A local academic and researcher hopes to bring his community-building efforts to Saanich council.

B次元官网网址淢y biggest thing is community building,B次元官网网址� said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, in an interview after announcing his candidacy for Saanich council.

B次元官网网址淏y changing the environment in which we operate, the spaces that we live in, we actually build community,B次元官网网址� he said.

Saanich, for a long time, has largely focused on infrastructure and policies. While important, they do not necessarily define a community, he said. B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day, a city is not a bunch of infrastructure, but a community.B次元官网网址�

Phelps Bondaroff, who holds a PhD in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge, enters the race for Saanich council as co-founder of Idea Tree Consulting, a research firm that has worked with clients from around the world on environmental and governance issues. But if Phelps Bondaroff is familiar with the finer details of international maritime law, he enters the campaign as an immersed participant and observer of local community life.

He has been trying to foster that sense of community through his volunteer work, with likely none more visible than his work with the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network.

It defines placemaking as B次元官网网址渢he planning, design, management and programming of shared use spacesB次元官网网址� and Phelps Bondaroff has in many ways become the face of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Little Free Libraries, a network of more than 170 take-a-book-leave-a-book libraries placed around the Greater Victoria region.

This emphasis on community building appears under his platform point of Vibrant Villages.

B次元官网网址淸It] captures a host of policies and approaches that are all about fostering community,B次元官网网址� he said. They will include policies that help develop walkable, inter-generational communities that mix uses to create affordable, sustainable housing, he said, pointing to the mixed-use developments that have popped up around Rutledge Park.

His platform also promotes a host of policies that fall under the heading of Safe Streets. They include the implementation of SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Active Transportation Plan and lowering speed limits on secondary streets. B次元官网网址淭hat is crucial,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t makes streets more accessible, and we are not just building streets for cars. We are building transportation for people.B次元官网网址�

While Phelps Bondaroff praises SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Active Transportation Plan as a B次元官网网址渞obust pieceB次元官网网址� of policy, the district will not meet its goals. Saanich would like to see active transportation modes (walking, biking, taking transit) account for 50 per cent of all trips by 2050.

B次元官网网址淲e are not going to get there unless we show some leadership on council,B次元官网网址� he said.

Finally, Phelps Bondaroff plans to emphasize what he calls good governance. He said Saanich council has had challenges with making sound decisions. Saanich needs diverse and inclusive forms of public consultation, he said. It should also avoid mistakes like repealing policies (like the Environmental Development Permit Area bylaw) without adequate substitutes, he added.

Specifically, he pointed to the decision to criticize the provincial speculation tax.

B次元官网网址淚t had three contradictory clauses,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 think there is a problem, we donB次元官网网址檛 know the scale of the problem, and we think this is going to hurt Saanich. You canB次元官网网址檛 have all of those three things,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 incoherent policy.B次元官网网址�

Phelps Bondaroff belongs to a growing cadre of council candidates, whose personal biography differs from the profile that currently prevails among incumbent council candidates. Other non-incumbent candidates advertising themselves as fresher voices include Ned Taylor and Rebecca Mersereau. So where does Bondaroff himself?

B次元官网网址淚 might be in a young cohort, but I donB次元官网网址檛 lack for experience,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 have been a community organizers for over 15 years. I have set up [non-governmental organizations]. I have helped numerous community projects. I have worked on policy on the international level at the United Nations. I have done research on everything from Greenland Halibut fisheries to ocean plastics. So I have a lot of experience in that respect.B次元官网网址�