WESTLOCK— Sharing one’s opinion on long-lasting, municipal decisions has never been more fun than during the Aspendale area structure plan (ASP) open house on Tuesday, March 4 at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Hosted by the town of Westlock, the event ran from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and was part of the second stage (public engagement) of its Aspendale area structure plan (ASP).
The open house welcomed just over 40 attendees— a mix of residents, owners, and professionals who participated in interactive activities designed to gather feedback on the development of undeveloped land in the community. Locals from all walks of life attended the drop-in sessions. Mothers, fathers, children, realtors, land-owners, engineering consultants, and town staff alike all participating in the fun as they used fake money to share real priorities.
Danielle Pougher, director of planning and development for the town of Westlock, said, “This was our first round of public engagement for the project. It gave those that came to the open house two options to consider for the layout of the area, and those layouts included potential land uses, road networks, locations of green spaces and stormwater ponds.”
“It gave people a few different opportunities to give feedback on the concepts that we'll use in the ASP going forward,” said Pougher.
Attendees also had the opportunity to engage directly with the project team, which includes third-party consultant Bearisto & Associates Engineering (BASE), town council members, and town administration.
In a successful attempt to make the open house exciting, engaging, and vaguely realistic— one of these interactive activities credited individuals with a set amount of Monopoly money. The cash was then allocated based on personal preference across different categories representing potential future developments.
The activity allowed residents to prioritize their preferences based on how they allocated the money, giving the project team a clear understanding of the community’s most valued outcomes for the project.
Another interactive activity invited attendees to contribute their thoughts through sticky notes, either expressing likes, dislikes, ideas, or suggestions for the project. This exercise gave residents a chance to voice specific concerns or ideas that might not have been addressed in the broader categories, creating a diverse range of feedback for consideration.
Pougher said, “Overall, everything was quite positive. The information was quite well-received. There were lots of good conversations happening and lots of people came with questions prepared, which was great.”
John Ketsa, realtor with Royal Lepage in Westlock, attended the open house and said, “It was very well organized and overall a really good experience.”
Despite Ketsa’s children being toddlers, they jumped right into the political fun. “They helped me put the money on the categories that we felt would benefit us and other people in our community.” He said both him and his wife placed value on green space, parks and recreational areas— a particularly important community aspect for young families like his.
From a business perspective, Ketsa said the Aspendale ASP is so important. "A project like this would be incredibly beneficial for so many people in the community. We definitely need more affordable homes to entice young families to move to town or even to stay in town.
“Expansion and growth is a great thing. We do have a shortage of inventory within the market, so any sort of new builds and developments are great for the community.”
For those that could not attend the event, they were still encouraged to share feedback with the town via a survey that was until Friday (March 7), gathering a total of 35 responses.
The Aspendale ASP initiative, which officially began in December 2024, is part of the town’s broader strategy aimed at addressing the ongoing Canadian housing crisis. This focuses on designated land preparation for future residential development, with the goal of increasing affordable housing availability and providing much-needed homes for the growing community.
The housing plan has a projected completion date set for December 2025. The public engagement stage is a crucial part of the process, with input gathered during the open house being used to inform the development of the final plans.
