Recently-appointed Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle visited Salt Spring last Wednesday to get an overview of our challenges and projects in progress, taking a full day despite her very busy schedule. MLA Rob Botterell arranged the visit because of what he sees as a new spirit of cooperation on our island growing out of the Common Ground Summit in April, put on by Transition Salt Spring as a way to find new approaches to getting the affordable housing we need while protecting the environment we love.

Minister Boyle started the day with an overview of issues relating to the liveaboard community, given by Corey Johnson of the Harbour Authority of Salt Spring Island (HASSI). Johnson covered many facets of the complex situation, including overlapping jurisdictions, environmental and social issues and Indigenous rights, but a shortage of affordable housing on Salt Spring emerged as a key factor.

The Minister then got a tour of BC Housing’s new Drake Road project, led by Lookout Society’s Shayne Williams and Lee Fox. Drake Road will supply 32 units of mostly supportive housing, and will be managed by Lookout with 24/7 staff on site. Notably, BC Housing declared “paramountcy” on the project, allowing it to supersede local zoning and building codes to create the 3 storey building, which gave rise to one of the requests from local agencies to the Minister: a new fire truck with an aerial ladder tall enough to serve buildings over 2 storeys.

Drake Road project
| Photo: Rob Lowrie

Next stop was a tour of the trailers that Country Grocer has purchased for its employees, in the absence of other available housing. Mark Grey-Dreaper, COO of Country Grocer’s parent company, led the tour, and housing management staff presented compelling stories about this temporary solution that has allowed the business to keep operating.

The last site visit was to King’s Lane, where Harry Barnes and Janis Gauthier of the Gulf Islands Seniors Residence Association (GISRA) explained the project’s history and its connection to a possible expanded medical clinic. The King’s Lane project is requesting $9 million in pre-development and construction funding from BC Housing, to supply 50 units of affordable housing for Salt Springers of all ages, and this was a key ask for the Minister.

Minister Boyle with Harry Barnes and Janis Gauthier of GISRA | Photo: Rob Lowrie

The group then headed to Harbour House for lunch, where the Minister met with representatives and staff from our 4 local government agencies, including Laura Patrick from Islands Trust, Gary Holman from CRD, Brian Pyper from North Salt Spring Water District (NSSWD) and Rollie Cook from the Fire Department (SSIFPD). In addition to the aerial ladder truck and the King’s Lane funding, additional funding was requested for both more development on Drake Road and for CRD affordable housing initiatives. NSSWD’s desire to target affordable housing with its new water hookups – a proposed revision to Salt Spring’s Official Community Plan (OCP) – led to a joint request with the Islands Trust that the Minister approve the revised OCP when it reaches her desk.

CRD Director Gary Holman speaks with Minister Boyle
| Photo: Rob Lowrie

The final event was a community roundtable, in which the Minster met with a diverse group of representatives from the Common Ground Summit, which has produced a package of proposals, based on community consensus, as input on the OCP revision. Roundtable participants included Erin Price-Lindstrom, Site Director for Lady Minto Hospital; Kajin Goh, Chair of the Chuan Society; Alicia Herbert, Executive Director of Islanders Working Against Violence (IWAV); Eric March, a cidermaker and intended Trustee candidate who spoke for tradespeople; Colin How, co-owner of the Salt Spring Exchange and Island Community Services Board Member; David Marshall, co-owner of We Are What We Eat (WAWWE), who spoke about the needs of farmers; and Jason Roy-Allen, co-owner of Feast restaurant and President of the Chamber of Commerce, who spoke on behalf of the business community. All talked about the challenges that Salt Spring’s affordable housing shortage poses for their communities, and several added specific asks for policy change or coordination of agencies at the provincial level.

David Marshall of WAWWE with Trustee Laura Patrick and moderator Jon Cooksey
| Photo: Rob Lowrie

In an interview afterwards, Minister Boyle and MLA Botterell both expressed how strikingly Salt Spring has moved away from its reputation as “an argument surrounded by water,” and that they got to see community members working with local government and each other to find creative solutions that could be useful as the Province faces similar challenges in communities across BC. Both expressed their gratitude to the elected officials who welcomed them and work so hard on behalf of our island, and to the community members who spoke so eloquently at the roundtable.

“I certainly feel like I’m coming away with having met a bunch of incredible leaders, seen projects that I’m proud the Province has been able to partner with the community on, and with a list of follow-up questions and next steps to keep doing that important work,” Minister Boyle reflected. “It’s clear that we need more housing across a wide spectrum, more rental and workforce housing, more affordable housing, and there’s a lot of work that the Province can do to support the incredible work the community is already doing to get there.”

Phase 1 of the LTC’s engagement to gather input for the OCP revision ends this Friday, October 24th! For more information on the Common Ground Consensus, and how to help Salt Spring get the affordable housing it needs while protecting the environment we all love, go to https://transitionsaltspring.com/ocp.

Hear MLA Rob Botterell talk about the Common Ground Summit ⬇️