Mark Lombard from the Cortes Housing Society recently gave an update on progress at the Rainbow Ridge Affordable Housing Project.
“At this point we’re well along the way of building a community building with an office for the housing society. It’ll have:
a utility space that has controls for the water systems and filtration to send water to all the homes.
the controls for the battery and solar system that will provide backup power for the water and sewer for the buildings.
a laundry room that’ll serve the women’s shelter and other people on the south end who need it.
a guest bedroom that people who live in the seniors village or at Rainbow Ridge will be able to rent for a modest price per night.
a lounge area with a kitchenette that people can have a little birthday dinner or a card game, or if the Housing Society board wants to meet, there’ll be a big table that can be used for that.”
“We’re putting the siding on right now, and working on the interior finishing.”
Hello, What a wonderful time of year, warmer days, longer evenings, and roadsides awash in blooms. This report shares info on how the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) can work together with non-profit housing societies to expand access to housing.
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.”
“We had 52 people come out despite a really nice gardening day. You could see people having conversations and lots of hugs. Nice to see everybody out after the winter. Coffee and treats were available, a nice wide selection of home baked goods. So it’s like the social atmosphere was really positive,” explained Melanie Boyle, Managing Director of the Cortes Island Museum.
“The museum AGM business meeting takes maybe half an hour and then Iris Steigemann gave a really wonderful visual presentation of her travels in Greenland. Donations are up and membership is up, so we’re very pleased about those facts.”
There hasn’t been a major wildfire on Cortes Island for decades, but this could change as our summer’s grow hotter and drier. The Rainbow Ridge Affordable Housing project is being designed with this in mind.
“The main idea is to try to have more of a FireSmart community and get rid of the conifers that are much more prone to embers catching fire and then catching the neighbor’s houses and vehicles on fire, like we saw in the California fires this winter,” explained Mark Lombard, speaking on behalf of the Cortes Housing Society.
