• Rick Ingram

    A Champion for Peachland’s
    Vibrant Small Town Character

Why I would be a good Councillor

Vision

My vision is to see our jewel of Peachland evolve into the vibrant and prosperous small town we know it can be – claiming its rightful place on all the “Best Small Towns in Canada” lists.

 

Qualities

  • Fair – I always try to understand all sides to an argument and all aspects of an issue before taking a stand and making a decision.
  • Diplomatic – I have a reputation for being able to find middle ground and leading difficult participants to a shared end result.
  • Energetic – My entrepreneurial past is a testament to my hard work ethic and dedication to do what it takes to reach a goal.
  • Passionate – Peachland is my adopted home in which I plan to live for the next 30+ years. I want to see it retain its beauty and charm while moving forward to support a growing and diverse population. I want to make my contribution in helping Peachland grow.

Here are my views on some
of the key issues

1.) Official Community Plan (OCP)

  • The OCP forms a social contract between the citizenry and Council as to what types of development projects will be approved
  • The Council decisions relating to PeachTree Village did not respect the spirit of the OCP at the time
  • The Council decisions relating to amending the old OCP did not respect the majority opinion provided at the Public Meeting
  • An OCP should provide a “40,000 foot view” with implementation details left to the Zoning Bylaw
  • The OCP should be updated every 5 years
  • I provided significant feedback to the 2nddraft of the new OCP in order to enshrine protection of Peachland’s “small town character”

2.) Zoning Bylaw: C-2 and CR-1 Zones

  • The Zoning Bylaw should be updated every time the OCP is updated
  • The current Zoning Bylaw for the C-2 zone (which is most of the downtown core) does not reflect the old OCP – which it should have
  • When changing from an OCP with a height restriction to a new one without, I had proposed to Council that the C-2 Zoning be changed to restrict heights on Beach Ave. at both the Council meeting with 1streading of the new OCP bylaw and again at the Public Meeting
  • Our planner adopted this idea and included it as a recommendation to Council on 3rdreading; Council subsequently rejected the idea 5:2
  • I would prioritize working together with our Planning staff to develop changes to the Zoning Bylaw C-2 and CR-1 zones that would specifically protect our downtown’s small town character and provide guidance to developers that would be consistent with the new OCP and the intent of the Sustainable Downtown Peachland Plan

3.) Downtown Development

  • Peachland needs development in our downtown core both to revitalize the area and to enhance and diversify our tax base
  • Peachland’s small town character is one of our primary draws for both tourists and new residents; any development in the downtown core must respect and enhance the small town character
  • I look forward to seeing how developers’ architects will propose projects to enhance our small town character in the downtown core
  • Projects that enhance our “small town character” will find me as their most ardent supporter; those that do not will find me as their staunchest opponent

4.) Hwy 97 Expansion

  • I believe that a bypass would be in the best interest of Peachland
  • Any bypass would have to be a true bypass, going around Peachland, and not bisecting the town as the majority of the “options” from the Open House illustrated
  • Any bypass would have to have appropriate safe crossings and other considerations for wildlife
  • An expansion in-place must prioritize safety and noise minimization in town, even if that means speed reductions from existing limits
  • No route, whether bypass or in-place, should go through an existing neighbourhood; impact on properties must be minimized

5.) Community Safety

  • I feel community safety needs to be enhanced on 3 fronts: wildfire, wildlife (specifically bears on garbage day), and the highway
  • Wildfire risk reduction by minimizing fuel in interface areas needs to be increased; ironically, such activities were scheduled to occur this year south of town but were interrupted by fires in those exact areas
  • Educate and inspect to ensure landowners in interface areas have taken steps to minimize risks on their property” to “educate landowners in interface areas about steps to minimize risks on their property
  • Wildlife risk reduction by educating residents about the importance of only placing garbage on the street on garbage day and not the night before, enhancing bylaws and enforcement if needed
  • Working with MOTI to explore options to reduce accidents on Drought Hill

6.) Climate Change

  • Climate change is one of the most pressing issues on our planet and must be included in any list of issues in all jurisdictions
  • All types of entities from nations to provinces/states to regions to municipalities to individuals must be aware, informed and take action to both mitigate climate change and adapt to unavoidable changes
  • As a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Change I would encourage all Peachlanders I would encourage all Peachlanders to explore the information in our display at the Public Library to learn more about the science and actions that can be taken
  • I would work with the MTFCC to propose actions that could be taken by Peachland alone, as well as together with other municipalities in the Valley to mitigate and adapt
  • As a member of First Things First Okanagan I would encourage all concerned individuals to look into this group, and to attend and support their activities
  • On a personal level, my wife and I have installed solar panels on our roof, are acquiring our first electric vehicle this fall, and purchase carbon offsets for all of the air travel we can not avoid

7.) Affordable Housing, the Sanderson and Other Development

  • Peachland needs developments that have the potential to provide housing options for those early on in their working careers who cannot afford the prices that view properties (the majority of Peachland) now command on the market
  • The Sanderson development has the potential to fill some of this void
  • Any such developments must provide adequate green space as a significant part of their target demographic will be younger families
  • Any such developments must bear the costs of required infrastructure upgrades
  • Any such developments must be of a reasonable density to ensure cohesiveness with the immediately surrounding community and Peachland as a whole

Links to more reading
on some of my views

Official Community Plan (OCP)

Hwy 97

Downtown Development

A little bit about me
and my life so far

Main Details

  • Born in Ottawa in 1960; grew up in the west end (was called Nepean Township back then)
  • Attended the University of Waterloo and received a Bachelor of Mathematics (Computer Science) in 1984
  • I spent most of my career as either a software entrepreneur or providing technology and business development consulting services
  • I played an active role in the Canadian High Performance Computing research community as the final president of Super*CAN, while that organization was being rolled into C3.ca Association Inc., and continuing on the Board of C3.ca
  • I lived in the country close to the small towns of Almonte and Carp just west of Ottawa through the 90’s and early 2000’s
  • I moved to Calgary in 2004 with my then girlfriend Janice Liebe. We were married in 2006.
  • Since 2015 I have been directing my energies to understanding climate science and advocating for mitigation of climate change
  • I joined the Peachland Mayor’s Task for on Climate Change in January 2017 after sitting in on meetings the previous year

Entrepreneurial Background

  • License Tracker Inc.: 2005 – 2017, CEO
    Software asset management tools based on software usage analysis.
  • Can-Sol Computer Corporation (and predecessors): 1984 – 2005, President
    High performance computing and computer graphics R&D;
    technology development and business development consulting services.
  • Colin Griffiths & Associates: 2002 – 2004, CEO
    Personal income tax software.
  • Global Job Net: 1995 – 1996, VP Technology
    Internet based resume and job posting service.
  • Crawley’s R&D: 1985 – 1988, VP Research
    Computer-assisted animation studio R&D.

Peachland Connection

  • My first visits to Peachland were during the 80’s as a stop-over on drives from Alberta to visit my Dad in White Rock
  • My wife Janice and I started coming to Peachland on a regular basis with our 1st anniversary trip in 2007; with more numerous and longer visits each year
  • We bought our piece of land in Peachland in 2010 and started our house construction in 2015. We were first able to stay in our Peachland house in May 2016
  • I moved to Peachland full-time in May 2017

Get in touch

Please feel free to contact me using the form below if you have any questions or require any further clarification. I would love to hear from you. Thank you

Meet and Greet

Oct. 8 and before

I will be unavailable as my wife Janice and I will be out of the country on a vacation we arranged many months before the decision to run for Council.

Oct. 9 am

Somewhere

Oct. 9 pm

Somewhere

Oct. 10 am

Somewhere

Oct. 10 pm

Somewhere

Oct. 11 am

Somewhere

Oct. 11 pm

Somewhere

Oct. 19 pm

Somewhere

To add a level-headed, entrepreneurial and
diplomatic voice to Peachland’s Council…

…vote Ingram

© Copyright - Rick Ingram for Council