The Town of Okotoks recently released their new Growth Strategy.
According to the Senior Manager for Planning and Identity for the Town of Okotoks, Robyn Marsden, this Strategy will help guide how the Town grows.
"The Town's growth Strategy is really a practical tool, and it's meant to help guide how, where, and when we grow, with a focus on really ensuring that our growth is identity-driven," explained Marsden. "And what that means is that we're really about growing in a way that truly reflects the needs and the values of our community."
Because of that, Marsden says it will help strengthen the sense of belonging in the community, as well as enhance the quality of life, protect the natural beauty of the town, and keep the Town's unique identity, all while planning for new homes, businesses, and opportunities.
This Growth Strategy will provide a framework that will help the Town to adapt to a changing world and continue to thrive, and Marsden says it is a living document that will evolve as the community evolves.
Marsden says that when they were creating this document, the Town started by looking at key numbers, such as how many people and jobs the Town expects to see in the future, which will help them plan for what the community will need, such as housing and jobs.
"Then we also looked at our core growth principles. So, back to that identity-driven growth piece, it was really broken down into five key principles that guided how we want to grow and how we're going to make decisions about growth, and that was really about balancing different aspects of our growth," Marsden says.
Some of those principles are Social Connection, Environmental Stewardship, Financial Sustainability, and Economic Vibrancy.
Once they had their growth principles, they applied them to how they approach various considerations, such as land use, protecting the environment, how and when the Town grows, and financial responsibility.
"Then we took all of this, and we modelled and tested it so that we had different growth options, and we could see what the impacts could be depending on different growth rates, and this really helped council make informed growth decisions."
The final step in their process, which will happen in the future, is to evaluate what the growth outcomes are.
Once Town Council is presented with that information, they make decisions about growth, which are then implemented.
"Then we actually need to see, does the outcome really tie back to that initial purpose, which is the identity and the value? And so, this allows us to really keep that Strategy aligned with the community's needs."
Part of this Growth Strategy, they factored in Environmental Protection, which is considered an identified natural asset and things that are known to provide vital benefits to the community, as well as factoring things like increasing non-residential development, which Marsden says will help strengthen the economy and tax basis.
"And this also helps to ensure that the infrastructure investments are both economical and efficient."
When developing this Growth Strategy, they looked at the fiscal responsibility and how the rate of growth can impact things like debt levels, anticipated operational costs, and projected tax rates.
They also looked at community feedback while developing this Growth Strategy.
"We appreciate that growth is a sensitive topic, and so it was really important that in all of this, acknowledging that growth is something that will happen, what we're really focused on is how we grow and how we make sure that that growth really incorporates our local values, strengthening our social connection, and then that overall quality of life for both our current, but also our future generations."
Marsden says this Growth Strategy in not based on a time frame, but more about following the framework the Strategy lays out.
So, if the Town feels the five principles laid out in the Growth Strategy are still aligned with the Town, its values, and identity, then it doesn't need to change.
"We just continue to follow those and make decisions based on that."
Marsden adds that the model and framework they used for the Strategy allows them to bring in new information and remodel what the potential growth impacts could be if the Town grows at a different rate or if they have different anticipated capital investments.
"There was so much care that went into this in terms of care for our community and what matters to our community," Marsden says.
To read more about the Growth Strategy, or read the Strategy itself, check out the Town of Okotoks website.