Salt Spring Solutions launches community dialogue on housing solutions

Community Contributed, Real Estate & Housing - September 13, 2023

With the release of the first public information video today, local non-profit Salt Springs Solutions launches its public engagement series, Solutions In Action!, aimed at creating positive dialogue on Salt Spring’s housing front. With a focus on respectful fact-based dialogue the organization plans to bring complex issues and solutions to the public in an entertaining and understandable way, to encourage development of community-led solutions that are equitable and environmentally-conscious.

The series begins with a video on ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units), which you can watch below. Salt Spring Solutions welcomes your questions and contributions to the conversation on its website, which has loads of information and hosts a community forum.

Future videos in the series will be based on the organization’s integrated housing framework, called Homes For Islanders, available in full or in summary at the organization’s website. Salt Spring Solutions will also be putting free resources on social media, conducting surveys, and holding a webinar later in the year featuring experts who have faced (and overcome) similar community challenges.

All voices are welcome! Salt Spring Solutions looks forward to hearing from you, and working with you to develop solutions to our housing crisis that will unite rather than divide us. For more information, contact Pam Tarr, Salt Spring Solution’s Engagement Manager, at pam@saltspringsolutions.com.

15 responses to “Salt Spring Solutions launches community dialogue on housing solutions”

Tim Fulton

1 week ago

It’s very encouraging and refreshing to see a group of local folks demonstrate such a commitment to developing realistic and meaningful proposals to approach our housing challenges, among other issues.

In the words of Margaret Mead, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

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1. Pam Tarr
  
  1 week ago
  
  Tim! Thank you so much for joining the conversation! Love the Margaret Mead quote and so grateful for your support. Please check out our website (saltspringsolutions.com) and consider signing up for our newsletter and updates about our public education series. Lots more fun videos, events and information to come! Thank you, Pam
  
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w101

1 week ago

Wow!! Stunning work on the video. So funny and right on point. You should think about a regular episodic YouTube show / reality / soap opera style. The drama is built in (think Coronation Street meets SSI) 🙂

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1. w101
  
  1 week ago
  
  This is how you convince hearts. --Politics is down stream from culture / art. Unfortunately as the BB generation is still very much in control and for some reason they have forgotten their 60's roots of free thinking - live - let live. This was evident in the last 3 years when for the first time in history they insisted we quarantine the healthy, and that says it all. That is the entire picture.
  
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  1. Vera Algoet
    
    1 week ago
    
    You seem to really think you convince hearts by insulting people. Good luck with that.
    
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    1. Pam Tarr
      
      1 week ago
      
      Hi Vera, we appreciate everyone's input and hope you'll stay involved in the conversation. Thanks for your input, Pam
      
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    2. w101
      
      4 days ago
      
      That's your opinion. Non an "insult" at all. Just stating the facts. BB generation is in "control", and their best interest is how and why policy is the way it is, including red tape regarding housing.
      
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2. Pam Tarr
  
  1 week ago
  
  Thanks for the support! Love your video idea - in fact we are doing a series about housing so, more to come! Please check out our website and sign up to hear about our releases. Thanks, Pam!
  
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3. Myna Lee Johnstone
  
  7 days ago
  
  i agree
  
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Pierre Frisch

1 week ago

I think we should be practical on this issue. What I would like to understand is the effect of this proposition on property prices and traffic / parking.
On the property prices We have a very negative example with North Vancouver. The district went through the same process and the result is that the banks capitalize the rent in the mortgage enabling even higher prices, This was quite noticeable in North Vancouver, a rent of $1000 is equivalent to $100000 in property valuation. In Salt Spring the rent would probably be $2000 so we would add $200000 to every property. This is a windfall for property owners but it would put housing even more out of reach for everyday folks.
On the traffic/parking situation. The majority of jobs to fulfil are in Ganges or the other villages (like the nurse example), if we go with an ADU solution we need to provide adequate parking next to where the jobs are, or we need to dramatically improve our bus transport. We could add more buses and have a bus every 10 minutes between the population centres on the island. I would really like that but how do we finance it? The fare recovery rate of a bus is $0.25 per $1 spent so we would need a very heavy subsidy.
The alternative option that we could explore is to build housing next to the jobs, in Ganges (or Fulford, Vesuvius or Fernwood) this could be done by changing the zoning of commercial to mix zoning and adding 2/3 level of apartments on top of shops. We could make the rezoning conditional to providing affordable rental units in each development.
I am not a town planner but I would like to see answers to those questions. May be the ADU solution is right but there are serious questions and brushing them away does nothing to help a civil political discourse.

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1. Pam Tarr
  
  1 week ago
  
  Hi Pierre, we are right there with you. It will take real strategic planning to work through many of the questions you bring up. In fact, the five strategies in our housing framework, Homes for Islanders - please check it out on our website (saltspringsolutions.com) - discuss many of your issues here. Our public education series about housing will address readying Ganges for more housing and transit/parking issues and certainly the goal of a strategic plan for the island. Please consider signing up for our communications and staying involved in the conversation. Thank you for your input!
  
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2. Myna Lee Johnstone
  
  7 days ago
  
  i have served on he Transportaion Commission many years. Our bus system is run by BC Transit which is expensive, operates fauly vehicles and gives us poor service. I want some of the $$$ they get back to build our own fleet of vans. Need organizations on SSI to support this.
  we could do so much better with our own transit system
  
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Misty Whittaker

1 week ago

You had me right up until the expectation that single people should take care of their landlords and lose their autonomy to save a few bucks on rent. Ridiculous. Otherwise im glad we're finally talking about it, however will anything really come of another conversation? Sorry im pessimistic as it seems the only people who are being asked to sacrifice as the low income, single earners. How about rent caps? How about apartment buildings?

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1. Pam Tarr
  
  1 week ago
  
  Hi Misty, it's gonna take a variety of housing options that work for people in different situations. ADUs are just one of the solutions that will make a dent in the affordable housing we need on Salt Spring. Hope you'll stay involved because we need voices like yours with good ideas as we build the community discussion about possibilities. We are determined to see this conversation move from ideas to action. Please check out our site and sign up as we have lots more information about housing solutions coming out. Thank you, Pam
  
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Leigh Anne Milne

5 days ago

We need live, work housing in Ganges. Imagine housing above all of the shops. It would revitalize Ganges, give cafes a reason to stay open past 3 pm and house people. Just think of all the towns, villages and cities that have done this. It works.

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