Maxine Leichter

Real Solutions for Affordable Housing

There seems to be consensus that we need more affordable worker housing on Salt Spring. There are good reasons for this. We want to live in a diverse-income community, we want businesses to be able to hire employees and our hospital and government services to be staffed. So why all the fuss? We agree on the problem. But some of the discourse fails to discuss actual solutions. Some seem to believe—without data to back it up—that allowing suites and cottages on most properties across the island will do the job. But they fail to mention that approximately 2,000 properties are already zoned for this and have not made an impact. (See the Positively Forward website—for a longer discussion of why we don’t support this strategy.) Getting the housing we need will only come from turning away from the free market that has caused the problem in the first place. Discussing new affordable housing strategies requires accepting real-world constraints. Dreaming of an alternate reality …

Reconsider proposed Bylaw 530

Our Local Trust Committee is considering Bylaw 530. If passed, this would rezone most residential properties to allow a second residence, even on properties less than an acre, in drinking lake watersheds, in areas short of water and in groundwater recharge areas. We all agree there is an affordable housing crisis and we support various remedies, but not this. Bylaw 530 provides almost every landowner here the ability to develop a second residence. By allowing more development, this bylaw would throw flames on an already overheated real estate market. It will increase illegal vacation rentals making the housing crisis even worse. Some well-meaning individuals, concerned about the housing crisis, see draft Bylaw 530 as a partial solution. We see it as a huge mistake. Please ask that the bylaw be withdrawn. Below are suggested speaking points: 1. We all agree that there is severe need for more affordable housing. The best way to assure affordability and rental to island …

Opinion: Is there a bigger picture to affordable housing?

There is no doubt we want affordable housing, particularly for our essential workers. A total of 132 “affordable” housing units are now finished or under construction, and these are potentially available to workers but also others. Additional projects are in the works. But what about the bigger picture? Our Official Community Plan states: “All told, the number of dwelling units (not including seasonal cottages and suites) that could be built on Salt Spring Island under current residential zoning is estimated to be about 8150. The eventual population of Salt Spring Island that might result from the zoning now in place is estimated to be a little over 17,000.” The 17,000 figure is certainly low because it does not include current cottages and suites occupied full time, both legally and illegally. The latest census (2016) found a population of 10,640. That means a population increase of at least 7,000 is inevitable under the current zoning. To provide for more housing, so…

Straight Talk on the Fire Trustee Election

I am Maxine Leichter, an independent candidate for fire trustee, running against a group running together who, if elected, will form a majority of the Board. Every member of the Board should have an equal voice. It may be that a majority of trustees are like-minded. But to have a block that does not need to consult with other trustees is not democracy. My husband is a paid-on-call support member of the Fire Department who performs communications, safety and logistics duties. That is how I became informed and concerned about our fire department. There is more to being a fire trustee than implementing the changes recommended in the Walker Report independent review. It is about setting the direction of an essential public service in an open, thoughtful and business-like way without reducing essential service levels, without diminishing community safety and without drastically increasing our homeowners’ fire insurance rates. It requires giving our firefighters the …

Maxine Leichter

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