Housing Strategy
The City of Spruce Grove is a vibrant, dynamic community of nearly 40,000 people. Over the next 20 years, the population is anticipated to increase by more than 25,000. To accommodate and responsibly plan for this growth, the City is reviewing our housing inventory and what types of housing may be needed in the future.
The Housing Strategy will affect Spruce Grove residents and businesses as it will guide the City’s approach to housing and inform future decisions on land use and housing developments. It will outline expected outcomes, goals, and actions to support the development of a variety of housing choices to meet the needs of the community. These housing choices are often presented on a housing continuum to highlight the nature of different housing needs in a community (supportive/affordable/market).
The first step in developing the City’s Housing Strategy was to complete a Housing Needs Assessment, which provides a snapshot of housing needs in the city. The Assessment identifies what housing gaps exist today in Spruce Grove and pending different population growth scenarios, what housing demands and gaps may exist in the future. Information gathered from the Assessment informed development of tactics used as part of the engagement phase of the Housing Strategy project. 2024 City of Spruce Grove Housing Needs Assessment.
The next step in the Housing Strategy project was to engage with the community to gather the input necessary to enable the development of the housing strategy. A variety of engagement tactics were used to engage the community from June 3, 2024 - July 24, 2024. An overview of these tactics and the information collected can be found in the Housing Strategy Engagement: What We Heard Report.
After the What We Heard Report was presented to Council on September 16, 2024 for information, Administration will conduct an analysis of the existing Land Use Bylaw, recently approved Municipal Development Plan, and other related policies and Master Plans to determine existing state of planning and development policies. This information was then compared to the data collected through the engagement phase to assess for possible gaps and/or opportunities. Policy focused discussions and Council input then informed development of the draft housing strategy.
The final version of the Housing Strategy was approved by Council on January 13, 2025, and we are now in the implementation phase of the project.