CARSTAIRS - Carstairs saw another year of strong growth and development as it continues to attract new residents, say officials.
In 2016 Town of Carstairs staff issued 154 building permits for a total construction value of $16,753,989, only slightly below the previous year.
The number of building permits issued in 2015 came in at 151 and amounted to $16,955,000 in total construction value.
"We have subdivisions growing in all four corners of the town," said Carl McDonnell, Carstairs chief administrator officer.
Currently Carstairs has seven active subdivisions with two more that are looking to come on in 2017, he added.
In 2016, new housing starts accounted for 64 of the 154 building permits issued with single family homes in the highest demand.
"It's just based on the demographics of the people that are moving here," said McDonnell, noting that young families make up the majority of new residents.
The arrival of these young families has been flooding the Carstairs school systems with new students for several years now.
As McDonnell said, "Twice as many people are going into the system as coming out."
Based on current growth rates, both of the town's schools will be under considerable pressure if one is not expanded or a new school is not built during the next two to three years.
Chinook's Edge School Division has placed Carstairs and the expansion of the elementary school as its top priority.
Despite the strain put on schools, McDonnell is confident that Carstairs will be able to handle the increasing population and that so far there have been no major issues.
"It's a controlled growth that we're seeing," he said. "We do have capacity for the water, sewer, transportation, and storm systems to achieve a population in excess of 5,000 to 6,000 people."
The industrial and commercial sector contributed significant increases in development in 2016 over the year previous.
Eight industrial and commercial building permits were issued in 2016. While this is only a single permit greater than the number issued in 2015, the construction value of those eight permits was just over $4 million and roughly seven times greater than it had been in 2015.
The permits issued in 2015 were for upgrades and minor developments while those in 2016 were for more substantial developments.
