The housing crisis is an issue throughout our country, but perhaps nowhere more so than here.

The blessing of having the highest property values in the nation can become the curse of the average worker or young person. Many who grew up here cannot stay, unable to afford a simple place to live. High housing costs affect the average worker and citizen helping to run our business community. We need affordable housing.

Many details come into play: inflation, property values, county, state, and federal regulations too many to detail. This is the playing field we are left with after years of building regulations created for a simpler, more affordable time in the past.

I have a solution for some that is already being done in areas with more tolerant codes and attitudes.

It is time to legalize and form small-plot, small-home communities. With land at a premium, and building products so expensive, it is time to create much more with much less. As my mother used to say “waste not, want not.”

We as a community should band together and fix our local problem, and be an example to others of successful small community development. There are many sources to draw from. We can be the action that is needed to get this going.

I personally know people willing to make this happen as soon as regulations and codes can be changed into a more reasonable working platform.

Barry Cave

San Juan Island