A vibrant downtown, new environmental initiatives, transit and a connected community are centerpieces of a new vision for Okotoks’ future.
Town council approved the new community sustainability plan on April 11 after months of gathering feedback from residents. The community sustainability plan, created by consulting firm Intelligent Futures, is a long-range planning document to guide the development of Okotoks over the next 30 years.
“This is the framework for moving forward,” said Intelligent Futures president John Lewis. “The Town can get moving with some of the important actions right away but also be smart with its actions.”
The plan outlines key goals identified by Town staff and the public, which were narrowed down to six critical steps – animate the downtown area, a transit pilot project, the municipal development plan, expanding environmental initiatives, supporting community connections, and expanding water and wastewater systems.
“Within each step now is identified direction and actions,” he said. “We tried to figure out what the key details and actions for each of the six critical steps would be.”
For example, the plan outlines various steps to create a more vibrant downtown atmosphere, such as opening a night market or farmers market, improving building façades, more moveable furniture, and a downtown redevelopment plan. It also identified future actions that may be based on animating downtown, like implementing an economic development strategic plan.
“The overall goal is to make downtown Okotoks a vibrant gathering space, that’s what we heard from the public through our surveys and at the open house, that they want more downtown, so it became a critical step with specific actions,” said Lewis.
The sustainability plan is meant to guide the town and council as they make strategic planning decisions in the future, he said, and his team worked with the Town to ensure the goals were attainable.
Portions of the plan can be implemented immediately, he said, but in order to measure progress and results effectively the plan is set up in three-year segments. Every three years, administration will check in and measure progress, he said.
He said the major benefit to having the sustainability plan in place is to have an umbrella document for all of administration, to guide future development.
By extending the plan to all departments, he said, the Town will have a more cohesive direction and planning will be done more collaborative between various Town departments.
“It’s really a matter of putting top priorities on the most impactful things you can do to keep improving the quality of life for people in Okotoks,” said Lewis.
Coun. Tanya Thorn said she was impressed with the community sustainability plan when it came before council, particularly because it includes measurable results.
“I think if you’re going to put any kind of policy in place, you need to know the steps we’ve made, on the interior and the exterior, and how we’re moving forward,” said said.
Overall, Thorn said she thinks the plan will allow development to happen in a more effective way, with more cooperation and collaboration between Town departments as the future of Okotoks unfolds.
She said it’s not a typical planning document that is written and then shelved, but will be revisited regularly – at least every three years – to check progress.
“It’s a living document,” said Thorn. “It’s a vision of what we want as a community and what the future of Okotoks looks like in terms of measurable goals and sound decision-making.”
