Imagine

A common visitor at Everwoods

Bluff Site Construction

There is a home being built on the bluff with a beautiful view of the Coast Range.

About Everwoods

Everwoods is pioneering a new approach to living in harmony with the forest. Its founders were appalled at the devastation caused by the forest industry’s standard approach of clear-cutting and have created a model that offers a different option to forested communities in BC. You can be a member of a community that is committed to saving and sharing in wildlife habitat, protecting soils and waterways, and creating potential for livelihood in the larger community.

In Everwoods, all homeowners have exclusive use of a particular home site but share responsibility for and access to the whole property. You would become 1 of 15 shareholders in a registered company, Eco Initiatives Inc., that owns the land in common and is committed to ensuring that the 150 acre forest will remain standing in perpetuity.

The entire property is protected by a covenant held by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia. The timber rights are held by a charitable foundation set up by the founders of Everwoods, The Trust for Sustainable Forestry, to ensure that any timber harvested is much less than the amount of annual growth in the forest, leaving the forest to thrive and grow over the years.

The charter of Eco Initiatives Inc., stipulates a maximum of 15 shareholders with a single vote each in managing the community’s affairs. The Shareholders’ Agreement elaborates on these arrangements.

• the shareholders’ agree to uphold the covenant protecting the land, to respect the interests of other shareholders, and to share in common costs (e.g. for taxes on the land, and annual maintenance of roads and similar facilities).
• any expenses, including house taxes, attributable to any one shareholding/site are the exclusive responsibility of that shareholder.
• shareholders are free to sell their shares, including the exclusive right to a home site and any residence already built.
• other shareholders have a right of first refusal to buy back the share, but it must be exercised or waived within 31 days.
• shareholders will act collectively, in the best interests of the community.
• where no consensus can be reached, a 75% majority vote is sufficient.

Everwoods’ is zoned under the new Community Land Stewardship. The Zone allows for occasional and selective harvesting of fallen and standing timber, a limited number of home sites and less demanding infrastructure standards, such as road widths, than are normally required. Thus, ensuring that you will live gently on the land, in a forest that will remain alive and intact forever.

The results are now ready to see – a few of the 15 home sites are still available.

Everwoods Map (Airphoto) and Desolation Sound

Everwoods is located on the South East side of Cortes Island. The eastern view of the BC Coast Mountain Range is phenomenal. The region lends itself to a lifetime of exploring.

Homesites

There are only 15 carefully selected home sites, some at the water’s edge, some on high bluffs and some in a cluster inland. All are fully serviced with buried electricity, phone, water, and environmentally friendly waste facilities.