Salt Spring is an amazingly beautiful Island! And it really looks like this photo, too...when the sun is shining, that is!
When you look down the Harbour like this you can see the benefit of the Islands Trust, and the outcome of those original documents.
Created by the then Provincial Government, in 1974, the Islands Trust mandate was "to preserve and protect" the environmental beauties of the Gulf Islands, for the benefit of all B.C. residents.
As you can see from this photo, they did a good job of controlling growth and of retaining the "natural" allure of the Islands.
The water access only Islands are tied to a nearby ferry-accessed Island. Two trustees per Island are elected every civic election (a three year term). Although the overall Trust document, from 1974, applies to all the Islands, there are of course specific bylaws for individual Islands, that have been created as the years passed.
On Salt Spring, during my residency here (since 1989), there have been two Official Community Plan (OCP) reviews: one in the mid-90s and the other in the early 2000s.
Some few years ago, in the 90s, the then Provincial Government brought forward the idea of a specialized form of a municipal structure...the Trust would be retained but the one elected representative of the CRD (Capital Regional District), responsible for building permits, septic permits, etc., would be replaced by an elected council.
Bowen Island and Salt Spring Island were approached about this Gulf Islands Municipality concept, and both voted against it, in separate referendums. Then, Bowen held a second referendum and this time it passed. That Island, then, is a Gulf Islands Municipality. All other Islands, including Salt Spring, remain unincorporated areas.
On Salt Spring, there has been a lengthy renewed interest in the holding of a second referendum, most recently by the Islanders for Self-Government (ISG) group.
If the first referendums were turned down, it may have been because of a fear of rising taxes to support a municipal structure. However, the rising costs of the Trust itself, on Salt Spring, has spiralled upwards...and without the concurrence of the Islanders, perhaps.
There is also a feeling among many residents that the Trust on Salt Spring has strayed beyond the narrow confines of land use issues, the initial intent of the 1974 Trust document.
There is a very serious concern as to the "plan" that the current Trustees may have for the Island...a sense that the park has been preserved, and now the Islanders, small businesses, etc., also need to be protected and preserved. There is a worry that the special lifestyle is being destroyed.
This is an election year (in the Fall). Make sure you read the latest OCP document. Pay attention to bylaw interpretations. Ask questions. Attend Trust meetings, whenever possible. Be informed. Make sure that when you vote you are voting for the Island lifestyle you would like to have in place for the next ten years.
No room for apathy! And make sure you do vote....
You're in business? Make sure you belong to the Chamber of Commerce. The role of the Chamber, throughout B.C., is to lobby the Provincial Government on behalf of local small business. It's a "voice". The only Chamber that doesn't do this, in the entire Province, is Salt Spring's. Apparently, this was the choice of Chamber Board members some years ago. It is time to belong (volume counts), and time to insist that the Chamber do its job. Small business "health" creates a solid and viable community.
And your thoughts are? Always welcome!
How may I help you to discover special Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands? Call me!
