BY MAXINE LEICHTER
I wish to comment on Laura Patrick’s article in last week’s Driftwood that mentions the review of the Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan (OCP).
Her article states that “the current OCP treats affordable housing as an exception to density limits rather than a central planning priority. It continues to leave substantial growth capacity within the density limits to satisfy ongoing demand for second and retirement homes.”
The “exception” Patrick is likely referring to is a policy in our current OCP that controls growth. The policy restricts changes to zoning except to achieve affordable housing and other objectives of the OCP. This policy does not take away anyone’s current right to build or subdivide their property but instead limits increases in density to be only for affordable housing. This policy has served us well and is still appropriate.
Why the fuss then? There are those advocating for getting rid of this policy so we can have “flexible zoning” that would allow more homes on lots now allowed to have only one, with no legal limits to ensure affordability. This has already been done elsewhere in the Trust Area with the hope that building more homes will, on its own, provide affordable housing. Salt Spring already has 2,000 properties that were rezoned to allow full-time occupancy of a suite or cottage with no real effect on the availability of affordable housing. Now some want more suites and cottages, more multi-family housing in Ganges (condos) and several small houses on existing lots, all with no requirements for affordability.
None of these schemes is allowed under the current limits in our OCP. That is exactly why some want to get rid of them.
As to criticisms of “substantial growth capacity,” reducing the right of property owners to subdivide or build to their current zoning would be strongly opposed by those owners. Clustering new housing on one portion of large properties is already allowed and encouraged by our OCP. Salt Spring already limits house size to approximately 5,382 square feet (500 square metres). So, what exactly is being proposed to address current “growth capacity?” Nothing. It is easier to criticize than submit realistic proposals.
The way to get more affordable housing is to utilize government and private subsidies with legal constraints on who qualifies and to assure that rents or sale prices are, and remain, affordable. Expanding zoning to allow more housing that will be sold at market rates is more likely to provide expensive homes and profits to developers than affordable housing for island families and workers. It is critical that we maintain the current OCP policy that limits granting new densities to be only for legally restricted affordable housing. Otherwise, we will have the overdevelopment that the Islands Trust was created to prevent.
Write to our elected trustees at ssiinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca with “OCP review” in the subject line.