Please spend a few minutes to vote on the Survey:

Paper copies of the Survey are available in all the post offices.

Online Survey:
https://srd.ca/cortes-zoning-bylaw-review/

Hello,

I made a Facebook post about registering short term rentals and it brought up a lot for some folks. Thank you to everyone that responded. Housing is a really sensitive issue because it affects us all and is also a basic human need. I appreciate all of the comments and want to provide a little more info to address some of the issues raised.

The post was about the requirement for all Short Term Rental (STR) operators in the province to register, as mandated by the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act (STRAA). All STR operators in BC have to register, no matter where they live - it’s a province wide initiative. The intention of my post was to let people know about the deadlines so operators could save money on registration fees.

Registration details are here:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/registry

The Province states three purposes of the STRAA: Help more people find a place to live; Give local governments stronger tools to enforce short-term rental bylaws; Establish a new provincial role in the regulation of short-term rentals.

I recommend STR operators check out this info page and there is an the option at the bottom of the page for subscribing to updates:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/short-term-rental-legislation


PRIMARY RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS

In December of 2023, I worked with the Cortes Housing Society to distribute a survey to capture the housing challenges that people face and the communities wishes for how to address it. 265 people (almost 25% of the population) filled out the survey.

For any survey nerds out there, here’s what percentage of respondent you need in a survey to make it relevant:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/how-many-people-do-i-need-to-take-my-survey/

Here are the results of the Cortes Housing Survey:
https://cortescommunityhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cortes-Housing-Forum_SurveyResults-Dec-10-2023.pdf

It’s important to note that 66% of the respondents to the survey were home owners and 33% were renters, which follows a similar breakdown of owner/renter populations according to the last Cortes federal census:

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Strathcona%20B&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&DGUIDlist=2021A00055924052&HEADERlist=0

One of the questions we asked in the survey was, whether people support opting into the primary residence requirement for short term rentals.

63% of respondents voted in favor of opting into the legislation and 21% of people voted against it. So, similar to Tofino and Quadra Island, I opted Cortes into the primary residence requirement for STRs.

So now on Cortes you can only publicly advertise and run a short term rental if it is your primary residence. This closes the door to people buying land on Cortes, not living here, and turning it into an airbnb business - inflating property prices and further deteriorating our rental housing stock.

There are a couple of ways to work around the primary residence requirement:

1) Have a long term renter on the property act as the host for the short term rental. This doesn’t work for everyone, but if you don’t have a dwelling unit for a long term renter, consider renting a spot for someone to have a tiny home and be your STR host.

2) Don’t publicly advertise and rent your short term rental to friends, family, and your personal contact list.

I recently found out that the Cortes Housing Society is receiving approximately $50,000 per year through the 3% short term rental tax that tourists pay when they book accommodation. This means that short term rentals generate approximately $1.66 million in revenue on Cortes Island each year.

Short term rentals are an important part of our economy, and will continue to be so despite the primary residence requirement to operate them.

The primary residence requirement impacts a small amount of short term rentals on the island and provides a small customer boost for Cortes Islanders who operate a short term rental on the property that is their primary residence.


CORTES ZONING BYLAW REVIEW

All BC communities have zoning bylaws that essentially outline what you’re allowed to do on your property. Typical zones include residential, commercial, agriculture, and forestry.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/planning-land-use/land-use-regulation/zoning-bylaws

Our current zoning bylaw was developed in 2002 and has had a patchwork of amendments since then. Check in out here:
https://srd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AREA-B-ZONING-existing-bylaw_Jan-21-2025.pdf

SRD staff have spent the past year receiving direct feedback via email and running two online and two in person public meetings to gather our ideas on how our zoning bylaw could be updated.

Last month SRD staff released a draft of this update which can be viewed here:
https://srd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bylaw-No.598_Shedule-A.pdf

The new draft allows property owners to do more on their property and includes being able to densify by adding a third dwelling if the property is larger than 1 hectare and allowing secondary units to be 1200 sq ft instead of 600 sq ft.

Because Cortes does not have a Building Service (nor do we want one), we do not have inspectors or need permits or engineering signoff when we build homes or buildings. This is why our bylaws are only enforced when there are complaints.

There is still time for input and I am committed to moving forward with a new zoning bylaw that meets the needs and will of our community.

Once the final draft of our zoning bylaw update is complete it will come back to the community for an in person public hearing. In the mean time, please send your feedback to planningsrd.ca and CC me mvoneschsrd.ca so I’m also aware of your ideas.


MAXIMUM HOUSE SIZE?

There is currently a survey to consult the community around whether we want to include a maximum house size as part of our zoning bylaw. This consideration came from community groups and individuals who wanted to explore the idea and I am not attached to the results. I have received a lot of feedback on both sides of the issue so far and look forward to the final outcome.

To be clear, if a maximum house size was included in our zoning bylaw, any houses already built, that are larger than the regulation, will be grandfathered in. These legal non-conforming houses would still be able to get insurance and mortgages when they are resold.

This is NOT something being forced on us. Contrary to some of the commentary in my previous post, no decision has been made. I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear earlier. I asked staff to release the survey to better understand the wants of the community so I can make sure our new zoning bylaw is reflective of our wishes.

This is a philosophical question about the future of Cortes Island with good arguments on both sides of the issue.

I have put paper copies of the survey in all the post offices for folks who are not online and have asked SRD staff for a one week extension to the deadline. I hope they respond positively.

Please spend a few minutes to vote:
https://srd.ca/cortes-zoning-bylaw-review/

I hope this information helps. Please be kind to each other in this community discussion!