Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Incrementally Improve Your City's Zoning Laws
Spencer Coyne is the mayor of Princeton, British Columbia. As a proud Strong Towns member, he works to bring incremental development and community resilience to his city. Coyne joins this Bottom-Up Short to explain how he’s implementing the Strong Towns approach in Princeton, including how to incrementally reform a zoning code and how to do a lot with a small amount of funding.
-
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 0:06
Thank you for listening to the bottom up Revolution podcast. This is norm, and I'm the director of movement building for strong towns. I've met 1000s of strong towns members now, and after hearing their stories, I'm inspired to say to others, I've got to tell you about so and so well that will be the spirit of these bottom up shorts, quick introductions to the regular people doing really exciting things, even when they initially felt much like you do that such amazing things must be the domain of extraordinary folks who've never had a moment of anxiousness or self doubt. And so if you like what you hear, please let us know. And as always, take care and take care of your place. Now enjoy the episode today. Our guest is Spencer Coyne, who is the mayor of Princeton in British Columbia, central interior community. And he is also a strong towns member. And Spencer as the mayor and as someone that is active in your community. Can you talk a little bit about like, what are you doing to change the zoning by laws and the various types of codes and regulations that are affecting the way that development occurs in your community, and what are you seeing in terms of the outcomes of that?
Spencer Coyne 1:15
Oh, yeah, we're doing lots right now. We're doing a full review and read rebuild of our zoning bylaw. And on top of that, we've been doing incremental removal of bylaws that no longer make any sense.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 1:29
So tell me about that incremental process, because I think this is something that a lot of our city leaders pause on, or sort of get caught up and they want to, they want to change everything, and so they try to do a process that does all of the changes all at once to a finished state. You've taken a very different approach, one that I think more and more places should take note of. What does that look like for you?
Spencer Coyne 1:49
Yeah, so in the beginning, we did do like, a big like, let's get rid of a whole bunch. But every time we come up against something that we're like, this doesn't make any sense anymore. Then we look at it, we review it, and then we change it for the better, or we just get rid of it, because you can't always fix everything at once. But you know, as I mean, let's face it, some of our bylaws are from, like, the 70s or 80s, or even the 90s and and even earlier, and those bylaws don't apply anymore today. So when we're looking at the way the world changed, and we're trying to, you know, assist, not assist but assist development and make sure our communities grow and grow in a proper, good way, then we need to be able to adapt to those changes.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 2:31
And zoning is always exclusionary. That's its purpose. Is to identify what belongs in a place and then exclude other types of things. You went ahead and said, Hey, even within single family zoned areas, we're going to make sure that many other types of housing can be included. Kind of what has that been like and what's the response been so far?
Spencer Coyne 2:49
Yeah, so even before the province brought in their their changes, we had already done that. We brought out single family or so any any single family home was allowed to have a carriage house or a or a secondary suite. We have a huge housing crunch here, and we're like, Well, how are we going to deal with this? And the fastest way we could deal with it is just a zoning change right there allow people to build, you know, secondary suites and carriage houses to encourage more growth in those residential areas. Right off the bat, we saw a number of applications come in and people start building, and we even our file officer, he's, he put in one, you know, I was just, it was too good to be true. And then, and then it helps you with your mortgage, too, if you're, if it's a mortgage helper or whatever. But, you know, people are renting out bedrooms for, you know, upwards of $1,000 well, now they can actually rent out a suite and it's legal and it's safe, and people don't have to worry about, you know, what's going to happen if I get caught?
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 3:46
We were chatting a little bit before this about parking, and what are some of your ambitions around parking reform, and maybe some of the expectations that you have of how that's going to play out in the community?
Spencer Coyne 3:57
Yeah. So parking, you know, as every municipality is struggling with is, you know, a lot of our communities are older, and they weren't built for this the the amount of traffic we have. So with our new zoning by law, one of the things we're looking at doing is actually getting rid of a lot of our parking requirements. So not just, you know, get rid of all parking requirements, but making them more realistic for today. You know, if you live, if you're in an older part of the community and you don't have enough room for parking, then we make allowances for that. We've been doing it piece by piece. Right now, people will come in that will look for a zoning amendment on their parking requirement.
Spencer Coyne 4:32
We're just going to make that part of the code that you don't need to have all that because we literally have some businesses that have gone away because they have one stall in front of their house, of the front of their building. The building burnt down. They can't even rebuild it because why? They didn't have enough parking to meet the requirements. So why do we have these requirements, if they're not realistic? In the old days, when there was, you know, a couple of cars on the road might have made their made up, made sense, but nowadays it doesn't, and people are moving to.
Spencer Coyne 5:00
Away from the personal automobile. People are walking there. You know, we're working on a transit system, and in our community where we actually have bus stops for a community of 2500 people, 2800 people, that's a big step. People are, you know, they're, they're being more mobile in other ways. So we need to encourage that. And part of encouraging that is by allowing businesses to flourish without having those those chains around them to slow them down.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 5:24
Now, as you're the mayor of a smaller community, I mean, part of your work is to make really good use of scarce resources, as in, you know, the budgets are not as large as they would be maybe in other communities. Yet at the same time, you have all of this like raw material of people and energy. And, you know, age old wisdom of how to how to live in a in your community and in its surroundings. Um, what is that like for you in terms of being the mayor and kind of, as well as a resident and a participant in the community, of making good use of of those scarce resources?
Spencer Coyne 5:56
Yeah, I mean, we, we do a lot with a little, you know, our we, we punch way above our weight class when it comes to our our operation here. I have amazing people, and we're not scared to go outside of community and look for contractors when we need them. Our planning department is, you know, we have some pre planning in house, and then we take it out. We have, actually three different planners that we use out of out of house, and that allows us to move permits faster. That allows us to get the best bang for the clients buck, which is a taxpayer, and also, also it may it allows us to be able to do things we normally wouldn't do because they're not in that mindset. We're like, Hey, this is, this is where we got to be. It's like, No, we're going to get the best result for the client, and we work around that.
Spencer Coyne 6:44
But really, I mean, it's, it's like all small towns, right, where we're always resilient and we're always adaptive, and if we don't have somebody that can do the job, or we have somebody that doesn't normally do the job, but they can do it, we'll find a way to put them to work doing it. And nobody's nobody says no, right? It's like, we're all hands on deck. It's Our Community, and we have to be able to to make things happen, because it's our kids and our grandkids and our neighbors and our family and our friends that we're impacting. So you know, you go to the grocery store, everybody knows you. You can't get away from it. So it's not like in a big city where you can be anonymous. So everybody does their part, and everybody's happy to do more than more than their share when it comes to like, fixing their community.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 7:25
That's awesome. And I think the example that I've actually shared a number of times now is what you did with the fairgrounds and the tree planting companies. Do you want to share a little bit about that? And as a tree planter myself, I'm jealous, because we had to put up with some pretty substandard spaces to be in and, and we were the crew that would roll into town all disheveled and stinky and filling up the laundromat and, you know, desperately looking at the grocery store for food that we could devour. But meanwhile, you you said, Hey, we've got existing resources that we can use more effectively. What did that look like? And, yeah, kind of what. What is it that really inspired that?
Spencer Coyne 8:02
Yeah, so, you know, we've, we're logging community for for the most part, and on top of mining, and so the tree planters are always like, way off in the middle of nowhere. They're, you know, kept away from the community. And one of the companies came to us and they said, you know, our people don't really want to be over in that shady spot over by the river in, you know, early spring, when it's still snowing, you know, is there a way we could work together and we, we own our fairgrounds. And so we said, You know what, why don't we put you up there? There's, there's a washroom facility up there. You can, you can camp up there all summer and until you're done. And we came up with a, you know, a reasonable rate, and it gave them access to downtown, and they became part of the community for the most part. It wasn't just on payday or, you know that one day they came in to do laundry that everybody showed up every night after work, you know, because they they get in, and while they get in, you know what time they get in, right? Like earlier in the day. And instead of just going straight to bed, they Okay, let's walk downtown. So they walk downtown, they go to the grocery store, they go to the shops, and, you know, they're, they're buying things, and they're, you know, they're sitting at the coffee shop with everybody else. And they slowly became, you know, a bigger part of the community. And you know, we were looking at this, we're like, this is great. Like, it's great for downtown. It's great for the community. It's great for these tree planters who are no longer, you know, stuck over in the corner and not being treated like real people, right? And that's, I think that was the biggest part, is like we allowed them to be part of our our town, right? And, and it was great. And if they come back again this year and they want to do it again, then we've, you know, we've committed that. We'll, we'll work with these guys again, because it has been amazing for the community and for them.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 9:45
And instead of having it just sit empty for much of the time when it's not being used for active programming, to actually make good use of that. And so tell me a little bit more about yourself, and how did you become who you are, and what put strong towns on your radar? So.
Spencer Coyne 10:00
Well, I'll start with the strong towns thing. It was, it was a podcast. I heard a podcast, and I just fell in love with the whole messaging. And, you know, it was, it was like It spoke to me. It was, it was at grassroots, real, real solutions, right? It wasn't like, there's a lot of people out there writing books and creating podcasts and whatever. And when you're actually trying to implement this stuff, a lot of that stuff is, it sounds great on paper, but it's not real. And, you know, Chuck's message was like, No, we can do this, and this is how we can do it. And it's like, holy, yeah, I agree. I was thinking about that, or I was talking to a colleague about that and, and here's a podcast that says the exact same thing. And so as soon as I started hearing I listened to three or four, I grabbed his book, and, you know, off I went, and I was like, Hey, I'm I'm signing up. And that was it. I was just like, I think I ran out of podcasts by the time I signed up. It was great. I just like, because I'm on the road a lot, so there's always a need to listen to something. So I started listening to the podcast, but me myself. I mean, my family's been here for forever and ever, and my dad always said, you know, if you're going to complain, you better put your money where your mouth is. And so my first term on council was back in 2003 i My community was suffering. I was off at university, and I was part of the student movement there, and I came home and I was doing some correspondence, and you know, like I said, my family, my family is mixed heritage. We're first nations from here, as well as the first white settler. And my out of my my generation only. My younger sister was still here because she was still in school. All my cousins, everybody had moved away because there was no job opportunities. And I was like, wow. Like, if my family can't stay here when we've been on the same farm since 1928 like, if we can't stay here, how the heck are other people gonna move here? How are other families gonna, you know, stay here? So I ran for council, and then, and then I, you know, I wasn't successful my my re election, because I think it was a little too radical, but,
Spencer Coyne 12:06
you know, and I was in my early 20s at the time. I was 23 when I was elected. So, you know. And then I come, come along, and then I had a couple older guys come to me, and they said, You need to run for mayor. And I said, No, that's crazy. And I said, No, no, it's time, time for you to run for mayor. So I was watching what was going on, and I wasn't happy. And again, if you're going to complain, you better do something about it. So I ran for counts. I ran for mayor, and now on my second term. But really it was, it was a need to serve my community. And I, you know, I'm never going to benefit from anything. I always say that I'm never going to be gonna benefit from anything that I'm doing right now. It's this is long term stuff, my hopefully, my great grandkids, if they want to live here, then they'll, they'll jet you know, they'll prosper us from the decisions we're making right now, or even my grandkids or my kids. But you know, that's, that's where we're at. I mean, I have a three year old, 11 and a 15 year old. So, you know, it really, what I do is, is for them and their kids and stuff. Because, I mean, it takes a long time for real change to happen, and you got but you got to put it in motion. So we're trying to put it all in motion.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 13:16
And you're doing so with those, those incremental steps that I think are going to have lasting consequences, and doing it, you know, not just for yourself or even for your immediate generation, but looking that much further ahead, I think, is such a key part of learning, really, from the wisdom of what it takes to build places that have enduring prosperity and really can last and continue on. As we close, what's something that gives you hope in your community?
Spencer Coyne 13:42
Oh, you know, in 2021, we were hit by that atmospheric river that that tore up British Columbia, and we were one of the three main communities that were devastated. And, you know, it's been a long trudge back. I mean, it's been three years now, and we just got our water system back up and running. But the resiliency of people when they want to pull together as a community. I think that's what gives me hope. You know, we're trying to do place making right now and trying to, like, re reignite some of that, you know, community spirit and like, this year, I forget how many there was over 100 community events in our little town last year, just in the summer and but they were busy every one of them, and people are like lining up to do more and more that. And I think that's what really gives me hope, is that for all the negativity out there right now and all the, you know, anti this, and you know, identity politics and stuff, when community comes together, all that goes out the window, because at the end of the day, we're all one community. And if we can, if, if we can, just foster that a little bit more and let it flourish. I think, you know, really, in the end of we're all going to be okay.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman 14:48
Well, I'm so glad that you're in the province with me, but also I continue to be strong towns member active in your community in Princeton, and with that, folks, I hope you've enjoyed this introduction. With Spencer Coyne of Princeton, British Columbia. I hope you all take care and take care of your places.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Connect with Spencer Coyne:
Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Podbean or via RSS.
