City Council moves to adopt the new Official Plan for the City of Brantford in March 2021

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City Council moves to adopt the new Official Plan for the City of Brantford in March 2021

BRANTFORD, ON – Following a thorough four-year development process that included extensive public consultation, at their City Council meeting held Tuesday January 26, 2021, Brantford City Council approved a recommendation from Planning Staff to adopt the City’s new Official Plan at their meeting in March 2021. The new Official Plan sets out the community’s vision and goals for the future, while ensuring that new development and growth considers a broad range of interests and perspectives that reflect local values.

Simply put, the Official Plan is the most important document developed by the City of Brantford. Prepared under legal authority of the Ontario Planning Act, the City’s new Official Plan - Envisioning our City: 2051 details an all-encompassing vision for the future growth of the City and a policy framework to guide the city's physical development to 2051. It replaces the current Official Plan with updated land use policies and schedules (maps) to address the changing needs of the community and specifically outlines:

  • New Growth Management Policies, that respond to Provincial legislation, and direct growth to appropriate locations throughout the City.
  • New Land Use Categories for housing that focus on built form vs. density and unit counts.
  • Stronger Environmental Protection policies designed to protect biodiversity, ecological function and sustainability of the environment.
  • Increased focus on Urban Design and Compatibility to create buildings and spaces that are attractive and inviting.
  • New Policies to support a clean and healthy Brantford, with an emphasis on sustainability to ensure that development today does not compromise our ability to meet the needs of future generations.

“Completing the new Official Plan, is an extraordinary achievement”, says Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis. Together with other city-wide growth management plans, such as the updated Transportation Master Plan and Master Servicing Plan, the new Official plan will support the City’s growth and optimization of its infrastructure, while protecting and enhancing our unique local heritage and the environment. A document of this scope and scale is an immense undertaking, and I want to commend the City’s Planning staff on the exceptional work they’ve done that will serve to guide our community for decades to come.”

The By-law to adopt the new Official Plan will be presented to Council at their meeting in March 2021. The new Official Plan will then be sent to the Province for final approval before it comes into effect. The new plan replaces the current Official Plan (approved in 1987) with updated land use policies and schedules (maps) to address the changing needs of the community and now includes the expansion lands (formerly part of the County of Brant) that were added to the City’s municipal boundary in 2017.

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Media Contact: 
Maria Visocchi Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca