Lack of housing is an issue in communities large and small across Canada. However, one of the key reasons that solving the housing crisis on Salt Spring Island has been a particularly tough nut to crack is because of the fragmented nature of the island’s governance and lack of coordination and collaboration between a variety of agencies which all have some role to play in housing.
The unhindered development of estate-sized resource-intensive single-family houses is having multiple adverse impacts on our island. Salt Spring requires forward-looking solutions, not continuation of practices that are outdated and harmful. Deforestation and soil erosion, loss of green space and wildlife corridors, stressed freshwater resources, increased vehicle trips and greenhouse gas emissions, the prevalence of unregulated housing, and the destabilizing of our island economy and social fabric are some of the existing impacts we anticipate will worsen without proactive, coordinated intervention and persistent leadership on housing.
It begins to address the environmental, economic and social issues integral to housing solutions for our small island community by: