How the Trust is governed

The Islands Trust has three distinct parts: Trust Council, the Islands Trust Conservancy, and the Local Trust Committees.

Trust Council

The Islands Trust is a federated structure with 13 Local Trust Areas, each consisting of one major island and its adjacent islets.  Trust Council is the coordinating body, comprised of two elected Local Trustees from each of the 13 major islands. At Trust Council, trustees make decisions in the interests of the entire Trust Area. For example, the Trust Policy Statement is currently under review. The Trust Council elects a Chair and three of its members to the Trust Executive Committee.  Trust Council meets quarterly, the Trust Executive Committee more frequently. Meetings are open to the public.

Islands Trust Conservancy

Trust Council appoints three trustees to the Islands Trust Conservancy Board. The three other Conservancy Board members are provincial appointments. The Islands Trust Conservancy has been remarkably effective at protecting ecologically valuable land in the Trust Area.

Local Trust Committees

Land use decisions in each of the 13 Local Trust Areas are made by a Local Trust Committee (LTC) comprised of the two locally elected trustees and a Chair from the Trust Executive Committee.*  The Chair is there to represent a trust-wide perspective. Local Trust Committees are responsible for developing and following their local Official Community Plan (OCP) and associated land use bylaws. OCPs and bylaws are required to be consistent with the Trust Policy Statement.

* except on Bowen Island, where the municipal council is responsible.

Salt Spring Local Trust Committee (LTC)

The Salt Spring Local Trust Committee (LTC) is comprised of the two elected Local Trustees and a member of the Trust Council Executive Committee. It is responsible for Land Use Planning and our Official Community Plan (OCP). The Islands Trust local office is the go-to place for information about how individual land parcels may be developed. LTC policies and decisions on new development and protected areas have long-term consequences for the sustainability of our island home. The Salt Spring LTC meets for a full day each month, sometimes more frequently, to make decisions on numerous applications ranging from simple requests for variance to complex rezoning applications. These decisions must be consistent with the Salt Spring OCP and its bylaws, the Trust Policy Statement and the preserve and protect Object. LTC meetings are open to the public.

Salt Spring’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and Land Use Bylaw 355 (LUB)

Salt Spring’s OCP contains a community vision, land use goals, objectives and policies. It also provides objectives and guidelines for our Development Permit Areas — areas such as steep slopes and water bodies—where extra precautions must be taken. The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) contains the island’s zoning maps and the regulatory details describing what is permitted on each parcel of land.  An updated OCP was adopted in 2008 after a detailed two-year review process by community focus groups.  The LUB is even more venerable, being originally adopted in 1999. Like the OCP, it has been amended many times over the years. Consolidated versions of both documents are available on the Islands Trust website.

Islands Trust Governance Concerns

The unique amenities and environment of the Trust Area are intended to be protected through the Trust’s preserve and protect Object, the Trust Policy Statement, and the individual OCPs and LUBs that regulate land use on each island. Governance is called into question when Trustees cannot agree on these fundamental questions:

• how to interpret the preserve and protect Object
• the intent of proposed revisions to the Trust Policy Statement

Positively Forward is especially concerned about debate at Trust Council questioning the meaning of the preserve and protect Object. We assert that the meaning of the Trust Object is unequivocal — ‘environment’ refers to the natural environment, not built infrastructure, and ‘unique amenities’ are primarily the rare and endangered ecosystems and associated species that do not occur elsewhere in BC, and other unique features associated with land forms and historical uses. The concerns about over-development, fragile ecosystems, potable water, and archaeological sites that led to the creation of the Islands Trust in 1974 are far more urgent today, given the local impacts of the global climate crisis and biodiversity loss. It is thus more important than ever in our view for the Islands Trust to focus on science-based decision-making in the interests of protecting the natural environment and our rural communities.

In 2021, Trust Council commissioned an independent governance review and the consultant’s final report was released in February, 2022. The Islands Trust Governance Review provides a detailed assessment of the issues and lists best practices to address them. Positively Forward agrees with the report’s conclusion that many of the issues can and should be addressed within the Trust’s existing framework but that more substantive issues require action by the Province. Positively Forward also believes that Local Trust Committee decisions should be clearly supported by the island’s OCP, which in turn should be supported by the Trust Policy Statement.

Positively Forward supports, and will monitor, efforts by Trust Council to improve its governance. We will campaign for specific actions over the coming months, reaching out for public support. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and find out how you can get involved.

Here’s the calendar for all Islands Trust meetings, along with meeting access links.

The 2023 schedule for Salt Spring LTC meetings is reproduced here for convenience.