Salt Spring Real Estate market report. Salt Spring Restrictive Zoning make a huge impact on prices (part 2)

Salt Spring Island zoning has one of the biggest effects on property prices. There is no shortage of land on Salt Spring Island. Salt Spring could have a population of 100,000 but it will never happen. The present pop. is 10,000. The zoning bylaws and Island's Trust are in place to control development. I fully back this concept of preserve and protect. However, when Salt Spring Real Estate is made to be in short supply then over the long term only one thing can happen - the prices will go up.

The drawback is that it makes it difficult for average families and service providers to live here. The community is actively looking for solutions to this problem. However there is no will to do anything. The lowest priced house on the Island are around $300,000. You really cant find anything nice for less that $500,000. What the island needs is for the affordable housing zoning restrictions to be simplified and opened up. Let the market solve the problems that the strict zoning has created. There have been numerous affordable housing projects abandoned instead of fast tracked. 

Next time you get your car filled up or go grocery shopping think, where can someone live on Salt Spring that is only making $12 per hr., and if they cant live here who will pump your gas or bag your groceries. There are solutions we need to open up the zoning and build affordable housing.

Cheers
Scott

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