North Pender Island Housing Access and Affordability Project Mailer

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North Pender 
Island  
Housing Access  
and Affordability 
Project
Islands Trust acknowledges that the islands and  
waters that encompass the Salish Sea have been 
home to Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial. 
North Pender Island 
Housing Access and 
Affordability Project
Housing availability and affordability have been 
ongoing challenges on North Pender Island for 
more than a decade. The North Pender Island Local 
Trust Committee (LTC) has taken steps such as per-
mitting secondary suites and regulating short-term 
vacation rentals. While these efforts have resulted 
in some increased land use policy and regulatory 
support for a mix of housing options, housing issues 
are a growing concern on the island, as they are in 
many other communities.
To respond to these challenges, the LTC launched 
the Housing Access and Affordability Project in 
summer 2024. 
This project is focused on:
• Reviewing existing housing options
• Considering housing-related bylaw 
amendments
• Developing a community-driven Housing Action 
Plan
Work so far has included community consulta-
tion and input from a special Advisory Planning 
Commission (APC) on Housing.
Housing Action Plan Goals, 
Objectives and Actions
The Housing Action Plan is informed by the work 
of the Special Advisory Planning Commission on 
Housing, which has done an extensive review of 
available information resulting in two recommen-
dation reports, and through community consulta-
tion as part of the Housing project, including three 
Community Information Meetings, several meetings 
with local community groups, and the completion 
of a Pender Islands Housing Needs Survey that 
received 478 responses. 
In the Housing Action Plan, there are 22 Actions 
associated with the five goals and objectives to 
guide plan implementation.
Find the Housing Action Plan here: 
https://qrco.de/HousingActionPlan
Five goals of the  
Housing Action Plan
1. Updating and using available data 
Inform where additional density and intensity 
of land use will likely have the least negative 
impact on the land base and where develop-
ment opportunity may exist. Understanding 
existing conditions and potential impacts will 
help determine where rezoning for more intense 
use may be supportable.
2. Diversifying housing options through zoning 
Provide a broader diversity of housing options 
on North Pender Island through amendments 
to land use zoning and associated OCP policies
3. Increasing opportunities for non-profit housing 
Increase opportunities for land to be made 
available for affordable housing by a not-for-
profit organization, and to generate greater 
community interest and capacity to support 
this development
4. Increasing community education and outreach 
Increase community education and outreach in 
respect of housing initiatives, improve the infor-
mation available to the public, and make it more 
accessible to a broader audience
5. Incorporating First Nations interests in land use 
decision making 
Fost

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