities if elected.

Without the right leader, “we’ll take a big leap backwards,” Buchanan said.

While there is “not a silver bullet” in terms of housing affordability, Buchanan said the city needed to build: “A lot more purpose rental.”

Several measures could be undertaken to increase the city’s housing options, according to Buchanan, who suggested increasing the supply of coach houses and co-housing as well as allowing smaller units and subdivided lots.

Those measures are imperative to: “attract young families and allow seniors to stay in the community they’ve called home for decades.”

Buchanan noted the city population is getting older. Between 2011 and 2016, the city saw an eight per cent increase in its population of children younger than 14 and a nearly 27 per cent increase in its population of seniors.

Buchanan suggested a major focus should be Central Lonsdale, which she envisions as a “health-care hub” built around Lions Gate Hospital.

The city should also allocate resources toward walking and cycling trails in the sometimes forgotten segment of the city just north of the highway, according to Buchanan.

The city has previously examined a Casano-Loutet overpass near Highway 1, which Buchanan said would align with her aims of fostering a healthier community.

While Buchanan joined with a majority of council in calling for unlicensed pot shops to be shut, she said the city isn’t likely to reject marijuana retailers once the federal law and corresponding provincial licensing regulations have been established.

“We want to be able to regulate how many we would like to have and where they should be located,” she said.