By LAURA PATRICK
SALT SPRING ISLAND LOCAL TRUSTEE
In 1994 a task force of Salt Springers noted that our island economy had changed dramatically since the ‘60s. Once primarily resource-based, it had become tourism and retirement focused but the mix of housing hadn’t changed.
Zoning bylaws, which govern what kind of housing we can have, were created in 1971 and had barely changed. The group even noted that the Islands Trust had “done more to hamper the creation of an appropriate housing stock than help it.” It was this task force that coined the phrase that still exists today in the Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan (OCP): “To recognize the very real, if intangible, loss that is felt in the community when this diversity is diminished by external pressures and changes.”
With each subsequent task force, working group or consultant’s report that followed, the results and recommendations remained the same and yet little action was taken, even when a “crisis in paradise” was declared in 2002.
Now here we are, still trying to change those same 1971 zoning bylaws to improve the mix of housing to support our community. And we wonder — why are there so many people living in RVs and on boats?
Looking to 2025, the Trust will kick off yet another tweak on our OCP and land use bylaws (LUB) in hopes of improving the mix of housing types on offer to our working community. However, this brings to mind that famous quote from Einstein: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
With the complexity of our local governance and the lack of consistent public communication of the facts, advancing any planning initiative on this island is more than challenging and presents fertile territory for the rumour mill. For example, if you believe what some are saying about the upcoming OCP and LUB updating project, you’d think that we’ve already decided to “pave paradise” from Southey to Isabella Point and build rows of rows of housing for tens of thousands of new residents. I cannot say it more plainly; we are not.
I know that people are fed up with waiting for results. I’m fed up too. Please don’t check out now. Our best ideas for how to proceed will come from the community. I want to co-create solutions for the OCP and LUB with you through a collaborative approach. I’ve been fighting an uphill battle since the last election to get the organization to agree to a new way of engaging with the community. Doing things differently is probably a stretch for the Islands Trust. It has grown accustomed to hearing the opinions of those who show up to meetings on a weekday afternoon. And those who show up on a weekday afternoon have grown accustomed to dominating the Trust’s engagement processes. This must stop. The doors must be opened, and the fresh air of new voices must be let in.
My attempts to lead improvements have attracted the ire of those who fear change. What you might not know is that both the current OCP from 2008 and its predecessor from 1998 recognize that things change. One of our jobs is to monitor and see if the community goals are being achieved and, if necessary, amend the policies to better reach our community objectives.
The mandate of the Islands Trust in the context of today’s challenges and priorities remains valid. In 2025, let’s fulfill our OCP objective to “identify creative and proactive ways through which a diverse, livable and vibrant community can be created within the confines of our island’s finite land base and resources.”