OLDS — On May 5, the Town of Olds will be holding an open house where residents can learn about the community’s draft housing strategy.
There will be two open house sessions. One from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and another 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in council chambers at the Town of Olds administration office.
A needs assessment report will also be released, likely in early to mid-May, after information from a housing survey which ended on April 21 is digested.
In June, the town's council is expected to see and possibly approve a final housing strategy looking ahead to the next five years. A needs assessment for the community goes all the way to 2041.
The draft housing strategy and the needs assessment were introduced to council on April 14.
Road map for the future
“Basically, we see it as a road map to create a more diverse, affordable and accessible housing landscape in Olds, not just for our needs right now, but what we think our needs will be for the future,” chief administrative officer Brent Williams said.
Municipal intern Vanessa Hu shared an analysis of the housing situation in Olds with council members.
She said although growth slowed during the 2016 to 2021 census period, the town is expected to grow by four to nine per cent every five years through 2041.
Hu said there’s a real disconnect between what those looking for a home want or need and what’s available.
For example, she said 61 per cent of households in Olds only require a one-bedroom apartment, yet there’s a real scarcity of one-bedroom units for rent.
“One-bedrooms make up only about seven per cent of our existing markets, so this demand is really driving prices up,” Hu said. “Currently, the average rent for a one-bedroom is about the same as the average rent for a two-bedroom.”
Hu said since 2016, 322 housing units have been added. A record 116 new units were added in 2024 alone.
However, she said to meet projected demand, 2,483 new housing units will need to be created in Olds by 2041, a rate of 124 new units built per year.
Hu said since 2006, the proportion of renters in Olds has been growing, with 28 per cent of households renting in 2021.
“While the average household size of renters has been increasing, their median income is about 40 per cent less than the income of homeowners, which is limiting their options, especially when seeking larger housing,” Hu said.
Demographics and affordability analysis
She said Olds also has an aging population with a median age sitting about four years older than the Alberta median. That will continue to be a factor in the coming years.
Williams echoed that point.
“We see no shortage of need or demand for more options around assisted living and aging in place and accessibility,” he said. “As the baby boomer generation continues to age, that will be a significant need for the next 20 years.”
The proportion of visible minorities in town has been growing since 2006, making up about 10 per cent of current residents.
Hu said the market vacancy for purpose-built rentals is 0.6 per cent and the vacancy in the secondary market is 0.65 per cent.
“These numbers are critically low and far below a healthy threshold of about three per cent,” she said.
The disconnect between what people are seeking and what’s available goes further.
Hu said “a good majority” of households in town are smaller, but the supply of housing consists largely of three-plus bedroom units.
An affordability analysis told a similar tale.
“Very-low-income and low-income households make up about 20 per cent of households in our town,” Hu said.
“However, with current average rents and home costs, very-low-income households can't afford any market housing to rent or to own.
“And low-income households can only afford shared or studio rentals at market rates, which are very limited in supply.
“Even moderate-income households struggle to afford two-plus bedroom rentals or entry -level homes.
“In general, home ownership is out of reach for many households, only really being affordable for high-income households or households without mortgages.”
Where will the housing go?
Williams said the draft housing strategy includes creating housing in high-priority areas such as Uptowne and surrounding area as well as infill lots and mixed-use areas.
At the same time, he said preserving the character of certain neighbourhoods like Uptowne and East Olds is a priority.
“We need to respect those older communities and the architectural designs that they aspire to,” Williams said.
Williams said a key way to get more units in Olds efficiently would be via the “missing middle”: duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhomes.
He said a goal could be to add up to 200 units per year via that kind of housing.
As people move in to Olds there’ll be a need for more schools.
“As our population grows over the next five to 10 years, we will work with Chinook’s Edge School Division first, to get the next elementary school built in Olds,” Williams said, adding that capital plans already account for that.
He said land will also be found for another Catholic school when that need arises.
Williams stressed that the municipality will be counting on the private sector to build the housing units needed.
“The Town of Olds built exactly zero houses, and we will continue building exactly zero houses,” he said. “The private sector does all the work, and our main role is to facilitate and enable them to do the work we need them to do (in) Olds.”
Part of that strategy he said is “reducing the red tape, connecting developers with landowners, whatever it might take.”
Coun. Darren Wilson asked what role the Town of Olds' economic development department will play in the housing strategy.
Williams said that department will continue to be focused on attracting commercial and industrial firms to Olds.
“But even that in itself, ties closely into housing construction and residential attraction. People generally move for jobs, and that's the primary motivator,” Williams said.
“But also, businesses need workers and customers, and business confidence, anecdotally, tends to grow in communities that are growing.”
He said the housing strategy, economic development strategy and a land use bylaw review are all connected.
“We're going to make sure that there's a clear interlock between all of those,” Williams said.
Coun. Heather Ryan asked if the municipality will be looking at all its area structure plans to see if there’s room in them to accommodate R3 (multi-unit) housing.
Williams said the town currently has “plenty” of land zoned R3.
“There are multiple areas of town that are currently (so) designated,” he said.
“The bigger issue is, once those developments come forward, people may not be aware the certain lands are designated as multi-family or higher density, and that's where the clash tends to happen.
“So I think our efforts are going to be on showing people where the current areas of town designated for R3 are and try to share the data on why it's needed and what we're doing to mitigate the challenges of those new developments.”
Coun. Wanda Blatz said she’d done her own research on the matter on the municipality's website and encouraged residents interested in the topic to do the same “because it did provide an awful lot of great information.”
In the end, council voted unanimously to accept the housing strategy as presented.
