It can’t come soon enough for the sake of taxpayers.
Okotoks council recently approved the North Point Area Structure Plan, which paves the way for a large-scale business park to take shape on about 660 acres west of Highway 2 on either side of 338 Avenue.
Although build-out is expected to take approximately 20 years, which means the full benefits of the project are still some time in the future, it’s heartening that this form of development is coming to town.
Industry is much sought after because it pays a higher rate of property taxes but consumes fewer municipal services, a proverbial cash cow that helps reduce the tax burden on the residential sector.
Industrial development is coveted by local governments because trying to finance civic services largely through residential taxation can prove to be tough sledding. Homeowners tend to get noisy if their bills rise too sharply, which can create problems trying to finance necessary programs and services.
It becomes even more problematic with the construction of big ticket items, places like ice rinks, swimming pools and libraries, if homeowners are the ones having to pick up the lion’s share of the bill.
According to figures from the provincial government, the residential share of property assessments in Okotoks in 2023 was 86.3 per cent, which means on a list of 256 municipalities in Alberta, Okotoks ranked 193rd. To be fair, the top part of that list is dominated by sparsely populated places, but there are many towns and cities where homeowners only shoulder 70 to 75 per cent of the tax burden.
One business park, even a decent-sized one, will only do so much to change that balance around here, but for a community that’s desperately in need of a more diversified tax base, it’s a good place to start.
