Several residents expressed their concerns for a proposed plan of subdivision at 492 East River Road in Glen Morris during a County of Brant Council meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
The item was just one of the many planning applications up for discussion during a public hearing, and was simply being received as information.
At hand was a set of planning applications submitted by MHBC Planning on behalf of 2463925 Ontario Inc.
The subject lands are located on the north side of Glen Morris Road East, east of Princess Street and on the south side of East River Road. The 13.29 hectare property is currently vacant and farmed for cash crop production.
Currently, the land is zoned as Agriculture (A) under the bylaw, and designated Agriculture within the County’s Official Plan (OP).
According to staff, the owner is proposing the following:
- An OP amendment to expand the Glen Morris settlement area boundary and change the OP designation from Agriculture to Village Community Lands and Parks, and Open Space.
- A zoning bylaw amendment to change the zoning from A to Residential Hamlets and Villages (RH), and establish site-specific provisions for two proposed lots. The stormwater management block is also being proposed to be rezoned to Open Space (OS1).
- A Plan of Subdivision to divide the land into 21 single-detached lots on private services, a stormwater management block, and extending Glen Morris Road West from East River Road to Glen Morris Road East.
County planner Lauren Graham explained to council that in accordance with the Provincial Planning Statement, several things needed to be considered for the settlement area boundary expansion. These include whether or not there is a need for expansion, what the impact to the surrounding land uses will be and if there is sufficient capacity in existing or planned infrastructure and public services facilities.
She also noted that an agricultural impact assessment was submitted as part of the complete application and is currently under review.
Following her presentation, Trevor Hawkins of MHBC Planning spoke on behalf of the owner of the property.
During that time, he noted that a rural arterial road has already been proposed in the OP and the subdivision itself could implement it. He also said that part of the property was previously separated and is now owned by the County which is “exploring community use,” and that the OP amendment to expand the boundary is “minor.”
In regards to the stormwater management facility, Hawkins explained they would utilize a dry pond.
“A dry pond, in this case, would collect the storm water during rain events and the facility would then collect the water and discharge it to the existing infrastructure on East River Road, typically over 48 hour periods,” he explained. “The pond would, most of the time, except during these events, be dry.”
After his presentation ended, Mayor David Bailey opened the floor to the public and eight residents stood to share their comments.
During that time, Chris Stuart of the Brant County of Federation Agriculture (BCFA) spoke on behalf of the organization, noting that they were opposed to the application and proposed development.
“The Brant County of Federation Agriculture is committed to providing and protecting the long-term viability of agriculture and preserving the finite supply of prime agricultural land within our region. After reviewing the proposal, we wish to express our strong opposition to the application,” he said. “The subject lands are identified as prime agricultural land, which is a limited and non-renewable resource. The proposed re-designation and development of these lands for residential purposes represents a permanent loss of productive farmland and is not consistent with the intent of protecting agricultural areas for long-term use.”
“In addition to the loss of farmland, the scale and nature of this proposal raises several significant concerns about protection of agricultural land. The proposal undermines protection of prime agricultural areas by introducing non-agricultural use that is neither necessary, nor appropriate in this location,” continued Stuart. “Prime agricultural lands are a finite and non-renewable resource, and their long-term protection is essential to maintaining a viable agricultural industry in Brant County. The permanent conversion of these lands to residential use erodes the agricultural land base, and limits future opportunities for farming. Protecting a continuous and productive land base is critical to supporting ongoing agricultural activities, investment and fruit food production.”
The BCFA president added that amending the OP in such a way sets a precedent, that there could be conflicts between residents and the surrounding farm practices, and that there were concerns surrounding the private wells and septic systems.
“Each lot is proposed to be serviced individually through private wells and septic systems, and this raises concerns regarding the suitability of the land to support the level of residential intensity,” Stuart said. “The cumulative impact of 21 individual service lots may pose a risk to groundwater quality and quantity, particularly in a rural area relying on shared aquifers.”
While Glen Morris resident, Bill Sharp, said he believed that agricultural land should be saved, if the proposed development, and the rural arterial road along with it, is later approved, he asked that the road be made wide enough to accommodate for modern equipment like tractors and transport trucks.
“I do support some safe transportation for people, including kids and farm equipment across the bridge, because I think this would be improvement from what we’re doing currently,” he said. “But I also agree that agricultural land should be saved as well.”
Others later brought up their concerns with the condition of surrounding roads in the area, the increase in traffic, the lack of jobs in Glen Morris to support residents, the cost of the proposed homes and water quality issues.
After the public meeting was closed, Councillor John Bell asked Graham if she thought there was need for a boundary expansion.
“A land needs assessment was made as part of the complete application that is still currently under review by staff, so I’m not able to provide detailed information at this time,” she replied. “But it is something that does really need to be considered for this type of application.”
Bell then asked if the road included in the proposal was attached to the development or separate, and Graham confirmed it was part of the application.
“The road is not proposed in the Transportation Master Plan, so if the development were to move forward, then it would be completed through the proposal,” she said.
Councillor David Miller then asked the agent why he thought 21 houses was a good use of agricultural land, especially given the quality of the soil.
“The County’s municipal comprehensive review did identify some modest growth for the rural settlement areas including Glen Morris, and they allocated a certain amount of new housing units for Glen Morris over the lifetime of the Official Plan, up to 2051,” Hawkins replied. “When you look at the planned, albeit, modest growth for Glen Morris, we felt that this site because of the road that’s planned in the Official Plan and would bisect the farm, that it would provide that transportation connection to allow vehicular movement that doesn’t need to go into the village.”
Hawkins also added that because the settlement area already exists on two sides of the property, it would tie off the area effectively.
“Once you take the road through the property and you have the community centre, you’re really left with a very, very small farm parcel,” he said. “We looked at other properties in and around Glen Morris that aren’t in the southern area that might also be appropriate to accommodate that growth, and this property was the one that was least impactful on agricultural operations.”
After several more questions, the applications and the comments from the public were then received for information. The package will now go back to staff and recommendation for staff will come back to Council at a later date for a decision.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
