What makes a community attractive to young families?
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse recently passed out municipal youth population data at a council meeting. The data, compiled from four federal censuses and the 2014 municipal census, show that as of 2014, 23.5 per cent of the population is aged 19 or under, down from 32.8 per cent in the 1996 federal census.
The 2011 federal census statistics show that while regional neighbours like Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Leduc grew their population of children aged 14 and under significantly between the 2011 and 2006 census takings, St. Albert’s population of the same age group actually decreased 1.6 per cent.
In an interview, Crouse said he’s trying to make the “political point” early that St. Albert needs to figure out why it’s not attracting as many young families as other places in the capital region.
“What I’m saying is if we don’t understand the variety of reasons, we don’t know what to do and we can’t react accordingly,” Crouse said.
He highlighted a need for gathering spaces in his state of the city address in mid-February. When the future school site needs technical report came to council, he pointed out the declining student population despite the predicted need for more schools.
“It looks political to me,” he said of the jockeying for new schools.
Recently at council he’s been questioning whether or not communities can really have “adult-only” housing and not get smacked with discrimination accusations.
“Building an adult community only doesn’t attract a young community, it doesn’t attract a young family, it can’t, it’s just automatically repelling,” Crouse said.
The mayor thinks there could be a variety of factors at play making it more complex for some young families than simply high taxes or housing costs. He did say those might be factors for some potential residents.
There isn’t as much choice when it comes to housing styles in St. Albert compared to Edmonton, he said.
St. Albert’s events and amenities need to be targeted to appeal to the youth and their parents as well, and Crouse said events such as the children’s festival, parades and Servus Place do attract all age ranges.
Attracting a younger population is important to “breathe life” into the city’s amenities, he said.
“You want activities that attract young people, and that makes you a complete community,” he said.
He pointed to Spruce Grove and Beaumont as capital region communities that are successfully attracting a younger population.
Spruce Grove Mayor Stuart Houston called his community “a magnet for young families.”
Nine per cent of the population is under four, he said, so they have about “3,000 little munchkins” running around the community.
The dominant population in Spruce Grove is adults aged 25-44, and many of them have children. The percentage of the population aged 19 or under was 27 per cent in the 2014 census.
Houston said a big thing that helps attract families to Spruce Grove is affordability.
“We have a wide range for young families of starter homes,” he said.
There’s a diversity of housing styles, and those can be thousands of dollars less than comparable housing in other communities – with some possible property tax savings.
“We’re about a third less in taxes than say, St. Albert,” he said.
Spruce Grove has poured millions into recreational infrastructure such as parks, trails and even $6-million into new playgrounds, Houston said.
St. Albert might be one of the best places to live in Canada, he said but “Spruce Grove isn’t far behind.”
Camille Berube is mayor of Beaumont where close to a quarter of the population is under the age of 15. The town’s 2014 municipal census numbers show that 30.7 per cent of the population is 19 years old or under.
Berube said Beaumont has long been attractive to young families, thanks in part to its easy access to nearby employers in Edmonton, the airport and Nisku.
“Beaumont is a very young community. I think the average age is about 31,” he said.
His community has good facilities for families and youth, is affordable, offers support services and is “middle of the pack” when it comes to taxes, Berube said.
Over the past several years it has been trying to diversify housing types, he said, and more affordable housing options have been welcomed.
The growth does put pressure on the infrastructure and on municipally funded programs such as daycare.
But it’s word of mouth that keeps attracting young families, he said.
In fact, Beaumont finds itself with an opposite problem to St. Albert, Berube noted. It needs more facilities for the older relatives of the young families who are moving there.
“We’ve got some great facilities that have been built, but they’re full,” he said.
