Given the significant housing needs facing our community, we are cognizant that the Cortes Housing Society must take a multi-pronged approach to generate new housing options for residents and seasonal workers who need housing.

At our Housing Forum last December, we heard from the community that we should pursue many different approaches. Towards that end we are looking at;

- different financing avenues to build on Rainbow Ridge while we continue to secure some funding from BC Housing;
-utilizing Rainbow Ridge land to offer affordable home ownership models;
- changing zoning on Cortes to allow for the possibility of more or bigger secondary dwellings on existing acreage;
- pair prospective tenants with home owners who have extra space and may need a supportive home hand.

And

-we have initiated a Cortes Community Land Trust.

The idea behind the newly formed Cortes Community Land Trust is that instead of only building new structures, which given the high price of new construction is not always cost effective, we also seek-out suitable existing homes to buy, which will be rented to fulfill community housing needs.

We are thrilled to tell you that the first such purchase by the Cortes Housing Society is now confirmed. Thanks to a generous donor, the CHS is purchasing 671 Sutil Point Road. This amazing property has two houses (one 2 bedroom home and one 4 bedroom home) that are ready to be rented out to fulfill housing needs of our island. CHS takes possession in early June.

By purchasing existing homes, we avoid the high costs of developing raw land, and we ensure that existing housing on Cortes is used for year-round housing rather than purchased by off-islanders for part-time/summer use.

There’s also a large shop on the property (that could be a makerspace, community shop, or some other community facility) and there’s open space that could be used for agriculture. We we aim to utilize the shop and the agricultural space for community purposes once we’ve had a chance to hear from the community about your aspirations and ideas for how these assets can be used. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be posting rental opportunities to our housing waitlist.

This model is one used successfully in other places, which we’ll be hearing more about on our Community Land Trust learning forum on May 18th (10AM – 12 AM). Here’s the zoom link you can use to join the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82984032662?pwd=WTQ0UWJKYnNxV2ErVURNdjErU21YZz09). This forum is a great opportunity to learn about this model in other places, as well as to discuss how we can best utilize this model on Cortes.

The Cortes Housing Society will continue to work at every viable angle and option to secure the housing needed to keep our community strong and diverse.

Thank you for your ongoing support and please reach out if you are able and willing to donate either time, ideas, or money to continue to make this work happen.