Should Hornby Island have more accountable local government?

Private project. The petition is open. This domain preserves public information and invites anyone who thinks Hornby Island should govern itself to add their name. It does not claim to speak for Hornby Island.

Sign the petition on this page. Residents decide whether and when to sign.

Options local people may examine

• Municipal incorporation or regional-district transfer.
• A stronger elected local body or service-area reform.
• A modified Islands Trust structure.
• Maintaining the status quo.

The island, on the record

1,185 parcels across 3,305 hectares, mapped and inspectable. 297 Islands Trust meetings archived since 2011.

Parcel counts and hectares cover the whole Hornby Island Local Trust Area as ParcelMap BC maps it, which includes foreshore and marine parcels as well as land. Treat the hectare figure as mapped parcel area, not the island's land area.

Statistics Canada counted 1,225 residents on Hornby Island in the 2021 census, up from 1,016 in 2016 — a change of +20.6% in five years. There are 1,117 private dwellings, 654 of them lived in by usual residents — 41.5% are not somebody's home. The median age is 62.8, and about 1,104 residents are adults (18 or over) — an estimate, because Statistics Canada publishes no 18+ boundary at this geography. Figures are for the Hornby Island Trust Area designated place. Source: Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0012-01 — Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places (2021 Census).

Reached via two ferries beyond Denman, Hornby is an arts-and-tourism island under its own Local Trust Committee.

Latest research and writing

Newest first; every claim footnoted to its source.

• Five Years, $16,700, and an Unfinished Plan Published August 16, 2026
  Hornby Island's Local Trust Committee chartered a comprehensive OCP/LUB review to fix housing and short-term-rental rules, set a $16,700 two-year budget and a spring 2024 adoption target — then documented, in its own staff reports, a failed first engagement, a nearly exhausted budget, and a project still unfinished in 2026. Meanwhile, a rezoning file sat deferred for roughly three years awaiting the same unresolved planning question, and the affordable housing that did arrive on Hornby was financed and delivered by agencies outside the Trust.

Water: the groundwater under Hornby Island

Island homes drink groundwater. The Province of British Columbia maps 4 aquifers under Hornby Island; the main one sits beneath 732 of the island's lots, and 747 wells are registered on these aquifers. Classifications below are the Province's own, shown verbatim. Full water report for Hornby Island →

• Aquifer 438 — Mt. Geoffrey, Hornby Island: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 18.8 km², mapped 2020. Vulnerability Moderate; productivity Moderate; demand High; 499 wells on record; 7 water licences. Provincial factsheet
• Aquifer 435 — Whaling Station Bay, Hornby Island: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 3.8 km², mapped 2020. Vulnerability Moderate; productivity Low; demand High; 137 wells on record; 0 water licences. Provincial factsheet
• Aquifer 436 — Shingle Spit-Phipps Point, Hornby Island: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 5.2 km², mapped 2020. Vulnerability Moderate; productivity Low; demand High; 89 wells on record; 2 water licences. Provincial factsheet
• Aquifer 437 — Ford Cove-Norman Point, Hornby Island: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 2.2 km², mapped 2020. Vulnerability Moderate; productivity Moderate; demand Moderate; 22 wells on record; 1 water licence. Provincial factsheet

A High vulnerability rating means relatively little natural protection between the surface and the water people draw from; it describes susceptibility, not current contamination. Source: Ground Water Aquifers — BC Data Catalogue (Open Government Licence — BC) and the Province's GWELLS registry.

Ferry tracker

Gravelly Bay via Denman (Route 22) — live sailings and vessel positions sit at the top of this page. Official schedules: www.bcferries.com/routes-fares/schedules.

Ownership and relationship

Private, personal project. Hornby Town was built privately and is maintained privately by Tony Aly, a vibe coder on Denman Island. It is not an official government, Islands Trust, regional-district, community-association, or locally endorsed website.

The related Abolish Islands Trust project advocates long-term provincial statutory change. A future locally led island project may choose a different position.

A domain is not a local chapter.