Tag Archives: SRD

Housing

What They Heard: The Cortes Housing Report

The ‘What We Heard Report,’ from Cortes Island’s Housing Forum and the subsequent Housing Survey, has been released. 

“This is a really exciting document for Cortes. The intention of this forum that we did with the Cortes Housing Society and the Housing Survey was really to listen to Cortes and understand what the housing challenges are. We already had a pretty good idea from previous reports and information, but this really gave us a good sense of what the challenges are and then what do people want us to move forward with?” explained Mark Vonesh, Regional Director for Cortes Island. 

Continue reading What They Heard: The Cortes Housing Report →
Justice, Politics

Court of Appeal Decision in Anderson vs SRD: Anderson’s appeal upheld

On January 24th the BC Court of Appeal made known its decision in docket CA47620, the case of Anderson vs SRD. The three-judge panel found unanimously against SRD and in favour of Anderson.  They found that SRD was wrong in refusing to indemnify Anderson’s defence costs during a litigation against her in 2019, and wrong also in voting to censure her in that same year.

In this four-part special radio feature we’ll be revisiting the five-year history of this legal decision, and interviewing Noba Anderson about its significance — not just for Cortes island, but for all of BC. 

Continue reading Court of Appeal Decision in Anderson vs SRD: Anderson’s appeal upheld →
Communications

CityWest finally delivers: some Cortes Island homes already receiving service 

CityWest finally delivered on its promise to bring high speed fibre-optic internet to Cortes Island. 

It has been five years since Victoria Smith, then the  Strathcona Regional District’s Special Projects and Sustainability Manager, confirmed that Cortes Island was a proposed recipient for the Connected Coast Project.

Continue reading CityWest finally delivers: some Cortes Island homes already receiving service  →
Housing, Politics

SRD Zoning Bylaw Open House

On Monday December 11th, four SRD staff came to Cortes to hold a local zoning hearing at noon, followed by a three hour open house starting at 1pm. Cortes residents were invited to provide input to assist SRD in revising and updating the zoning bylaw for Area B.

SRD was represented by Senior Manager Aniko Nelson, along with Planning and Parks Manager Meredith Starkey and Planners Annie Girdley and John Neill. They brought with them several large signboards, and placed them at tables in the hall. The first table explained what a Zoning Bylaw is; subsequent tables were focussed on four main topics: Water Zones (foreshore, waterfront, harbours), Cannabis Production and Sale, Housing Density, and Short Term Rentals.

There was no formal presentation. On each table, a large sheet of paper presented various options for zoning law revision, and attendees were invited to vote for their favourite options by applying coloured stickers, as well as writing comments directly on the sheet. SRD staff also provided official forms for written feedback, which were gathered in a large “ballot box”.

Continue reading SRD Zoning Bylaw Open House →
Housing, Politics

Mark Vonesch: How A Little Government Can Address The Housing Crisis

At 9:30 AM on Dec 2, Regional Director Mark Vonesch will be joining the Cortes Housing Society to host a community forum in Mansons Hall.* In today’s interview, he gave a sampling of how a little government could help make housing more affordable 

“We are in a housing crisis. Housing is expensive to build and we don’t have enough of it. What can we do as a community in Cortes to get more affordable housing done? Like a lot of issues, we have to approach this from multiple angles. There’s not one thing that’s going to  solve the problem. It’s basically three things.”

Continue reading Mark Vonesch: How A Little Government Can Address The Housing Crisis →