Housing, Politics

There will be no Maximum house size on Cortes Island

More than 400 Cortes Island residents responded to the recent survey about limiting the size of new houses. They were given a number of possible limitations, ranging from 2,500 to 4,300 square feet. While the vote was close, 52% of the respondents said ‘no’ and so there will be no size limits in Cortes Island’s draft Zoning Bylaw. 

Regional Director Mark Vonesch explained, “ I just want to start by thanking everybody for participating in the survey. We had 415 people respond and it was very divided.  For that reason, I’m not moving forward with the maximum house size.  There’s clearly no consensus and that’s okay. The reason  we do these surveys  is to be able to talk about an issue and express ourselves around what we want our island to look like. So I really appreciate everybody who filled it out  and lots of passion on both sides of the issue.” 

“So we had 415 people fill out the survey and 78% of those responses, or 323 of those people were permanent residents on Cortes, and 20% of responses were from seasonal or part-time residents. The results for whether people support some kind of maximum house size or not, overall was,  52% said ‘no,’ 44% said ‘yes,’ and 3% were ‘unsure.”’

“One of the interesting questions is, do you think a maximum floor area for single attached dwellings could affect the community.  42% said that they thought it would have a positive effect; 37% said it would have a negative effect; and 12% said it would have no effect.” 

Cortes Currents: What was the number one reason cited by people who opposed the limitation? 

Mark Vonesch: “Well, it varies and not everyone gave an answer, but a lot of people voted ‘no’ because they felt like it might’ve been government overreach to say what you can do  on your land. People are like, ‘don’t tell me what to do on my land.’ I understand that argument.” 

“The other point of discussion that was brought to the community was around economics. Is this going to impact people’s jobs? Does it mean people aren’t going to build houses here anymore? What about the work crews that rely on various aspects of planning, building, maintaining a house  and a property, which I think is a valid question as well.” 

Cortes Currents: What would be the number one reason that people gave for voting ‘yes’? 

Mark Vonesch: “I think the people in favor of it were coming from a point of ‘at what point do we put a cap on capitalism’ and ‘is closing the door for ultra wealthy people to build summer mansions, something we want for Cortes.’”

“Ultimately for me, it’s an experiment in democracy. How do we ask ourselves questions that have divided responses in ways that create meaningful discussion and create meaningful exploration of what we can do as a community  to make things better  and to build the future that we want.” 

Cortes Currents: Did you receive some negative feedback for bringing this idea forward?

Mark Vonesch: “Yes, I did receive some criticism for bringing this idea forward.  People said, ‘how dare you even ask these questions.’ Ultimately,  I think it’s important that we learn how to speak with each other. Politically, as you can see what’s happening in the world,  there’s a real divisiveness, and there’s a real lack of just general kindness and curiosity about each other.”

“We need to recognize  that we are different and we have diversity  in our community, and  we have  a wide variety  of viewpoints. It’s important that those viewpoints are heard and that we’re able to express ourselves so that people can understand us and that we can have discussions and make decisions as a community on how we want to move forward.”

“This survey was part of a larger consultation in the community around reviewing our zoning bylaw. For the last year and a half, we’ve had online and in-person meetings and everybody’s had the chance to provide direct input through email to SRD staff. We’re now at a place where we have a draft bylaw which is available online.” 

“If you Google ‘SRD Cortes Zoning Bylaw Review,’ it’ll show up at the top  and you’ll be able to click on it and you’ll be able to see the progress and the consultation in places where the community has had an opportunity to provide input.”

“Last week, in our electoral area services committee last, I made a motion to refer the draft bylaw to the Cortes Island Advisory Planning Commission or APC, as some people call it.  That commission will have the opportunity to review the bylaw, discuss it and make recommendations that are then brought back to the board before going to a public hearing.”

“On Cortes, the public hearing is a place for the community to provide their input and decide whether this zoning bylaw update is something that they want.” 

Links of Interest:

Image credits: (top of page) AI image generated by Mark Vonesch; All charts and graphs were taken from the SRD staff report, the numbers in the pie chart was enlarged to make them more visible

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