The New Official Plan

Thanks for your question! The Official Plan and Municipal Comprehensive Review are sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. They circulate it to other ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF). 

Ultimately, the decision to approve, approve with changes, or refuse the plan lies with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 

Thank you for your comments! We will ensure we are inclusive of these farm organizations and will add reference to them for the final version of the Plan being presented May 29th and 30th 2023. 

Thanks for your question.

Invasive species can impact the Natural Heritage of the County of Brant and a collaborative effort between the Province of Ontario, our Conservation Authorities and County Staff has been helping with general education and awareness, addressing key pathways contributing to introductions/spread, and facilitating monitoring and early detection initiatives for invasive species found around the area. 

Our Official Plan will speak to the high-level protection of our Natural Heritage system, including the importance of using non-invasive planting in development and planning, and collaborative efforts to manage invasive species will continue as a key objective in protecting our Natural Heritage system.

More information on Provincial efforts can be found at https://www.ontario.ca/page/invasive-species-ontario
Information on efforts specific to the County of Brant may be found at https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/Invasive-species.aspx or by visiting http://www.invadingspecies.com/. 

Thanks for your question! 

While we can't direct exactly what businesses come to Brant, during the update to the Zoning By-Law we'll be able to address the need for a wider variety of grocers and other businesses that offer staple items to our residents as well as where those businesses will be permitted. With more opportunities for a mix of commercial uses through our New Official Plan, there will be more locations available to businesses to locate closer to where people are living. We can also work with our Economic Development colleagues to increase the variety of grocery shopping opportunities in the County of Brant. 

Thanks for your question!

We've had many residents note a desire for a green-bin program as well as other waste diversion options that will benefit the County's approach to the impacts of Climate Change. Our New Official Plan will have more environmentally conscious policies specifically related to development and will look at future implementation tools like green engineering standards, a green-roof by-law and a construction and demolition waste diversion strategy. 

The implementation of a green-bin compost program is outside the scope of an Official Plan, so I'd encourage you to contact our  Public Works and Operations staff to find out more information on waste diversion in the County of Brant. Feel free to send them an email at publicworks@brant.ca.

Thanks for your question! 

The Province of Ontario has estimated that the County of Brant will have a population of 59,000 residents by the year 2051 and it's up to us to decide how we accomodate that growth through our new Official Plan. 

Settlement Boundaries are a border drawn around our towns and villages that allow development to happen within them but limit the development that can happen outside of those boundaries. The County will not be expanding our settlement area boundaries for more residential growth because we have more than enough land within our boundaries to accomodate it. In fact, we've been able to scale back some of our village boundaries in areas where municipal servicing and growth won't happen before the year 2051. 

Outside of the boundaries, large-scale development will not be permitted and farmland protection will be prioritized. These new policies will allow us to focus on creating more comprehensive development within our settlement boundaries to accomodate our population and job growth while leaving the farmland for agricultural production.