Housing, health care and demographics are emerging as Quadra Island’s hottest election issues.
The house was packed Tuesday night at the island’s community center as candidates for Area C regional director. Robyn Mawhiney Y marc doll answered questions from residents before the Oct 15 a. C. municipal elections.
The two candidates were questioned about a variety of local concerns. But the housing crisis that pushed young families and employees out of the market and the aging of the island’s population and the impacts on businesses and services were the main problems. As are concerns about ensuring continued support for older people with a persistent lack of doctors and emergency personnel on the ferry-dependent island.
Both candidates have suggested the official community plan (OCP), which guides land use decisions on the island, is due to be revised and they were asked what they would change in the document.
Both promised not to change the OCP without consulting the community, noting that it was not a decision that an individual director would make on their own.
However, Mawhinney said the community may want to review the plan and include alternative and affordable housing options, such as tiny houses or mobile homes, which are not currently included in the document.
The community needs to reassess what hasn’t been accomplished in the plan over the past 15 years, particularly in areas set for densification, like Quathiaski Cove, Doll said.
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“It’s more about the question: ‘Are we achieving the goals that it was set out to do?’” he said. “And if not, are there any changes we need to make?”
Mawhinney said he will advocate for sewer improvements and a water system in the cove as a way to deal with densification hurdles posed by Island Health concerns about water capacity.
Candidates were asked if they would support an ordinance limiting short-term rentals, like Airbnb, within a property’s primary residence so that secondary residences are freed up for long-term rentals for young families.
Housing and health care crises, along with an aging population, were the issues that dominated the Quadra Island all-candidate meeting on Tuesday. #BCpoli #MunicipalElections2022
Both candidates deferred the compromise, citing the need for a community consultation, but the agreed vacation rentals were affecting the rental market on the island and needed to be examined.
A recent housing report showed that the number of vacation rentals in Quadra had tripled since 2016, Mawhinney said. But he also pointed out that many residents rely on vacation rentals for income or to help pay high mortgages.
“We need to find a solution that fits our community,” he said, but pointed to other tourism-based coastal communities such as uclulet Y Sechelt have recently passed statutes that place restrictions on short-term vacation properties.
Doll agreed, noting that the lack of affordable rental or housing is also having a knock-on effect that is “hollowing out” the community and leaving local businesses without a workforce. The island’s older residents also can’t find people to hire to work or provide support that allows them to age in place, she said.
In response to questions about health care and community services for seniors, Doll said it was critical to devise solutions to the shortage of doctors and ambulances, given that seniors are outnumbering every other demographic on the island.
In BC, 20 percent of the population is older than 65 years. But 37 percent of Area C residents, who mostly live in Quadra, are over the age of 65, and another 17 percent are between the ages of 55 and 64. based on 2021 census data. And the median age of Area C residents is 58.4 years, compared to the provincial median age of 43
The best approach to solving the doctor shortage will involve addressing it as a community rather than relying on the province or health authority for results, Doll said.
Following the example of Port McNeill, which is joining with other rural communities to have a greater voice in the province about the shortage of medical personnel in small communities, is also a possible solution, Mawhinney said.
Both candidates said they would collaborate with the community to respond to housing and health care crises, diversify the economy, attract young families to the island and shape transportation or road safety plans.
But the framework for community input differed between the two candidates.
Mawhinney said he would create a volunteer community advisory council with representatives from all communities, sectors and community groups in Area C to gain input on important issues to better advocate on behalf of the island.
However, Doll proposed the creation of a permanent Quadra Island community association with a board of elected volunteers, existing independently of the regional director, to define community priorities and devise solutions to problems such as the housing crisis.
As a director, he could bring information and his views to the table, but the community association would set its own agenda and create a vision for the community, Doll said, noting that a single director is not capable of doing that.
“It’s not about me as a director seeking input, it’s about the community independently developing its own voice.”
Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canadian National Observer