The City of Brantford and County of Brant have mutually agreed to pause discussions about the proposed boundary adjustment for hundreds of acres of land near the Brantford Municipal Airport. The city’s expansion has long been a topic of debate between the two. They reached an agreement in May for approximately 1,317 acres of land, which would bring the city-owned airport within Brantford’s boundary. “The initiative was driven by the city’s long-standing goal of aligning municipal jurisdiction with its existing ownership and operational responsibility for the airport and positioning the airport for a financially strong and sustainable future,” the county said in a media release on Aug. 6. A total of 469 acres, including agricultural land, was later removed from the deal based on feedback from the community. The revised total was then 848 acres. Two public meetings were scheduled at the end of July to give residents another chance to weigh in on the proposal. A week before, however, the dates were pushed back to Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. Those have now been cancelled. “City and county staff have been working diligently to finalize the restructuring agreement that would be required to submit a restructuring proposal to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing,” the release said. “However, with the restricted period preceding the start of the municipal election process quickly approaching, there is insufficient time to finalize the agreement and its associated components and provide the public with adequate opportunity to review them before a decision would need to be made. In recognition of this, both municipalities have agreed to pause the initiative.” Some residents have questioned the speed of the deal, while others wondered why the agreement couldn’t wait until after the municipal election, given that both Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis and County of Brant Mayor David Bailey were not seeking another term. With reporting by Shelby Knox
