By Frants Attorp
For 50 years the Islands Trust has succeeded in keeping Salt Spring largely rural and distinct from the surrounding urban sprawl. Unfortunately, the planning agency is now under attack by factions not only claiming they want something done about the current housing shortage but also seeking to make housing the main driver of land-use planning forevermore, just like in any municipality. This would amount to nothing less than the overthrow of the Islands Trust.
Almost everyone has heard of the Trust’s “preserve and protect” mandate, but few know there is something much more specific to constrain development, namely exemption from Section 473.1 (3) of the Local Government Act, which requires local governments to “provide for at least the 20-year total number of housing units required to meet anticipated housing needs, which total number is included in the most recent housing needs report . . . .”
While the Local Trust Committee has to file and consider housing needs reports, it is not required to meet the identified needs. Housing is a secondary consideration subject to the primary goal of protecting the island’s natural environment. Without this legal protection, growth cannot be limited and the island’s unspoiled beauty and vulnerable ecosystems would soon succumb to the same market forces that have engulfed the whole region.
HOUSING WORKING GROUP
A report written by the Housing Working Group in 2020 laid the groundwork for today’s “targeted update” of our Official Community Plan) (OCP) — with no public meetings. That document set out a process for a major OCP amendment that promised “integrated solutions” but focused primarily on housing needs as identified in housing needs reports. The urgent need for new carrying capacity and ecosystem-health studies was not even mentioned.
OCP “UPDATE”
Today’s “targeted OCP update” project, which is clearly a full-scale remake of the island, is similarly contrary to the Islands Trust Act as it makes increased housing the primary, long-term goal while naming environmental protection as a secondary consideration to be “integrated.” Furthermore, the limited scope of the project precludes any discussion of growth, sustainability and existing science showing the island is already overdeveloped at build-out — again, without public meetings.
TRANSITION SALT SPRING
In their recent feedback to Trust Council regarding the draft Trust Policy Statement, Transition Salt Spring incorrectly described LTC responsibilities with regard to housing in much the same way the OCP consultant did just prior to abandoning the “update” project.
From their Jan. 31, 2026 submission: “This balance is critical to allow LTCs to update their OCPs and Land Use Bylaws to meet local and provincial requirements, particularly around housing, and to align with the current and future needs.”
Making the Islands Trust a slave to housing needs reports defeats its entire purpose as a conservation agency.
INCORPORATION REJECTED
Salt Springers soundly rejected municipal governance in the 2002 and 2017 referendums. If those results are going to be overturned, it must not happen without a further referendum and a full community discussion of what is possible under our existing OCP and the Islands Trust Act itself.
The writer is a Salt Spring resident.