County unveils new tool to track and manage growth

New subdivisions continue to rise on the edges of Paris, where more than 8,200 approved housing units remain in the County of Brant’s development pipeline. A new Growth Tracking Model aims to help council, staff and residents monitor projects like these, while planning for the infrastructure and services needed to support them.

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

County of Brant councillors were given their first look last Tuesday at a powerful new growth management tool designed to track development, test future scenarios and improve transparency around how the community is expanding.

The Growth Tracking Model — developed with consultants Watson and Associates Ltd. — centralizes data on planning applications, housing permits, population forecasts, and servicing capacity into an interactive online platform.

Brandon Kortleve, the County’s Manager of Policy Planning, said the model will help both staff and council make more evidence-based decisions.

“We want to be transparent with our growth. We want people to understand what we as a municipality are looking into and all the things we are analyzing behind the scenes and the integrity of our data,” Kortleve told councillors.

Features and functions

The model consolidates everything from housing approvals to infrastructure upgrades into one dashboard. Among its key features:

Application Tracker: shows how many units are planned, permitted, or built.

Scenario Builder: allows staff to test hypothetical growth situations, such as how a subdivision might impact servicing needs.

Servicing Tracker: links growth forecasts to water and wastewater capacity, highlighting when upgrades will be required

Growth Navigator: lets users compare actual population increases against forecasts, giving early warning if growth is outpacing expectations

The County has already identified 8,279 approved housing units that remain unbuilt. Of those, 54 per cent are low-density homes, 28 per cent are townhouses, and 18 per cent are apartments

Councillors weigh in

Councillors welcomed the tool but pressed staff on how it could be used to get ahead of infrastructure demands and influence developers to build the kinds of housing most needed.

Coun. Steve Howes called growth management “the single most important topic in the eyes and minds of our residents,” warning that failing to plan ahead has cost the municipality in the past.

“How could this tool be used to make sure the infrastructure is ahead of the growth?” he asked

Kortleve said centralizing the data would help, and that shifting housing markets were already pushing developers toward more long-term projects like purpose-built rentals.

Coun. John Bell said the data “really paints a picture,” noting population growth is outpacing housing growth. “Does the model take into factor not just units built but types of units?”

Coun. Lukas Oakley pointed to the need for better communication with residents who feel they haven’t benefited from growth. 

Coun. David Miller suggested school boards could also use the model to anticipate new schools and suggested county staff reach out to school boards to include them in the presentation of the growth management tool. 

Coun. Robert Chambers asked whether the information could strengthen council’s hand in appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal. Kortleve confirmed it would, saying “reporting will be used as supporting information … which could provide benefits” and defend decisions

Next steps

The Growth Tracking Model will be rolled out to County staff this fall with training sessions. A simplified version is planned for the public through the County’s website, while council will have access through its dashboard

Officials say the tool will not only guide long-term planning to 2051 but also reduce pressure to expand settlement boundaries by demonstrating that current approved development can meet housing needs.