Some Gulf Island residents are collecting signatures to petition for a provincial review of the Islands Trust Act, saying the legislation is outdated and follows a "rigid pro-environmental policy."
Larry Pierce, an organic farmer who lives on Hornby Island, spearheaded the petition about a week ago. he said land-use decisions made on Gulf Islands, including a debate over scrapping short-term rentals on Hornby Island, have irked him in the past, but it wasn't until Salt Spring Coffee Company decided to leave its island location for Vancouver that he decided to take action.
The company's decision to move followed an unsuccessful bid to win rezoning approval from the Islands Trust on 2.6 acres it bought to establish new headquarters and a roasting plant.
"The big complaint is that they (the Islands Trust) are forever trying to ruin economic opportunities," he said.
Pierce stressed he believes the Gulf Islands ecology needs to be protected, but recent Islands Trust decisions have been too extreme.
Gabriola Island resident Jeremy Baker also backs the petition. he disagrees with which elected officials get to make local decisions. Trust committees for each island are made up of two locally elected trustees and a third trustee elected from an outside island.
"We need a review of the Islands Trust Act to give more autonomy and responsibility to each island and so each island has more responsibility to carry out its own affairs," he said.
Sheila Malcolmson, Gabriola Island resident and chairwoman of the Islands Trust, said that the act has been reviewed and significantly changed several times since it was put in place in 1974.
She said having a trustee from outside the island offers a unique viewpoint that is more representative of all British Columbians.
Malcolmson said conservation and development are issues that every trustee has to balance.
"I can't personally think of a decision a locally elected trustee has wanted to make that has been limited or hindered by either the Islands Trust Act or the Islands Trust policy statement," she said.
The petition is available at ipetitions.com and a street campaign is also being planned, said Pierce.
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