I acknowledge that I write this piece from the traditional lands of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking Coast Salish peoples. I am writing this note to islanders to engage in spirited dialogue regarding the Bylaw enforcement process and activity on Salt Spring Island. Do you have a kettle, hot plate or toaster oven in another room in your home or your B&B? Do you have more than 2 cars parked on your property? Have you brought gravel in to line your path to the beach to make is safer to walk on? Do you have a home-based business where you may meet outdoors or work on your projects outside so you can social distance? Do you have a 10m2 structure used for more than a ‘shed’? Do you rent your suite for less than 30 days? You may be in violation of the bylaw. You may get a warning. You may get a ticket. The Bylaws, Bylaw Enforcement Process and activity on Salt Spring Island, especially during the continued stressors related to the COVID-19 pandem…

Why are local residents with non-conforming bed and breakfast businesses being targeted and issued hefty fines by Islands Trust Bylaw Enforcement? Now is not the time to be undermining the incomes and livelihoods of local residents. After this past pandemic year, many of us are struggling economically. Our OCP (Official Community Plan) is very clear: Tourist accommodation dollars are supposed to be distributed among local residents rather than going to hotels. The original purpose of our bed and breakfast bylaw was to distribute access to tourist accommodation income among local residents. We need this now more than ever. Unfortunately, an outdated detail in the bylaw—the requirement that the bed must be inside the house—is now being enforced to impede the intended purpose of the bylaw. It is being enforced to stop local residents from benefiting from tourist accommodation dollars...even in the face of having to pay rapidly increasing property taxes. In order to uphold ou…

Escaping Zoom Gloom, the spring-like weather enticed many outdoors and away from their computers. As a result, only ten participated in this ASK Salt Spring gathering. While too many missed our rich time of learning and conversation, those who participated were so very appreciative of the wisdom, honesty, and insight our MLA Adam Olsen brought to this conversation. While words cannot hope to replicate this rich discussion, it is hoped that this report will still offer some valuable information to those who missed ASK Salt Spring this week. After a heartfelt Territorial Acknowledgment, we began by learning a lot about the central governance role of the BC Throne Speech. Its purpose is to outline the agenda of the governing party for the coming year. While it is not always voted upon by members, it is heavily-debated and lays out the action plan for the legislative session. Adam is concerned about the current Throne Speech, delivered December 7, 2020, by our Lieutenant Gove…

After an acknowledgment of the Coast Salish people upon whose occupied land this meeting took place, the 10 individuals joining this ASK Salt Spring gathering welcomed special guests: our Chamber’s new Executive Director, Jesse Brown, and President, Darryl Martin. At 11:00 the twelve of us launched into a varied and rich conversation. Darryl began by thanking ASK Salt Spring for the opportunity to join this gathering along with Jesse Brown, the Chamber’s newly hired Executive Director. He continued by acknowledging the damaging economic and social realities impacting Chamber businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Darryl identified three priorities of the Salt Spring’s Chamber of Commerce: Helping local enterprises address the impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns. Improving the vibe of Ganges and working towards the extension of the Harbourwalk. Revitalizing the Salt Spring Island Visitors’ Centre. We learned that these priorities were only a beginning and…

Right now the Islands Trust is reviewing a proposal to remove community from its mandate, as expressed in a new Policy Statement currently being debated. You can send a letter to tell the Trustees to not abdicate their role in protecting our unique culture and community. What does community mean to you? How does it help you live a good life? How does it help when you face challenges, or even a disaster? During the global disaster we’re currently living, the value of this special community has never been more clear to me. From everyone at my kid’s school to the never-ending bounty on the shelves of our grocery stores, our hard working hospital staff to the amazing network of alternative healers, those making a nice coffee or serving take-out lunch when I'm too busy to make another meal at home. Salt Spring seems to be surviving the pandemic pretty well, but because of the other major crisis predating the pandemic - housing - this foundation of our community is quick…

Twelve participated in this ASK Salt Spring Zoom gathering welcoming one of our Islands Trust’s Local Trustees, Laura Patrick. After a heartfelt territorial acknowledgment, Laura began by sharing her optimism for the emerging alignment of planning initiatives designed to address a number of challenges for Salt Spring. The best solutions to any of these challenges are the ones that simultaneously address multiple issues confronting our island -- such as forest health, biodiversity, watersheds/water supply, the climate emergency, land use, housing, small business health, food security, and the spirit and resiliency of our community. Laura was asked a number of questions related to the housing action program. She explained that this program is aimed at solutions that are within the authority of the Islands Trust’s Salt Spring Local Trust Committee (LTC). Identifying solutions will come through open dialogue. This dialogue will not make differences disappear or lead everyone to …

As trustees prioritize affordable housing and call for volunteers to take part in a task force, have they forgotten they are up against market forces, the constraints of the Islands Trust Act and a never-ending press of humanity? It is important to note the current housing initiative is not just about securing accommodation for local workers. Housing advocates and Trustee Laura Patrick, in particular, are aiming for sweeping changes they believe will provide more “attractive and affordable housing” for the general population. In a recent article, Laura wrote: “We know that: Rental supply is dire, the cost of housing on the island is simply beyond the reach of a majority of islanders, that seniors and young families are particularly vulnerable to housing stress, and that too many people are reduced to living in travel trailers, accessory buildings and boats. The solution, of course, is to build a greater variety of homes, more affordable homes and with affordable, realisti…

I am writing this letter to express our community’s concern over the extremely dangerous conditions on the 11.3 km of Musgrave Road. In fact, I have been writing letters since 2014 expressing my concerns and requesting that a multi-year plan be implemented to bring this road up to its safety standard. This is a Class 6 public road that falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI), who contracts out the maintenance work to private maintenance contractors. The current contractor is Emcon Services Inc. and previously it was Mainroad South Island Contracting Ltd. These are the people responsible for the condition of this road. Based on an independent study of all Salt Spring Island roads, this one was the worst; the next lowest road rating was approximately 5 times higher. Musgrave Road is a terrible road and desperately needs work. At the top of MOTI’s webpage is the following statement: The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastru…

Twenty-three gathered via Zoom to welcome MLA Adam Olsen and his staff to listen and learn about the issues that matter most to them. After a heartfelt territorial acknowledgement, we asked Adam to begin by sharing what was on his mind. Seeking to identify those things that excite and delight him, he spoke with enthusiasm of finally being able to be in his legislative office, the lovely old wainscoting making a satisfying background for this Zoom gathering. He also shared his enthusiasm for the new, street-level, Sidney office he will soon occupy. Across from Tanners Books, it is a new building that is estimated to be complete by April. He is looking forward to being back in the Legislature March 1 and to begin debating the budget, postponed from its normal February timeline. He spoke of drafting the long-anticipated Private Members Bill on tree-cutting on the Southern Gulf Islands. The bill will not necessarily prohibit logging but will add default protections and give t…

In a post published on January 22, 2021, I wrote that I wasn’t able to locate any information about the “Housing Challenges and Solutions Planning Project” on the Islands Trust website. Ten days later, an open letter from Trustee Laura Patrick appeared on the Salt Spring Exchange: “I’m pleased to report that progress is being made towards tackling the affordable housing issue on Salt Spring. The Islands Trust’s Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee (LTC) has just approved a bold new Housing Action Program, and I’m confident it will finally put us on the right path to a solution”. Full of excitement, I followed the link mentioned in Laura’s post, and there it was: The Salt Spring Island Housing Action Program!! My excitement didn’t last long, as I soon realized that the word ‘ACTION’ used in the name of the project was a misnomer. Instead of action, which is defined as: a thing done; an act, the project is merely a ‘study’ , a detailed investigation and analysis of a subje…

Seventeen gathered via Zoom, welcoming some of the many authors of our soon-to-be-released Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2.0. We celebrated the completion of this audacious plan, taking thousand of hours of volunteer work researching and writing as well as outreach to over 2,000 members of our community, government officials, and a wide variety of local nonprofits. Darryl Martin (Chair) joined us as well as authors Simon Wheeler, Peter Lamb, and Jim Standen. We learned that it is a long document - over 100 pages - but that segments are downloadable separately. This will allow readers to begin by selecting only, for example, the Executive Summary (a mere five pages) and then proceeding to download chapters of most interest to them. Even this segmenting strategy may not work for all as one participant said, I will not read the entire report: Just give me the 10 things that I need to do! The plan will be available within the next few weeks. The conversation began with transporta…

After a heartfelt territorial acknowledgment, 13 ASK Salt Spring participants welcomed Restorative Justice volunteers Darlene Gage and Laura Defoe. Also Zooming about with us was our new RCMP Sargent, Clive Seabrook. We all also welcomed his participation in our conversation. We began by learning about Restorative Justice (RJ) and its exciting potential to help address the oft-discussed issues of safety in our community. Based on indigenous principles, RJ seeks a system of restoration rather than punishment. RJ volunteers work to restore a relationship between the responsible person (often seen in our culture as the “offender") and the affected person (often viewed as the “victim".) We learned that RJ has been a volunteer-driven initiative on Salt Spring for over 20 years and may be the longest running program you have never heard of, according to Darlene. There are over 90 RJ branches throughout British Columbia with a large number of programs on Vancouver Island and ev…

I've been researching and writing about homelessness for many years, and have looked at the issue while traveling throughout Europe and Canada, as well as here on Salt Spring. In my post, written two years ago, I ask a number of important questions, including: Why can't we use innovative and creative ideas to create alternative housing here on Salt Spring? Why not look at what other communities have done to assist their formerly homeless residents to create community and innovative solutions to homelessness? Are tiny homes a solution to homelessness on Salt Spring Island? Both of our local trustees mentioned tiny homes in the report from the January 19, 2021 Islands Trust Zoom meeting. Peter Grove would like it to be easier for tiny homes to be built on Salt Spring, but he also noted that there are examples of tiny home communities that are not working out as expected. Surprising to some, we also learned that there are almost no successful tiny home communities in British…

Culture Prior to the creation of the Salt Spring Island (SSI) Official Community Plan (OCP), there was a building culture that was diverse and showed preference for local materials. From the local timbers used at Moby’s, Grace Point, Barb’s Buns, Artspring, and Creekside, to the local stonework on the side of Thrifty’s, as columns in the high school, to the local rammed earth and cob, our local building artisans with support from clients and GCs, would think long and hard prior to hiring and buying off-island. Some of these pursuits continue today, although with more difficulty as SSI no longer has a Senior Building Inspector who can authorize unusual building assemblies. What’s been missing for me is expressing local culture in our buildings. It has been missing for so long that many people don’t even know what that means. Imagine if the contributions made to SSI by the early Hawaiians or black people or hippies, or greenies, or spiritual folk, or artists, or farmers or lo…