Exactly a year ago, housing advocates delivered what we hoped was an important report to the Islands Trust.
In what was called “a historic day” by a long time community leader present, and “a gift” by one of the trustees themselves, Salt Spring Solutions outlined 8 tangible actions the Trust could take to address the housing crisis while protecting the environment. Each action was deeply researched and fell well within existing regulations and the mandate of the Trust.
One year later, we are sad to report that not one of these actions has been undertaken.
There is one bright spot, an effort led by Trustee Laura Patrick with support from many smart islanders, to create a Formal Housing Working Group of the Trust. This group would engage the public around the ecological, climate, and socioeconomic dimensions of the housing crisis, and make housing an official island priority thus allocating some staff time to work on it.
Unfortunately even this effort is being resisted by some who question whether housing should be a top 5 priority for this island at all.
That’s why we’re asking supporters to send a letter to the Islands Trust, demanding that the Housing Working Group proposal be approved at the next LTC meeting on October 6, and that housing be made a top 5 priority of our island’s leadership.
>>> Send a letter right now using our simple tool. <<<
You can read the full story about the Housing Working Group in this article on the Exchange.
