mainly to the northeast and south of
existing town boundaries, which could
accommodate a doubling in size from
current numbers.
“In the next five years, the annexation will
be complete and that will put us into a
whole new ballgame in terms of growth,”
said Marley Oness, the town’s municipal
engineer. “I do believe we will be hitting
past growth rates. Back in 2006 and 2007,
we were doing 1,000 housing starts a year in
that period, which is phenomenal growth
for amunicipality our size. I do expect, once
the annexation is complete, there will be
multiple cells of new development opening
up.”
The townhas beennegotiatingwith the city
of Calgary to bring in a treated water supply
line – specifically, a 450-millimeter main
stretching over 16 kilometers – to helpmeet
long-term water needs while simul-
taneously facilitating the growth. Oness
said the plan is for Okotoks to keep its
existing water treatment plant operational,
and use the water line from Calgary to
supplement that existing supply.
An updated “visioning process,” in which
the town will reach out to community
members to revise its strategic vision for the
future, is set to begin this year as well.When
completed, according to Sustainability
Coordinator Dawn Smith, it will yield an
integrated sustainability plan that will be an
umbrella plan for future directives dealing
with environmental, social and fiscal
responsibility.
“There’s lot of work to do. It’s going to be a
very busy time,” she said. “But we’re looking
forward to it.”
Among the crown jewels of Smith’s
sustainability cause is the Drake Landing
Solar Community, a master-planned
Okotoks neighbourhood that’s heated by a
district system designed to store solar
energ y underground during summer
months and distribute it to 52 homes for
space heating in thewinter.
The $7 million project was conceived by
Natural Resources Canada, and accom-
plished through partnerships with com-
panies sought out because of long-standing
reputations as innovative and environ-
Town of Okotoks
| BusinessWorld-
Magazine
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