You can fight city hall, even if you have to do it by taking tiny steps. Okotoks town council listened to the outcry of residents by kyboshing the idea of the Vagabond Tiny Homes eco village at Kinsmen Park at its public meeting Monday night. Council has heard the barrage of concerns from outraged residents, ranging from the loss of green space at Kinsmen Park to decreasing value of homeowners living close to the proposed tiny homes. Council has opted to explore the possibility of putting the village in the D’Arcy Ranch area. Not that it was ever really a fight. Council members weren’t swinging a bat — or a carpenter’s hammer, in this case — to build the homes at Kinsmen Park. It was more like a piece of wet spaghetti to see if the idea would stick to the proverbial wall. At no point did council say Kinsmen Park was the final spot for the 32-unit tiny home village. Informal discussions were held with members of the public at such events as the ChiliFest. And council listened. There were very large steps to be taken before Kinsmen Park was home to the village. The location was purely exploratory. Council members listened and Monday opted to explore the D’Arcy Ranch area for the village. Hey, what better way to fight disgruntled residents than by putting a proposed village where there aren’t a whole lot of people. The concept is a solid one. Okotoks is in dire need of affordable housing. The tiny home concept would be much needed in Big Rock Country. Hopefully, the concept can get past the rental only stage and allow affordable prices for potential buyers. And remember D’Arcy is not a done deal, either. There is still work to be done. Council has listened and it’s a step forward to solving the not-so-tiny problem of affordable housing.
