Tag Archives: Cortes Island Housing

Housing

Good News about the drainage at Rainbow Ridge

“ If we achieve this, which I believe we’re going to do, this is a model for other communities.  We look at places like Salt Spring and even Quadra Island and places in northern BC where they have lost their lakes. The process is called eutrophication. When the lakes just become too rich in nitrogen, they become swamps. It’s not just our issue, it’s everybody’s issue and if we show a way to improve the nutrient flow into the lake while adding these extra homes, that’s a model for the whole world,” said Rex Weyler, one of the scientists monitoring Hague and Gunflint Lakes.

He was talking about the potential impacts of what would soon be called Rainbow Ridge. 

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Business, Housing

Wit’s End: Design and Fabrication on Cortes Island 

 Wits End: Design and Fabrication is setting up shop on Cortes Island.  Arne Olafson was looking for a space to use his equipment, when he walked into the Squirrel Cove General Store last December.  

“Curt’s a really friendly guy and he’s super helpful. I was asking who had room for such a big machine, and Curt said that I could move into the shop here. I moved in. There was just some sweeping up, and then I had to build a table for my machine because I couldn’t move my whole table from Hornby Island. I did  move the top part of the machine, which fits in my van,” he said. 

Olafson has been living on Hornby Island for the past 7 years, but is well known to many Cortes Island residents. 

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Housing, Politics, Poverty

Housing on Cortes: an Interview with Mark Vonesch (part two)

Currents interviewed Mark Vonesch in early December. This is the second half of that interview, in which we dig a lot more deeply into issues related to housing on Cortes and in the local area: homelessness, employment, property values, AirBnB and much more.

We present here some excerpts from nearly 30 minutes of audio. Our interview covered quite a bit more ground: homelessness in Campbell River, and their approach to it; property tax structures and how they could be made more equitable; the related issue of a real estate market in which, as with rent, locals cannot compete with tourists and rusticators; the fundamental problem of treating housing as a speculative investment commodity. We recommend listening to the entire podcast for the most complete information.

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Housing, Politics

Coming before the SRD Board, proposed provincial responses to the housing crisis

Three days after he was sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, David Eby unveiled new legislation designed to increase the pace of new construction, remove age restrictions in stratas (except for the +55 restriction that promotes seniors housing) and tap the supply of vacant units for the rental market.

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Housing

Open House for Rainbow Ridge

Despite the heavy snowfall Wednesday, at least 100 people are believed to have attended the open house for Rainbow Ridge affordable housing development in Mansons Hall. 

 “We were really happy with the turnout considering the weather, the snow and the road conditions. We decided to go ahead with the event regardless because we had special guests including Ian Scott, who was coming all the way from Victoria. He’s our development consultant and he was in Campbell River for other meetings. He made it to Cortes through the snow. The island roads were plowed and salted to help people, including me, get all the way from Squirrel Cove as well as the Klahoose drummers who made it to the event to help open up the presentation,” said Sandra Wood, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society.

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