People living in the Okotoks and the surrounding area will get to have a say on three different scenarios how future growth in the area could proceed, however, they will look a little familiar to Okotoks residents though.
The Town and MD are using a unique computer model of the region to look at three different growth scenarios for Okotoks and the surrounding area in the MD with populations of 30,000 people, 45,000 people and 60,000. The same three population levels were included in a survey of residents conducted by the Town last year as part of a Town council decision to retain the population cap.
Two workshops will be held, one on June 15 and 17, using the MetroQuest program to gather input on the three scenarios.
MD Coun. Ted Mills said it’s important for the MD to understand what kind of growth pressures it could have to deal with in the future and the meetings will help.
“The idea being is to set up hypothetical situations… so we can look at different scenarios to say ‘If it’s at this population, what all do we need,’” he said.
Okotoks residents have already sounded off on the three growth scenarios.
The Town’s tri-annual survey completed last summer showed 55.9 per cent of respondents favour maintaining the 30,000 population cap, 25.2 per cent preferred growing to around 45,000 people and 15.9 per cent supported growing to 60,000 people.
Town council ultimately decided to retain the population cap, but its decision included working with the MD to develop a strategy to manage growth in the area.
Mills said the MD’s population will increase in the future and it has to be prepared.
He said future development around Okotoks is not likely to be high density. At current growth rates, the Joint Planning Agreement (JPA) between the two municipalities envisions a population of about 7,600 in the area around Okotoks by 2060.
“I think we’d be naïve to say it isn’t 50 years in the future going to increase,” he said. “We’re going to get swacked with growth, but the majority of it will probably occur in conjunction to Calgary.”
He said the question of growth and development is tied to water supply.
“If there was at some point in the future a [water] pipeline from Calgary, that would make a big difference as to how things develop,” he said. “If we have to depend on groundwater, then you couldn’t have any high densities.”
Okotoks municipal manager Rick Quail said the initiative isn’t about revisiting the Town’s long-term growth plans.
“It doesn’t mean that in any way Okotoks is moving away from its finite growth model or its 30,000, plus or minus some, population projection for build out,” he said.
He said the JPA does not presume Okotoks will grow beyond a population of 30,000, but it does expect growth in the areas around the Town.
Okotoks municipal planner Steve Hanhart said they need to have more than one scenario for the workshops for the Metroquest program to be effective.
The program uses maps of Okotoks and the surrounding area to show what different development scenarios would look like and potential impacts, such as on transportation and servicing.
“Depending on where a development may go it could trigger the need for upgraded roads and it could show that kind of thing, or new road connections necessary to service it,” said
He said they would like to see at least 30 people at each public session, the meetings will go ahead regardless of turnout. Participants in the meetings will be able to vote on various scenarios and this information is then used in creating development models.
The MD and the Town of High River each split the cost for the MetroQuest initiative. The Town’s share came to $85,000, which was covered by a provincial grant.
Each municipality will be able to use computer models of the area to envision potential growth scenarios and plan for future development.
One Okotoks town councillor doesn’t believe people will endorse large-scale growth in the area.
“People embrace Sustainable Okotoks,” said coun. Stephen Clarke.
He said the initiative ignores water concerns and is based on developing transit-orietned communities
“It’s an effort to make a 75,000 population city palatable and I don’t believe people endorse it,” he said.
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