As you have likely heard, Okotoks council has been asked to consider approving a pilot of an entertainment district in downtown Okotoks for this year’s event season.
Let me start by describing what an entertainment district means. The Government of Alberta defines entertainment districts as specified public areas where adults may consume alcohol outside of a licensed premises while enjoying a variety of entertainment options, such as Light Up, a Taste of Okotoks, lunch at the park, Show and Shine as examples.
To provide some clarity on the proposed pilot, it is important to explain how this bylaw has come to be considered and what I anticipate will come next. Last spring, the Okotoks & District Chamber of Commerce approached council and asked us to consider implementing an entertainment district. This ask was made based on feedback it had received from its membership.
At that time, the timeline felt very tight in order to have things ready in time (for last summer). Because of the timelines, council indicated that it would be considered again in 2023, after the public had been engaged. Fast-forward to March 2023, council provided direction to administration to create the framework of a bylaw for an entertainment district and to gather input from the public and businesses in the area to gauge the level of interest and to help determine any next steps.
The whole point about the feedback that we are currently collecting is to understand the level of interest, hopes and concerns about the idea so that council has broad-based feedback to help us make an informed and effective decision on the proposed bylaw.
Should the bylaw be endorsed by council, it will be important to remember the bylaw, at this point, is a pilot. The pilot is proposed to run from Parade Day (June 17, 2023) to Light Up Okotoks (Nov. 17, 2023). After the pilot, it is important for us to again engage with the public and downtown businesses to understand what worked and what didn’t work.
Ultimately, we would want to know if the pilot resulted in an increase of people engaging in the downtown in a meaningful way. This input will be important considerations for council to determine if this is something we want to enable long term, or if changes need to occur.
Community members and businesses have been asking great questions and looking for specific details of the proposed pilot, however until council sees the public feedback on the concept and has the opportunity to review it, it is difficult to answer many of them. We haven’t discussed all of the specifics yet as a group, as the bylaw is still being considered. Should the bylaw ultimately be approved by council, the Town will then work on necessary details to support the pilot and local businesses.
On Monday, council had the first reading of the bylaw on the consent agenda. This got the project on the books for council to debate and consider at subsequent meeting(s). Two more readings are required to pass a bylaw.
Depending on the volume and sentiment of feedback and the time it may take to compile it, the bylaw will be back in front of council for consideration in second and third readings in May. It is at this time council can make changes to the bylaw to reflect input we have received.
This bylaw has not been approved by council yet. Your voice is important to this decision-making process. Please visit Okotoks.ca/Entertainment-District and answer a couple of simple questions.
