County unveils roadmap for future parks, establishes long term vision

County of Brant officials, including former Councillor Marc Laferriere, Mayor David Bailey, Councillor Steve Howes and Director of Facilities Kathy Ballantyne, alongside community partners and local families take part in the ribbon cutting ceremony for Dawdy Park in Paris in 2022. The new Parks Master Plan approved by councillors earlier this month outlines continued investment in park development and amenities across the county through 2051, including expanded green spaces, trails and future destination parks to support rapid population growth and community recreation needs.

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

Councillors praise staff-led parks blueprint, in house expertise

County of Brant councillors praised staff earlier this month for producing what several described as one of the strongest master planning documents the municipality has completed in recent years, as councillors reviewed a new long-term Parks Master Plan developed entirely in-house.

The plan was presented during the county’s May 5 Policy Development Committee meeting and lays out a framework to guide parkland acquisition, development and service delivery through to 2051. 

The Parks Master Plan was developed by a multi-disciplinary county team beginning in 2023 and is intended to work alongside the county’s 2023 Official Plan and future Recreation Master Plan update expected in 2027. 

“This is one of the better master plans that we’ve had,” said Councillor Robert Chambers during the meeting. “It is excellent work.” 

Councillor John Peirce also commended staff for the scope of the work.

“I can’t remember getting a report this big with that much information in it so kudos to everybody,” said Peirce. “There’s information in it for everyone in the county.” 

Much of the discussion focused not only on the contents of the plan itself, but also on the fact the work was completed internally by county staff rather than outside consultants.

“There are a couple things that need to be said — team acknowledgement — so many of our master plans we farm out to consultants and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and don’t get better work than what we have here,” said Peirce. “All of our departments should have a look at this and next time we have a master plan, we can do it in house.” 

The document includes contributions from staff across multiple departments, including parks and recreation, planning, forestry, accessibility, environmental planning, recreation services and long-term financial planning. 

The plan establishes a target of 4.5 hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents by 2051, up from the county’s current provision rate of 3.5 hectares per 1,000 residents. The county estimates it will need to acquire approximately 35 additional hectares of land to support a projected population of 59,000 residents by 2051. It outlines that the county has a total of 67 parks to date but that 88 more parks will pop up before 2051. The plan also proposes 10 new trail connections adding roughly 18.3 kilometres of trails countywide.

According to the report, the updated target aligns with comparable municipalities and supports objectives outlined in the county’s Climate Action Plan. 

The Parks Master Plan identifies five strategic priorities, including creating and connecting quality park spaces, protecting natural environments, improving sustainability and accessibility, promoting diversity and inclusion, and developing partnerships and alliances. 

The plan also includes 23 recommendations ranging from expanding trails and green spaces to increasing tree canopy coverage, improving accessibility standards, enhancing park safety and supporting new recreational trends and cultural events. 

Community engagement formed a major component of the background work. Staff conducted surveys, open houses, focus groups and Indigenous engagement sessions to help shape the final document. 

More than 500 survey responses were collected, with residents identifying park maintenance, accessibility improvements, expanded trail systems and additional green space as top priorities. 

The report notes 67 per cent of survey respondents rated active amenities such as sports fields and playgrounds as “very important,” while 65 per cent rated passive amenities including natural areas and trails as “very important.” 

Councillor Jennifer Kyle asked staff whether the county currently has enough sports field capacity to meet future demand after seeing utilization trends showing increases in bookings for amenities like baseball diamonds and soccer fields. 

Director of Facilities and Special Projects, Kathy Ballantyne, who also spearheaded the Parks Master Plan, said the county already knows demand is exceeding available space in some areas.

“We don’t have true sense. We know we have more requests than we can accommodate,” Ballantyne said. 

She pointed to the Green Lane Sports Complex soccer fields as an example.

“We now have lights going in at Green Lane Sports Complex for the soccer field. It’s booked six days a week now before we even opened the facility,” she shared of the new LED lights installed last month in partnership with Brant Municipal Enterprises, noting it’s a good indication that it was needed. Councillor Steve Howes said the county’s expanding outdoor amenities have become an important part of community life.

“We’ve come so far, we have pickleball courts, cricket, dog parks, river access — the outdoor greenspace of our municipality is a very big part of what makes this a great place to live,” said Howes. 

The report also addresses future growth pressures and parkland acquisition policies under provincial planning legislation. Staff noted the Parks Master Plan is required before the county can update its Parkland Dedication By-law under changes introduced through Bill 23. 

Councillor John Bell also asked about how future parks funding would be distributed across the county’s five wards.

Ballantyne said projected spending is heavily influenced by anticipated growth patterns, noting past investments were largely focused on Paris while future growth pressures will shift toward St. George. She added there is limited development expected in wards 4 and 5, while St. George is expected to require “double the amenities in the next 25 years.” 

Ballantyne said, when projecting future planned capital investment tied to growth and development, the plan projects $29.5 million in development charge-funded projects through 2034. Breaking that down, Ward 1 is set to receive 25 per cent of the parks budget, Ward 2, 20 per cent, Ward 3, 34 per cent, Ward 4, 12 per cent and Ward 5, nine per cent. Councillor Peirce, referencing development charges, raised concerns about the county accepting cash-in-lieu payments from developers rather than acquiring physical greenspace.

“My biggest, I’m going to call it, pet peeve when it comes to parkland dedication is the fact a lot of times we will take money in lieu of parkland or greenspace,” said Peirce. “Why would we even question taking anything but parkland and greenspace.” Ballantyne told council any parkland accepted through development agreements must be usable by the community.

“It has to be usable land. We have to be able to develop it to have some sort of natural amenity in it. Something that is usable by the community,” she said. 

Peirce noted that even small parcels of land that serve as parkettes get a ton of use and said he believes the county should change the way they think of these spaces. “We really need to change our thinking in the sense that we’re not taking money, we are taking greenspace,” he said.

Committee ultimately received and accepted the plan as the framework to guide the planning of future parks in the County of Brant.