SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The population of Sioux Falls is just under 220 thousand people. The city is growing at a rate of about two and a half percent a year, which roughly translates to almost six thousand people a year.
The edge of town keeps changing, moving further and further out in all directions. This map shows how much Sioux Falls has grown. The yellow represents the city in 2000 at 56 square miles and the blue shows how much it’s grown since then. Today, Sioux Falls encompasses 85 square miles. The Mayor says the growth rate of around two and a half to three percent per year is right where he would like to see it. More and it becomes less manageable.
“That means 5 to 6 thousand people, 55 hundred to 65 hundred we keep growing we are going to keep adding to this community. So that will mean more schools more traffic, that will mean more wastewater needs, more water needs., more police officers , so managing the challenge of that growth, honestly Tom that is probably what I spend 80 percent of my day doing,” said TenHaken. “There’s growth, then there is challenging growth, and then there is stress-inducing growth and I think we are right at the edge of that. So, two and a half to three percent is what we are growing at right now, that’s a lot.”
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What helps the Mayor, developers and everyone else is the city has a plan. The Shape Sioux Falls 2040 plan lays out future growth. Because of this planning, the city knows the southeast, west and a bit to the northeast will be the primary growth areas. City planners also know where the city’s growth will stop because in the next 25 years, Sioux Falls will run into other communities
“Think about Brandon growing westward towards Sioux Falls, Harrisburg growing northwards to Sioux Falls, Tea on our southwest. It’s so critical now that we think more regionally than maybe we ever have in the past,” said Assistant City Planner Kevin Smith.
Just know that the streets you drive on, the schools your kids attend, the neighborhoods you live were anticipated years ago.
“Planning isn’t just a concept its something that really does affect people’s lives if we do it well. And that’s an everyday job for us,” said Smith.
The City’s comprehensive plan was last updated in 2016. A new long-range plan called “Shape Sioux Falls 2050” will be released this year.
