Making it Possible for People to Stay

One of the things I value most about Salt Spring is the way our lives are woven together and how each strand holds the others in place. Parents raise their children alongside neighbours who know them by name. Friends and families are there for one another as their lives change and show up for each other when they are struggling. Local businesses depend on the people around them as customers, as staff, as the reason they're here at all. When people can afford to stay, those relationships have room to grow. It's hard to keep those threads from slipping when people cannot find or hold on to a secure place to live. The weight lands first on one person, then a family, and then it ripples out into a community that no longer feels complete. When one of us is unsteady, all of us feel it.

It’s time to re-imagine how the Trust addresses housing and affordability. Salt Spring is not short of ideas about how to help people stay. For years we’ve had housing strategies, staff reports, and proposals. Most point in the same direction: protect water and sensitive land, provide secure rentals and a wider range of homes where they can be supported, protect the homes people already live in, and make sure that affordable housing is available and lasts. Yet still after so many years the problems remain. Enough is enough.

The Integrated Housing Strategy now under development should bring those ideas together in a shared action plan, with clear responsibilities and next steps people can follow. It will take focus and determination to turn this strategy into real solutions for the people that live here.

Getting homes built

Where we keep falling short is delivery. When it comes to housing, the silos are vast. The Local Trust Committee makes land-use decisions. The CRD and its Local Community Commission manage a range of services. Water providers, building and health authorities, funders, and housing organizations each handle other parts of the work. With so many bodies involved, a proposal can move from one to another without applicants or the public getting a clear answer about what is holding it up or who needs to act next.

If elected, I would work for you, the residents of Salt Spring. Part of that means helping you understand how the Trust’s process works, what housing options the rules allow, and how you can have a say. I would work with housing providers and the agencies involved to identify what is holding a suitable proposal back and press for the next steps. Every quarter, I would publish an update on what has moved forward, what is still stuck, and which homes are ready for people to move into.

For applicants, that support needs to begin before they spend heavily on engineering reports and architectural drawings. I would ask the Local Trust Committee to establish an early written review explaining how a proposal fits existing policy, what studies and approvals are needed, and what questions remain unresolved. It should identify who is responsible for each step, when applicants can expect the next decision, and where they can get help with funding applications.

That would not guarantee approval or replace necessary studies and public input. But applicants and the tradespeople working with them need clear requirements so they can plan the work, arrange crews, and prepare realistic budgets. They should not have to guess whether the goalposts will move. If requirements or bylaw interpretations change, applicants should receive a written explanation, and the reasons for the change should be public.

People and organizations have brought forward affordable housing ideas, but before they spend heavily on a proposal, they need to know what is required and what to expect: clear affordability requirements that work with available financing, an early public review, a named contact, and published timelines. Qualifying proposals should receive timely decisions and support for appropriate funding applications. Of course, water, sewage, agricultural land, environmental review, First Nations engagement, and public input all continue to be integral parts of the decision.

Safer homes and more choices

Some of that work starts with the homes people already live in: overcrowded homes, rentals that need repairs or safety improvements, and suites and cottages that zoning rules don't allow. Owners need clear advice about the approvals and improvements required, especially where fire hazards, unsafe wiring, or sewage problems put residents, neighbours, or the environment at risk. I am personally committed to helping owners meet those requirements and securing financial assistance wherever we can, so homes are safe and lawful and people can stay when a safe solution is possible.

Alongside protecting existing homes, we need to make it easier to create new ones. I support the proposed accessory dwelling unit bylaw, Bylaw 537. It would allow more properties to have a suite within an existing home or a small separate cottage, where the property can safely support the additional housing. I would work towards its adoption, with meaningful upfront First Nations engagement and practical changes that address affordability and the suggestions for improvement people raise.

We also need modest apartments and townhouses, both to rent and to buy, close to everyday needs. That means suitable locations where people can walk to a store, a school, or a bus stop, and where evidence shows that water supplies, sewage systems, and environmental conditions can support them.

Making homes possible also means finding practical ways to reduce pressure on our water supplies. I would work with the CRD, water districts, Island Health, and local groups to help people understand their options for collecting rainwater for household use and safely reusing greywater. That could include clear guidance, helping residents find rebates or grants, and faster review of applications that demonstrate water savings and meet the necessary standards.

Homes people can afford

We also need homes people can afford on one income, whether they are starting out, living alone, raising a new baby, or finding their feet after a separation. For parents who separate, being able to find two affordable homes on the island could make it easier for both to remain part of their children’s daily lives.

A home described as affordable may still be out of reach for someone working here or living on a modest pension. We need to start with what households can pay while leaving enough for food, transportation, and other necessities. Some will need more help than others, and I would work with housing providers and funding agencies to identify that support.

When additional homes are approved on the promise of affordability, the public should know beforehand how many will be affordable, who they are for, what the rents will be, how increases will be limited, how long the protection will last, and who will check that the commitments are being kept. Housing agreements can make those commitments binding on future owners; nonprofit ownership can also help protect affordability over time.

Shaping our future together

These choices will help shape who can live here ten or twenty years from now. Some development can already proceed under existing zoning, so planning is our chance to guide where homes belong and what land needs protection. I would help bring applicants, local tradespeople, residents, and service providers into discussions early, while proposals can still change, costs can be considered, and environmental concerns can be addressed. People deserve to know how their input was considered, even when they disagree with the decision. Government-to-government engagement with First Nations must take place on terms established with the Nations.

I want young people who grow up on Salt Spring to be able to imagine an adult life here. I want families to be able to stay close, if they choose, as children grow and parents age. I want people living on their own to feel they have a future here too. People are more than the work they do; they belong here because they are part of the community. The artists and the baristas, the carpenters, electricians and plumbers, the bakers and the doctors, the teachers and the excavators, the social workers and the farmers, all of us are what makes Salt Spring such an extraordinary place. We are woven together as strands in a larger whole. Yes, Salt Spring is beautiful, but the beauty is not only in the forests and the oceans. It is also in the people of this island.

As a trustee, I would keep working with housing providers and the community to move suitable proposals forward for those people, protect the places we value, and follow through on the decisions we make. What matters is that people have a home they can afford and the security to plan their lives here, close to the people they love and the community they are part of while preserving and protecting the ecology and culture of this beautiful island.