The Cainsville Premier Employment Hub Land Use Strategy is now available.

The Cainsville Premier Employment Hub Land Use Strategy and associated Official Plan Amendment are now available. Staff will present these documents to Council for recommendation at the September 8, 2026 meeting at 4:00 pm.

Revisions to the Land Use Strategy and Official Plan Amendment from June to August.

The following summarizes the key revisions made to the Cainsville Premier Employment Hub Land Use Strategy and associated Official Plan Amendment (OPA) following review and refinement of the policy and land use framework. These changes reflect updates to land use designations, employment policies, environmental buffering, cultural heritage recognition, and implementation mechanisms intended to support the long-term vision for the Cainsville Premier Employment Hub.

• Land Use Designation Changes: Additional Mixed-Use Commercial designations have been introduced along portions of Colborne Street East. This change recognizes existing smaller commercial and light industrial properties and provides greater flexibility for a mix of business uses than the previous Employment Area designation. To balance these changes, employment lands have been adjusted elsewhere within the study area.
• Job Density Clarity: The policies now provide clearer direction on achieving the area's employment goals of 30 jobs per hectare by 2051. The updated policies recognize that reaching this target will require ongoing planning, investment, and development over time rather than occurring automatically.
• Servicing Framework: The servicing framework has been expanded to provide clearer guidance on how infrastructure such as water, wastewater, and transportation services will support future growth. The policies also reflect upcoming servicing agreement between the County of Brant and the City of Brantford and emphasize coordinated growth, efficient use of infrastructure, and consideration of broader employment and growth objectives.
• Employment Typologies: The employment framework has been significantly expanded to provide more detailed direction on the types of employment uses that are envisioned, where they should be located, and how they should be developed. Updates include new employment categories, preferred lot size ranges, and a typology matrix informed by the Market Study. The framework places a particular focus on attracting advanced manufacturing, innovation-based industries, and campus-style industrial development.
• Buffer Concerns: A new 30-metre naturalized buffer has been added along the east side of County Road 18, north of Colborne Street East, to help provide separation between future employment uses and nearby residential neighbourhoods in Brantford. Additional policies reinforce the importance of land use compatibility, environmental studies, and natural heritage protection as development proceeds.
• Residential Uses in the Community Corridor: Low- to mid-rise residential uses will be permitted within the Community Corridor when they are part of a larger mixed-use development. The changes clarify that residential uses may be integrated with commercial, office, or other non-residential uses within the same building or on the same site, helping to create active and vibrant streets.
• Minor Expansions of Legal Non-Conforming Uses: Additional clarity has been provided to allow and guide the expansion of uses that no longer align with the Strategy to maintain the rights of landowners, while balancing the long-term vision for Cainsville as a Premier Employment Hub.

Previously staff had referenced implementation of the Strategy through the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS). As the Council-approved CPPS has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the planned associated Cainsville Overlay will be developed at a later date to correlate with the CPPS coming into effect. At such time, the Overlay will encompass the entirety of the Cainsville settlement area and will work to implement the policy and strategic directions set out in the Strategy and Official Plan Amendment.