Okotoks’ mayor says growth is a necessity and that the Town is taking a careful approach to development.
The comments came during a broadcast about strategies for managing growth that aired on Mayor Tanya Thorn's Facebook page on June 18
“Our community has been talking about growth since the early ‘90s,” Thorn said during the Facebook Live broadcast. “It has always been a highly emotional conversation.”
Development is occurring in Okotoks and numerous open houses have recently been held about future growth plans in the area.
“I know it feels overwhelming and that things are changing fast,” she said.
However, the Town’s growth rate has slowed down considerably from what it was 10 or 15 years ago, she said.
Between 2006 and 2016, Okotoks’ growth rate was 42 per cent.
“We were the fastest-growing municipality in Canada,” she said.
From 2016 to 2024, the growth rate slowed to 8.7 per cent, and since 2021, it has been sitting at around three per cent.
“I know we feel like we're rapidly growing, but we are not," she said.
Okotoks find itself in the fastest-growing region of Alberta, and not taking advantage of some of that growth would have a negative impact on the community, she said.
Growing populations in surrounding areas would put added pressure on infrastructure, services and amenities in Okotoks, without additional property tax revenue to support it, she said.
“If we don’t grow, growth is going to come to us."
Additionally, growth is necessary to increase the housing supply in the community, she said
“We continue to see rising demand and housing prices," she said. “Demand to live in Okotoks is really high and we do not have the supply available to meet that demand.”
However, too much growth too soon can have a negative effect.
“Our job as council and as a community is to manage that growth, so our services and infrastructure can keep pace.”
Slow growth is necessary to manage the Town’s water supply, she said.
There is not a water shortage, but there is also not an unlimited supply, and approved phases of new development have the water they need, she said.
The Foothills-Okotoks water pipeline will bring an additional source of water to the Town and is expected to be completed in 2026.
"Until then, we are going to still be slow-growing. We should be expecting that we're going to still see assessments climbing. Housing prices are still climbing in our community because demand is still very much there," she said.
To help determine an appropriate growth rate, the Town is completing a study that will assess the impacts of low, medium and high growth scenarios.
“One thing I do want to assure you is that council and our administrative team are very focused on responsibly growing and managing that growth,” she said.
