^ I think that's a very reasonable estimate kgc. I think we'll fall somewhere between the "medium" and "high" growth targets as well.
On a somewhat related note, here's a nice read for a slow day (/week) around here....
Gerry Klein touches on affordable housing, immigration, population growth, and the City's upcoming Community Visioning process. All have certain relevance here on SSP:
Glimpse at a bright future
By Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix July 29, 2010
A couple of weeks ago a friend came into my office and introduced me to a Saskatoon that I only had known on an academic basis.
Mya Htoo is a 25-year-old Karen refugee from Burma, who has lived in Saskatoon with her husband, daughter and some of her extended family since September 2007. For the past several months she has worked for the cleaning company that has the contract for The StarPhoenix.
Mya hung around my office a little longer than usual one day recently.
"How do you buy a house?" she asked. "Where I come from (that would be the jungles of Burma and the refugee camps of Thailand), no one buys a house."
For the majority of the people in Canada and particularly those in Saskatoon, home ownership is central to our identity. Yet, I wasn't sure where to start. I gave her a brief explanation, but even though Mya is exceptionally bright, our language difficulties -- particularly when trying to explain the notions of mortgages, pre-approved loans, real estate agents, and government subsidies -- made detailed explanations impossible.
On Sunday she came to my house with her husband Hehlweh, her father-in-law and one of Saskatoon's newest and most beautiful citizens, her daughter, Lovely.
Our discussion reminded me that for the second time in the three decades that I have lived here, Saskatoon is undergoing a fundamental change. The first came when the city's population exploded past that of Regina, and along with the growth came a much larger presence of aboriginal persons.
Ffrom my vantage point in the largest newsroom in the city I was able to be in constant contact with officials, pundits, academics and politicians who were determined to make sure Saskatoon adjusted in the most positive ways.
Whether Mya's family know it or not, it was the wisdom and optimism of those officials that will help her buy a home. Saskatoon is one of very few cities in Canada that's able to offer low-income families a grant to help cover their required mortgage deposit. The province matches the grant.
We drove out to a couple of residential developments that qualify for the program -- one in Pleasant Hill, and the other west of Circle Drive on Camponi Place. In both cases the developments constitute a unique opportunity to reform the neighbourhood.
The program is revenue-neutral, since the five-per-cent grant is recouped by diverting the taxes on the property back to the grant fund over several years until the participant has paid enough in taxes to offset the grant.
"I don't think there's another city in Canada with this program," senior city planner Allan Wallace told an SP reporter this winter.
When City Hall recently released its annual efficiency report, it changed the format to include information on structural changes the bureaucracy has made to save citizens tax revenue. More difficult to quantify in such a report are the chances the city has taken, such as these subsidy programs, that will dramatically improve and reshape Saskatoon.
Despite the difficulty of measuring the impact of such changes, city manager Murray Totland is determined to leave no idea unexplored to make sure the Saskatoon evolves in the best way possible. For that reason he has launched a visioning process designed to attract to the debate the best and brightest this city has to offer.
One thing is certain. Just as Saskatoon today in many ways barely resembles the city that so fearfully adjusted to the changes a generation ago, in another 20 years it won't be the city we know today.
The role of the automobile, the city's natural environment, the complexion of its inhabitants, its economic opportunities and its position in Canada's social structure all will change. And if Mya and her family provide a glimpse into the future, it is a bright one.
But for Saskatoon's visioning process to work, it will require the participation of its citizens in a way no other city could muster.
For its part, The StarPhoenix is putting together plans to become the platform for the discussion. Led by city hall reporter David Hutton -- another of Saskatoon's bright lights -- this will include a collection of blogs from a wide range of local experts, a series of stories and features on urban development, and opinion articles meant to drive the debate.
As executive editor Steve Gibb points out, "These are important times for the city, and we have to look at all aspects of future development."
While driving west down 22nd Street to look at the Camponi housing units, I asked Mya if Lovely would be going to university. Mya's education had been abbreviated by war, refugee camps and migration. Her mind was on the present challenge to secure a home. Burt she smiled, setting aside for a moment the nervousness of her impending meeting with a banker and Realtor, she contemplated her tiny child in a hat and gown.
"Yes, yes. Maybe she can go to university."
Considering the determination and intelligence obvious in her parents, I suspect Lovely will be in the graduating class when the time comes.
From my vantage point, the future couldn't be brighter.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
Read more:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Glimpse+bright+future/3336121/story.html#ixzz0v6NN7Ruy
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