It may have taken nine years to get approval, but developers never gave up hope Wind Walk would become a reality.
Town council approved the Wind Walk development’s area structure plan, south of Highway 7 at Secondary Highway 783 June 26. On July 19 council gave first reading and second reading to land use development for the first phase. It couldn’t proceed to third and final reading until the Province approves a water licence transfer from the developer to the Town.
Wind Walk was first proposed on 145 acres of land in what was then the MD of Foothills in spring 2008. The Mike Holmes-led development will ultimately include more than 1,000 homes, a school site and a commercial area.
Council’s approval came as a sigh of relief for developer Allan Mar.
“There is a great sense of anticipation of finally seeing Mike Holmes’ vision for Wind Walk move forward,” said Mar. “We are delighted obviously to get this far after so many years of deliberating and wishing and waiting.”
After almost a decade of what Mar calls “development hell,” Wind Walk will finally move ahead in phased development to coincide with water availability.
He said they were hoping would break ground by Aug. 1. Plans are now to begin construction by Nov. 15 for some 240 homes in phase one.
Mar said water was one of the major factors in delaying the project.
“Overarching everything though has been the possibility, or not, of getting the Calgary waterline,” said Mar.
A delay in provincial approval of the Town’s annexation plan was another factor. The Town of Okotoks and MD of Foothills had submitted their application for annexation with an effective date of Jan. 1, but orders did not come down until June 14 and became effective on July 1.
Developers also had to make changes to their original land use plan to fit within Okotoks’ planning framework as well, he said.
In the interim, it was necessary to wait until the Town could secure water licences to support growth as it waits to hear whether the Province will help pay for a pipeline from the Bow River, said Mar.
He said he hopes the annexation, approval of Wind Walk and having a number of other pending development projects on the horizon for Okotoks will prove to the provincial government there’s an immediate need for the waterline.
“I think the conditions will be right for the Province to see that the water challenges are real and that they ought to contribute to the capital cost of helping the Town build that waterline,” he said.
Despite two years working with the Town to resolve water issues and annexation, Mar said there was never doubt in his mind Wind Walk would be built.
“When you have the right combination of things you can make it work and it was just getting everybody to believe,” said Mar.
He said the Town was right to cast aside its 30,000 population cap and pursue annexation and plan for growth for up to 80,000 residents over the next half-century.
Moving Wind Walk from the MD of Foothills, where the plan was first approved, to the Town of Okotoks meant adding more homes to their plan, but Mar said it won’t change the overarching principles of the development.
The neighbourhood will still be built sustainably with technological advances like fibre optics and solar energy, he said.
Mayor Bill Robertson said he’s pleased to see Wind Walk go through and he thinks it will be a positive addition to the town.
“It’s certainly a very desirable development on the south part of Okotoks that will enhance the town greatly,” said Robertson. “They’ve got all kinds of great initiatives in terms of positive environmental aspects and I’m just really excited for the Town that we’re able to move this forward.”
He said the next step is to continue to fight for water pipeline funding, which is an ongoing battle. Recent meetings with the minister of municipal affairs and the premier were promising but there have not been any results yet, Robertson added.
“We’re doing everything we’re able to do to move provincial funding forward for our water pipeline,” he said. “This is a priority for the Town, and will continue to be a priority going forward.”
The last piece of the puzzle is to have water licences acquired by Wind Walk’s developer signed over to the Town of Okotoks to allow construction to begin.
Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent said the Town is waiting on word from Alberta Environment and Parks that the allocation of water licences to the Town has been done. Until then, the land use bylaw for Wind Walk cannot proceed to final reading.
“If we don’t have the water approved and signed over to the Town of Okotoks, then we will not proceed with third reading and it will be delayed to August,” said Vincent. “It’s still unknown at this time.”
