A recurring theme at last week's all-candidates election forum at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion was the need for more affordable housing for seniors and for young people.
Some expressed puzzlement at the fact that developers seemed reluctant to come into Innisfail and develop such properties.
I offer the following possible scenario as experienced by a developer looking to do something in Innisfail.
The developer may or may not own land here but he is interested in the dynamics of the area and the potential for making some money from developing lots.
He may also be a homebuilder. Upon his first or second meeting with the development officer, he learns that the town is in the development business themselves.
They have a large number of lots for sale in more than one subdivision and would be competing directly with him to sell these lots to the public. Further in these discussions he learns he is expected to develop low-cost lots for new families and possibly for seniors, but not have any part in the play for the more lucrative high-end lots.
In addition, he examines the costs of infrastructure installation (which he will bear the cost of), the cost of water sewer utilities taxes and realizes that this is a pretty expensive place for development.
In the discussions, this theoretical developer seems to hear there will not be any kind of tax advantages for him or abatement of taxes for new development of lower-cost properties.
He then turns to the possibility of some commercial development within a subdivision only to realize that that will not happen, as there are very strict controls over where commercial development can go.
He also then learns the Town of Innisfail is in the process of developing some commercial properties on the west end of town. He finds it interesting. It appears his major competitor will be the Town of Innisfail.
He becomes puzzled and discouraged and looks afield to find somewhere else where developers might be more welcoming and not have to compete directly with the governing body of the town.
He finds a more receptive market in places like Bowden, Olds and Penhold.
While this is strictly a theoretical scenario, I wonder how close it might be to the truth for developers.
Chuck Blanchard has been an Innisfail resident for nine years and is a former two-term mayor for Invermere, B.C.
