We recently did a calculation in our city of the number of new single-family residential homes that have been built in the last year, the total came to approximately 630. That represents an increase in population of approximately 1,764 new residents to our community, just last year. We are not anticipating this growth to curtail at all and should remain constant like this for the very near future.Growth is always a challenging thing and sometimes not liked by our existing residents. Too often we have the sentiment "now that I have built my house, please don't let anyone else build." This "last in" feeling is understandable but not realistic. As we continue to build this community into a "city of choice," we will continue to attract residents. They will become our neighbors and friends. They will become friends of our children and many of those relationships will last a lifetime. There is much more good that comes from growth than negative, in my opinion.
People often ask why we can't slow down the growth. That is also challenging when you consider that growth comes because of individual property owners desire to benefit from the land that they own, by subdividing it and selling it for homes. For local government to intervene in a property owner's desire to do this, challenges the very premise of property rights and ownership-a beautiful component of the society and country we live in. Of course we will attempt to assist in making sure this new growth has as minimal an impact as possible on the existing residents but growth is driven by supply of land and demand for residency, with local government in the middle helping to make sure this comes together in the best way possible.
In my view, I think that growth is going to continue; at least for some time. But I like to think of the wonderful people that are now calling this place home, for the children and the relationships that will begin because of these new neighbors, and for the wonderful richness we will experience as our borders expand. For all of our residents, old and new, it is and will be a wonderful place to call home.
