Salt Spring Island Complete Community Assessment
The Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee (SS LTC) is undertaking a study that will help inform policies about land use, infrastructure and services.
Between now and September, SS LTC will conduct a Complete Community Assessment that will analyze the built form of the island, its villages, and its neighbourhoods. This information will be used to guide future policy development to meet the community’s need for more diverse housing options and a wider range of services accessible by bike or foot.
The Salt Spring Island Complete Community Assessment is funded by the Ministry of Housing’s Complete Community Program, and the contract for the work on Salt Spring has been awarded to Qatalyst Research Inc. with support from the VGeo geospatial analytics firm. The Complete Community Program supports local governments to undertake assessments (using geospatial data) to inform land use decision-making, housing supply gaps, transportation options, and infrastructure connections. This study will support future planning and policy development across these themes.
What is a Complete Community?
The Province’s complete community guide suggests that complete communities offer and support a variety of lifestyle choices, providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to live, work, shop, learn and play close to one another. A complete community enables residents to access day-to-day needs in their neighbourhood. Complete communities provide choices for housing options (single-detached houses, duplexes, townhomes, apartments), ways to get around (car, bike, walk, transit), services, and opportunities for work, school and recreation nearby.
The Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee recognizes that the definition above doesn’t necessarily fit the context of a rural island like ours, so part of this project will be to understand what a “complete community” would look like to the people that live here.
How does it relate to the Official Community Plan?
The results of the Salt Spring Island Complete Community Assessment may be used to inform the Official Community Plan/Land Use Bylaw Update process. The assessment will collect and analyze data to help the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee refine land use change scenarios that will be presented to the public in Phase 3 of the assessment project. This will result in an action plan to address gaps as they relate to housing, infrastructure, and amenities and service provision. This action plan could, in part, guide the development of OCP policy and implementation.
Get involved
Community engagement will take place in accordance with the Community Engagement and Communications Plan.
Because the Complete Community Assessment is primarily a technical exercise, collection and analysis of technical data is prioritized. As noted, this study is intended to inform future decision making and will therefore not be of any force and effect until future policy projects are undertaken. Community input will be sought prior to presentation of final results in a variety of ways. To stay up to date on upcoming public engagement activities, sign up for Salt Spring Island subscriber notices here.
More information:
Jason Youmans
Island Planner
jyoumans@islandstrust.bc.ca
250-405-5177