What would you do to increase commercial development within Irricana?

For a municipality to prosper it needs both commercial and residential tax revenue, and Irricana is no exception. There have been some new businesses and services move into town in the last few months, which is a great sign, but more could be done to encourage commercial growth.

In preparation of the Feb. 11 Irricana byelection, the Rocky View Weekly asked the candidates how they would encourage commercial growth

Based on the history of business in Irricana it's easy to see only the basic necessities seem to last. It's nice to see a pharmacy and a doctor moving into town and, according to trends, these should have a lasting presence.
The next business we should lobby for is a storefront daycare. This would offer a regulated and secure place for parents to place their children.
The opening of a daycare would also bring people from neighbouring communities on their way into Calgary. It would be an economic golden horseshoe to our existing playschool, kindergarten and library programs.

Firstly, I'm pleased about the newest businesses that are coming to town as well as the new residential development that has been started. Irricana is slowly moving forward in the right direction.
With respect to attracting more business and development to Irricana, we first need to promote Irricana in a healthy, attractive way. We do that by keeping our website up-to-date, as has been done lately.
Increasing commercial development is an age-old problem for Irricana. With approximately 80 per cent of the residents commuting to the city or surrounding areas for work, this is a huge challenge for us. What will help Irricana is the school coming in the future. With a school, commercial development and new business is a natural byproduct. Irricana has a population of 1,250 and a low to moderate growth rate would see the town grow to 1,756 to 2,346 by 2020, which is what is required for a school.
I understand that 2020 seems like a long ways down the road, but it's only four years away.
We also have land owners north of the campground, that perhaps we could offer tax incentives to encourage commercial or industrial development, which would in turn, turn into jobs, which benefits all of us.

We need to actively promote Irricana in order to attract new business. Irricana is a small town with a lot to offer.
We need to build a long-term strategy to increase our visibility in a positive way so that businesses will stop and take a second look and see the potential of making Irricana their base of operations.
The new subdivision on the south side of town will attract new families to move here and that should also increase the client base for new business as well as established businesses.