Policy Platform
Removing Barriers to Civic Engagement
When the city holds meetings at 7:00 PM on weeknights, it is difficult for citizens to attend because they have to navigate childcare, work schedules, and bus or traffic issues. This means the people speaking at meetings do not reflect the community as a whole.
Action to move forward:
Champion neighborhood-based subcommittees and rotate city council listening sessions directly into local parks and community centers to bring local government to the people.
Gather community feedback related to our busy intersections and county highways and work together to deliver solutions that keep everyone safe.
Public Safety for All
Public safety and neighborhood security must protect the most vulnerable, our youth, and our targeted and immigrant neighbors, so that all citizens can move through their neighborhoods without facing intimidation or harassment.
Actions to move forward:
Proactively fund visible, neighborhood-based safety infrastructure, specifically targeting high-vulnerability housing developments and school bus stops. An example of such infrastructure are community safety hubs to serve as a visible, calming presence where residents can report conflicts, mediate disputes on the spot, or access resources.
Join regional safety coalitions to learn from other cities and pass explicit municipal resolutions to protect the civil liberties of all residents.
Valuing Third Spaces & Inclusive Recreation
As Apple Valley’s demographics diversify (between 2014 and 2024, Apple Valley experienced a 13% population growth for people of color while seeing a 6.4% decline of white citizens), we must expand public third spaces that intentionally bring different backgrounds together.
Actions to move forward:
Transform third spaces into vibrant, multi-generational hubs. This includes evolving our senior center into an Active Lifestyle Center where activities and programming span across generations and brings our neighbors together.
Environmental Stewardship, Bees, and Chickens
Local sustainability requires progressive urban agriculture ordinances that empower families to build eco-resilience.
Actions to move forward:
Revisit local zoning to allow the safe, managed keeping of honeybees and backyard chickens.
Transition maintenance-intensive municipal turf grass into native pollinator gardens to support local biodiversity.
Launch a Citizens Advisory Committee on environmental sustainability.
Combatting Inflation & Easing the Cost of Living
Due to increased cost of living and inflation, our local government needs to step in with bold solutions to help families save money for the future.
Actions to move forward:
Advocate to protect Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) to direct strategic development toward building duplexes and townhomes rather than sprawling single-family houses.
Build near transit corridors (like bus or train lines) so people don’t have to rely entirely on cars, which reduces daily travel costs.
Supporting Business Owners
Large corporate chains take up most of the store spaces in Apple Valley, making it difficult for local, independent business owners to open up businesses.
Actions to move forward:
Start preparing the city’s 57+ acres of underutlized downtown parking lots for future building.
The city of Apple Valley can encourage lot owners to rent out the outer edges of their parking lots. These edges can be used to build small, affordable shop spaces, which will lower the upfront costs for independent business owners to start their business.