Galiano’s innovative density-benefit deal — transferring land to Penelakut Tribe as a condition for a rezoning on that island — is perhaps more noteworthy for what it reaffirms than for anything it changes.
For a number of reasons it has become important to point out that such arrangements are voluntary by nature — the Islands Trust has no authority to compel the transfer of land from anyone to anyone else. Instead, as the Islands Trust’s current draft of its revised official Policy Statement suggests, it invites a voluntary step into such an arrangement. It urges local trustees to craft a framework for property owners to choose to direct land to Indigenous governing bodies, in part through explicitly categorizing it as an “amenity contribution.”
Galiano’s LTC has done just this, through authority it already holds.
Many islanders might be familiar with these amenity negotiations, seen as a “community good” trade between a developer and land use regulators — a nod from the latter on density in exchange for a park, for example. What constitutes an amenity has been up to LTCs for years; the opportunity here arose only recently, as B.C.’s Bill 13 gave Indigenous governments the right to hold land title in the name of a First Nation.
In redefining “amenities,” Galiano’s first-of-its-kind transfer is, at least in structure, not particularly revolutionary; we believe the truly novel part lies in reaffirming our collective definition for “community.”
As much as any of the islands, on Salt Spring we feel our connection to Penelakut Tribe deeply — not merely as adjacent neighbours, but as a part of our island fabric. Overlapping territories notwithstanding, Salt Spring has been traditional Penelakut territory for millennia, and Sampson family reunions at Fernwood have hosted hundreds of attendees. After the “bomb cyclone” of November 2024 slammed Penelakut Island, robbing it of electricity and damaging food stores, Salt Spring Island stepped up immediately to help.
We feel any definition of a “community good” that does not include them falls short, and we look forward to Salt Spring trustees and those in other local Trust areas considering the use of this land use tool.
Hopefully the celebration on Galiano Island will be the first of many in years to come throughout the Trust Area.