Choosing a Building Site on your Lot

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Fact Sheet
Choosing a Building  
Site on your Lot
Islands Trust
Where you build on your property will have an impact on your energy use, water retention 
and flow, and on the plants and animals that make up your environment. While it is up to 
you, the property owner, to decide where you choose to site buildings, within the constraints 
of the Official Community Plan and Land Use Bylaws, you will find it useful to consider the 
environmental impacts of development on a site for both aesthetic and practical reasons.
Consider your land
Plan ahead: walk the land with your contractor and a local biologist to find environmental 
benefits and cost savings. Clustering buildings and planning short driveways helps the 
environment and saves money.
Identify environmental and archaeological values, including habitat for threatened or  ƒ
endangered species and First Nations sites, before planning access, site clearing and design. 
Locate development — your driveway, septic system, house and outbuildings — away from  ƒ
areas with high environmental values like shorelines, streams, rare plants, and wildlife trees. 
Place natural buffers between the development and sensitive features. 
If possible, cluster development in one area of the property to minimize site disturbance. ƒ
Consider granting a covenant on your property if there are ecologically valuable areas that  ƒ
you want to protect in perpetuity. Conservation covenants are registered on title and protect 
the special aspects of the land that you wish to preserve. They can also give you significant 
tax benefits. 
Think about your trees
Very few old growth cedar or fir remain on the islands. The islands’ few Garry Oak trees have both 
heritage and ecological value. Standing dead trees provide important wildlife habitat; leave 
them standing unless they pose a hazard. Removing trees can result in increased runoff and 
stormwater damage to properties below. You can create views by limbing taller trees rather than 
removing them. If you feel trees must be removed to open up a view, cut trees selectively to 
create a viewscape framed by trees. 
Minimize tree cutting and soil disturbance. Our islands’ trees and soils have ecological value  ƒ
and are important to birds and wildlife.
Are there any eagle, heron or other raptor nests on your property? These nest trees are  ƒ
protected by B. C. government legislation. Section 34 of the BC Wildlife Act prohibits 
interference with nesting trees of raptors (including bald eagles, ospreys and peregrine 
falcons) whether or not the nests are active.
Safe water is essential 
Good water management means capturing winter rains to recharge groundwater supplies, lakes 
and ponds. Forested slopes, fractured bedrock, and deep organic soils hold moisture. Bare rock 

Islands Trust
Victoria Office
200–1627 Fort Street 
Victoria BC V8R 1H8
Telephone 250.405.5151
Salt Spring Office
1–500 Lower Ganges Road
Salt Spring Island BC V8K 2N8
Telephone 250.537.9144
Northern Office
700 N

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