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Wind Walk to support annexation

Wind Walk’s developers have reached an agreement with the Town of Okotoks that could see it annexed into the community after almost eight years.
Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson stands on the site of the proposed Wind Walk development south of Okotoks. Wind Walk’s developers have signed a memorandum of understanding
Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson stands on the site of the proposed Wind Walk development south of Okotoks. Wind Walk’s developers have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Town of Okotoks to support the Town’s proposed annexation plan.

Wind Walk’s developers have reached an agreement with the Town of Okotoks that could see it annexed into the community after almost eight years.

Backers of the Mike Holmes-lead development outside Okotoks’ southern border recently completed a memorandum of understanding with the Town that will see the developers support annexation and could see Wind Walk tied into Okotoks’ water and wastewater systems in the future.

Seth Atkins, senior vice-president of the Holmes Group, said the biggest hurdle has been securing a water source. The Holmes Group has acquired water licences, which are being held in trust until Alberta Environment signs off on a transfer application.

The agreement will allow Wind Walk to tie in to the Okotoks water system so construction can finally begin once an annexation agreement is complete.

“It comes down to, after eight years, providing some certainty around where we can actually get our services from,” said Atkins. “The Town of Okotoks has been able to commit towards that and provide a timeline.”

The Town has included the 147-acre Wind Walk site, located south of Highway 7, in its annexation plan.

Annexation discussions between Okotoks and the MD of Foothills are still ongoing and Atkins said it’s hoped the Town and MD can work together to jointly approve the first phase of the development. While the Holmes Group hopes to tie into Okotoks’ water system for Wind Walk’s first phase, planned second and third phases will follow once a water pipeline from Calgary is built.

“Under ideal circumstances, that is what we would hope to achieve,” he said.

Okotoks’ mayor declined to discuss specific details, some of which he said are still confidential.

However, Mayor Bill Robertson said the agreement is positive.

“I believe we’re making good progress to bring Wind Walk into the Town of Okotoks,” he said.

MD of Foothills Reeve Larry Spilak said council hasn’t made any decisions on the plan and it will likely end up on the agenda at MD council’s Nov. 25 meeting.

“Council will be discussing it on Wednesday at our next council meeting, that’s where we’re at right now,” he said.

Atkins said they appreciate all the work the MD of Foothills has done over the years to support making Wind Walk a reality.

“The MD has worked with us for a long time and we worked with them for a long time and we think we’ve come up with a lot of different regional solutions and now we’re hoping to inspire the process to include Okotoks so that some of these can be realized,” he said.

It has been a long road since Wind Walk was unveiled in 2008 to much fanfare as an environmentally conscious community, before becoming mired in squabbles and legal disputes.

Plans for the community were submitted to the MD in 2009 and MD council approved an area structure plan (ASP) for the development in 2010.

Wind Walk was the subject of a long-running dispute between the MD, developers and the Town of Okotoks. The Town unsuccessfully challenged the project to the provincial Municipal Government Board and in a court case that went to the doorstep of the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the Town’s case.

Water has also long-been a major roadblock after the Province turned down the developer’s request to use groundwater for Wind Walk.

Atkins acknowledged heated moments with the Town over their plans in the past, but said it’s time to put it behind them and move forward.

He said Okotoks’ decision to eliminate the population cap and look at a Calgary water pipeline were factors in their decision to work more closely with the Town.

“With that change on their side, it also started to change our minds around what the best regional solution is for all parties,” said Atkins.

If the agreement holds and work is able to begin on Wind Walk, more people may end up calling the community home.

The Holmes Group initially proposed building 457 residential units on the property, enough for approximately 1,100 people. However, now that they are looking at becoming part of Okotoks, Atkins said this number will likely increase in order to meet density requirements for both the Town and the Calgary water pipeline.

“There is a request to take a look at the proposed densities and see if there is an opportunity to provide more multi-family-type homes,” he said. “That is something the Town and whole region is in need of.”

Ultimately, Atkins said the Holmes Group remains committed to incorporating cutting-edge environmental technology in Wind Walk, including a district energy system and ultra-high-efficiency homes.

While the Holmes Group has lead other developments and projects since Wind Walk was first proposed, Atkins said Wind Walk remains the “crown jewel” of all their projects.

“This is about our vision and not walking away from that, because it’s something we actually care about and we really want to see this happen where we said it was going to happen,” he said.

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