Susan Ames 2026

1. Do you think our main street/downtown is healthy and successful? If not, what would you do to change that?

No, I do not think our main street or downtown is successful as there are a lot of storefronts for lease. This is because Kelowna is unaffordable making it challenging to have successful small businesses. I would support setting the commercial property tax rates to the inflation rate in an effort to reduce commercial rents. This would hopefully increase the income of small businesses. Successful businesses will make the downtown more vibrant. I would also implement free two-hour parking which will encourage people to patronize the downtown businesses.

2. What’s more important for our city right now: building new homes and commercial space or rehabbing/expanding/better utilizing our existing homes and storefronts?

It is more important for our city right now to rehab, expand, and better utilize existing homes and storefronts. Demolition should be avoided as it is wasteful and adds to the landfill. New construction is expensive which drives up the costs

3. How do you feel about the transportation options currently available in our city? Can all of our residents affordably get where they need to go? If not, what will you do to improve transportation in our city?

The transportation options are very limited, and a portion of our residents cannot affordably get to where they need to go. I will support increased public transportation. I would provide free bus service to seniors between 9 am and 5 pm and provide free bus transportation to youth. I would re-instate the 90-minute transfer time so that the transit riders can get to their destination and back on the one fare. I would return the transit fare rates to those of September 2025.

4. Some people in our community say that we have traffic problems. What do you think? How would you mitigate those concerns or change the situation?

Yes, some people say we have traffic problems. I think there is a lot of traffic. I would increase public transportation which will get more people out of their cars. This will reduce congestion.

5. If you could change one thing in our zoning code, what would it be and why?

In 2024, the Provincial government mandated that a municipality could not prevent an owner from having 4 units on a single-family lot. The city upped the density by 50% to 6 units per lot. I would change the zoning to 4 units as 6 units covers too much of the lot and we are losing our green space. As well, the increased density often results in neighbors losing their privacy and sunlight.

6. How do you plan to involve residents in the decision making process in our town?

I will support referendums for large and/or controversial projects. I will listen to the public’s opinions rather than deciding what is good for the residents without asking them. I will invite the residents to volunteer on tasks forces and other committees as the city council seems to select the members of task forces/committee.

7. If someone came to you with a proposal to build a new piece of public infrastructure in our city (road, bridge, etc.), how would you evaluate whether or not that project was worth implementing?

I would ask several questions: Do we need this project? Is this project costed properly? What are the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the project

8. If elected, what three steps would you take to put our city on a firmer financial footing?

1. I would review the city budget to look for projects that look unnecessary or have an unreasonable budget and ask that these be reviewed. 2. I would review the budget details for big projects to confirm that the budgets are reasonable and have been properly costed out. 3. I would look for trends in spending and cost overruns.

9. If you received a $1 million grant to use for the city any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why?

I would support the women’s shelter. This also supports the women’s children. I think they need the support.

10. What neighbourhood do you live in? Why? Where are your favourite places to spend time in our town?

I live in the South-Central area. I live there as it is walking distance to downtown, the lake, and other facilities. My favorite places to spend time in our town are the Abbott Heritage Conservation Area as it is a calm, quiet area with a lot of trees. I love the lake. I like Bernard Street because of the little unique shops and architecture.