You may have heard that Salt Spring’s arm of the Islands Trust, called the Local Trust Committee (LTC) is getting ready to revise our OCP. You may even have heard that over the past year community representatives came together to produce an exciting package of interconnected proposals for revising the OCP called the Common Ground Consensus for the Future. And you wondered…What’s an OCP? 🤔 Okay, down some hot coffee and read all the way to the end of this paragraph: Salt Spring’s Official Community Plan (OCP) is a legal document created by our LTC back in 1999 to guide and manage growth, land use and development. Its purpose is to lay out the community’s vision for its future, with objectives and policies in areas such as housing, commercial, and agricultural land use, as well as environmental preservation. The OCP gives rise to Land Use Bylaws (LUBs) that contain all the regulatory details to make that vision into reality. There, you made it! You can bail out …

Twenty-three joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome the Lookout Housing and Health Society’s CEO Shayne Williams and Lee Fox, Director of Operations for the Vancouver Island Region. After our Acknowledgement, all in our circle had a chance to introduce themselves, many expressing their delight that Lookout has been awarded the BC Housing contract to manage our new supportive housing community at 161 Drake Road. Lee expressed her delight in the imminent opening of Drake Road, confident that something wonderful would happen there. She is thrilled that Lookout will have a far larger presence on Salt Spring, an island she characterized as full of big hearts and good intentions. Shayne, expressed his excitement about the amazing work Lookout is doing . . and has been doing since 1971. Begun by Karen O’Shannacery , its Executive Director from 1971-2014, Shayne is pleased that her vision of care, relationships, and engagement remain foundational principles for Lookout…

You may have already heard that the Local Trust Committee (LTC) has begun its public engagement to guide a revision of our Official Community Plan (OCP) and accompanying land- use bylaws (LUB’s), and wondered how (or whether) you can make a difference in that process. The answer is: there’s a fantastic opportunity to be part of the solution, but you’ll need to take action now, because Phase 1 of that engagement – the most important phase for meaningful input -- ends October 24 th . Options for easy and quick action are on this webpage: https://transitionsaltspring.com/ocp. JOIN THE COMMON GROUND! Housing has been a divisive issue on Salt Spring for decades, but for the past year, Transition Salt Spring has been stewarding a process aimed at finding the common ground we share in order to support community resilience. And we found surprising agreement on ways to create more affordable housing while protecting the natural environment we all love. This agreement can be summa…

September 26 Nineteen joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome the GISRA Kings Lane housing project team, Janis Gauthier, Harry Barnes, and Linda Adams. After our Acknowledgment and a chance for participants to introduce themselves, we learned what excited and delighted our guests. While their shared enthusiasm about the potential of their exciting housing project permeated our entire time together, Janis, the moving force behind many of our successful affordable housing projects, also shared her personal joy that a dump truck of compost had just been delivered to her home, quite sure how her weekend would be spent :). Harry, with 30 years focused on oceanographic and biodiversity issues, has immersed himself in the totally different, but potentially extremely rewarding, challenge of managing the many moving parts comprising this Kings Lane housing project. Linda is delighted to use her land use planning skills to find the best possible use for this GISRA property …

Salt Spring will soon welcome a new community park thanks to the donation of about 1.5 acres of waterfront land near Fulford. The property includes open viewpoints, a pocket of beach, and rare direct ocean access — exactly the kind of shoreline connection identified as a priority in the island’s 2019 Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. The land comes as a gift from the family of the late Ruth Baldwin, who lived on the property until her passing in 2009. Her family shared that she cared deeply for the place and would have been delighted to know it will now be enjoyed as a public park. A covenant will be added to the title to ensure the land remains protected for community use into the future. Local representatives with the Capital Regional District (CRD) described the donation as a rare chance to protect shoreline for public benefit at a time when waterfront properties are increasingly scarce. They noted that the new park will safeguard both access and natural beauty for …

Salt Spring Island, BC – [Sept 17, 2025] – Islanders Working Against Violence (IWAV) is pleased to announce a conditional accepted purchase offer on the property at 210 Norton Road - a significant step toward addressing the critical need for affordable rental housing in our community. IWAV has until early December to raise the funds needed to complete the purchase in January. Acquiring this property is part of IWAV’s long-term strategy to expand affordable housing, aligning with our purpose and strategic plan to create safe, supportive communities free from poverty, violence, and abuse. With a proven track record of developing and operating housing on Salt Spring, IWAV is well- positioned to lead this project. The Norton Road property already has zoning for 26 units of affordable housing and is ideally located near grocery stores, healthcare, schools, and transit. “This is exactly the type of opportunity our community needs,” said Alicia Herbert, Executive Director of IWA…

More people will be able to stay in an affordable home near their jobs, schools and loved ones as the Province ties the annual allowable rent increase to inflation at 2.3% in 2026, down from 3% in 2025. “B.C. is an extraordinary place, but with economic uncertainty and rising costs, people are struggling to find a place to live that fits in their budget,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “We’re continuing to cap rent increases, linking them to inflation, to reduce housing costs for seniors, families and individuals, protecting them from unfair hikes. At the same time, this rent increase allows landlords to invest in their properties to keep rental homes on the market.” This is the second year in a row that the maximum allowable increase is tied to the Consumer Price Index. In 2024, the Province capped rent increases at 3.5%, well below the increase to inflation of 5.6%. Prior to 2018, renters could face an additional 2% rent increase on top…

Lək̓ ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C. – The Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee’s (LTC) request to opt in to the Province of British Columbia’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (STRAA) principal residence requirement was approved through a BC Order in Council. The principal residence requirement will take effect across the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Area on November 1, 2025. This move reflects the LTC’s commitment to protecting long-term housing, preserving community character, and ensuring fair enforcement of short-term rental (STR) regulations. Under the STRAA, only individuals who permanently reside at a property will be permitted to offer short-term rental accommodations. Opting into the STRAA will also streamline enforcement efforts by making it easier to identify unlawful STRs, reduce pressure on local housing and infrastructure, and ensure a level playing field for legal accommodation providers. “Our decision to opt in to the principal residence requirem…

As Salt Spring Island enters a critical period of review for its Official Community Plan (OCP) and Land Use Bylaw (LUB), local residents and advocacy groups are raising concerns over potential changes that could open the door to overdevelopment—changes many fear would weaken long-standing protections designed to limit growth and safeguard the island’s natural environment. At the heart of the debate is a question that continues to challenge Salt Spring: how can the island provide urgently needed affordable housing while maintaining its rural character and ecological integrity? A new position paper titled Pathways to Affordable Housing on Salt Spring, released by local research and advocacy group Positively Forward, lays out a detailed roadmap to address this complex issue. The paper supports zoning changes only when tied to truly affordable housing and stresses the importance of legal mechanisms to ensure affordability is preserved over time. “Like many in our communi…

There used to be a 2002 report on the Islands Trust website called “Crisis in Paradise - Accelerating the Provision of Affordable Housing on Salt Spring Island,” by Clare Heffernan. It’s cited in other reports, but I haven’t been able to find it, gone down the memory hole. But the title of the report still tells you what you need to know. We don’t have a housing crisis on Salt Spring. That was decades ago. What we have now is a housing consequence. I found references to that missing paper when I was reading those other reports, trying to educate myself about the history of housing on our island after I was asked by Transition Salt Spring (TSS) to find out how much common ground there is in our community about housing issues. TSS is not a housing organization, but they know that a community can’t be resilient against the impacts of climate change and other habitat issues unless a) people have stable housing and b) they trust each other. COVID and social media have been a doub…

More people will now benefit from enhancements to the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program, helping low-income families and seniors afford their rent. “With the rising cost of living, we’re enhancing supports through the RAP and SAFER programs to ensure more families and seniors can access essential financial help,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “These changes will help people stay in their homes in the communities they love and allow us to support more people as they manage the challenges of rent and living expenses.” Starting April 1, 2025, and as part of Budget 2025, RAP and SAFER programs have expanded eligibility criteria that will benefit more than 30,000 households in B.C. Existing eligible recipients will also see an automatic increase in their average benefits, providing them with more financial assistance to contribute toward rent. These changes build on the improvements to SAFER a…

New actions are being implemented to help more people find affordable homes in the communities where they live and work. “Everyone should be able to afford a home in their chosen community, but high home costs and real estate speculators are making that a challenge,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “We are working to ensure there are more affordable homes available for people, whether they’re renting or buying, through measures like the B.C. home-flipping tax and property transfer tax exemptions.” Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the B.C. home-flipping tax will be in place to discourage investors from buying housing to turn a quick profit. People who sell their home within two years of buying will be subject to the tax, unless they qualify for an exemption, such as divorce, job loss or change in household membership. It is expected approximately 4,000 properties will be subject to the tax in 2025. All revenue from the tax will go directly into strengthening housing prog…

The Capital Regional District (CRD) is designing a Rural Housing Program through the development of a Pilot Project that will take place on the Southern Gulf Islands (SGI) and Salt Spring Island (SSI) Electoral Areas (EAs). The Rural Housing Program will be initiated as Pilot Project on the SGI and SSI EAs to prototype various housing solutions that are better suited to the rural context and to enable CRD responsiveness to the housing crisis across the capital region. “The Rural Housing Program is a move to address the critical need for affordable homes across the region in rural areas and small communities. By launching the Pilot Project on the SGI and SSI, it enables us to acknowledge the hard work of islanders over many years and look at how we can better tailor housing solutions to what we see as a growing need for affordability measures beyond the CRD’s Urban Containment Boundary,” said Paul Brent, Electoral Area Director for the Southern Gulf Islands and Chair of t…

June 21 A small group gathered to welcome Max Baron-Veale, Salt Spring’s Housing NOW Coordinator and to learn about HomeSharing. After Max’s moving Territorial Acknowledgement, we each took a few moments to introduce ourselves, most adding the Indigenous-like acknowledgement of our parents and roots. Max then told us what “excited and delighted” him. On his mind was his imminent departure for his first ever jujitsu competition. Clearly a gentle soul, he was a bit nonplussed by the combative aspects of his newfound sport. Professionally, he is very excited about the potential of HomeSharing on Salt Spring, anxious to further explore its as one of many needed solutions to our housing crisis. And, yes, he almost forgot to tell us: He will become a father in August! Housing NOW (https://www.sgicommunityresources.ca/housing-now-home/) began as a project of the Southern Gulf Islands Resource Centre, initially largely-funded by their Economic Sustainability Commission. Expansion o…

Current Housing Properties and Projects Minutes of the LCC, the local community commission on SSI Up to 335 units could be developed on 10 properties already designated or zoned for affordable or market housing. This is not an exhaustive list. Most properties require development funding, and additional water and wastewater services and approvals. CRD has provided land (Drake Road), some Community Works Funds (federal ‘gas tax’) to help cover infrastructure costs for affordable housing servicing, and Growing Community Funds to increase the capacity of the Ganges sewer system. CRD Drake Road – 5 acres leased by Capital Regional Housing Corporation for 60 years to BC Housing which is funding 28 units of supported housing, to be completed 2025. Potential for 50-80 units of additional affordable housing. Dragonfly – On Drake Road, being rezoned for 30 units of affordable ownership employee housing. Working with CRD to establish required water utility. Seabreeze Inne – B…