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Page 2 of 8 In recent years, development has become a trigger for concern. The 8.5-kilometre-long strip of sand and trees is split into some 1,700 lots, of which roughly 500 are built on. The lot layout dates back to 1910, when developers divided close to two-thirds of the island into about 1,400 50-foot-wide parcels.
"Savary has the highest density in the Strait of Georgia," said Liz Webster, executive director for Savary Island Land Trust, or SILT. "We have to make people aware of the treacherous situation this is." SILT formed in 1997 to fight a proposal to develop 350 acres of mid-island property - roughly a third of Savary. The site - often called the Trillium property, after one of the co-owner's business - was the island's last major unsubdivided parcel and home to a rare forested dune ecosystem. Aside from that, many islanders believe it recharges the large aquifer that runs the length of the island and feeds the wells.
The group's lobbying worked. In 2002, the Nature Trust of B.C. acquired a half-interest in the property plus some other key sites with the help of government grants. In essence, the area became a park, as each co-owner needs the other's consent to develop. (The other owner reportedly received a similar buyout offer but declined.) SILT's work is not done, however. Members like board chair Keith MacDougall, whose family has summered on Savary since 1961, set aside time from beach-going and leisure activities to educate fellow cottage owners about the need to amalgamate small lots, preserve more of the island, protect the natural resources and prevent further erosion of the sand cliffs.
"There are only two things that have been consistent in our life, that is Savary and my parents' farm in Ontario," said MacDougall, who has spent all but two birthdays on the island. "It's the closest thing to our hearts. The overdevelopment of the island is killing us. We don't know what the limits are, but at the rate we're going, we're going to find out."
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