City of Brantford Council unanimously supported proposed amendments to its Downtown and Greyfields Community Improvement Plans during a public meeting at the Committee of the Whole, Planning and Administration meeting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
The already existing Greyfields and Downtown Community Improvement Plans (CIP) aim to encourage and help property owners make improvements to their properties, and promote a range of housing options and commercial uses.
The Greyfields CIP targets previously developed commercial sites that are vacant or underutilized, and/or in a state of neglect or disrepair across Brantford’s Built-Up Area, while the Downtown CIP focuses on properties within the Downtown Urban Growth Centre.
Currently, the Greyfields CIP includes three following financial incentive programs: the Property Tax Increment-Based Grant; the Commercial Façade, Landscaping and Connectivity Improvement Grant; and the Mixed Use Building Improvement Grant.
The Downtown CIP offers a Property Tax Increment-Based Grant program.
The amendments to both the CIPs would allow staff to create a one-year Vandalism Prevention Grant Pilot Program for small businesses with less than 100 employees, faith-based organizations or non-profits located within the project areas.
“The grant will provide financial support so a business can implement repairs quickly after an act of vandalism, and also to implement preventative measures,” said Tara Tran, senior project manager in economic development at the City of Brantford. “City staff will complete a safety audit to help identify the recommended prevention projects.”
Under the program, business owners will be eligible to receive between $250 to $1,000, covering up to 50 per cent of repair costs (excluding HST) for property damage included in the police report. They can also receive between $500 to $3,000 to account for up to 50 per cent of costs to install measures that may prevent future vandalism, as identified in the safety audit.
“For example, for a broken window that costs $600 to repair, the grant will award $300,” said Tran. “But in addition to repairing the window, the applicant must also agree to some kind of prevention project, which the City’s by-law staff will help to identify. That could be a special film applied to the window that helps reinforce it against forced entry, which might cost $1,000 to apply to every window in the business. The grant would then award an additional $500 to the applicant.”
Other examples of reparative projects include:
- Window and door repair or replacement
- Lock repair or replacement
- Graffiti removal
- Street facing exterior damage, and
- Associated installation fees
Examples of prevention projects include:
- Shatterproof glass
- Protective films
- Window protection
- Lock enhancements
- Exterior lighting
- Camera systems
- Alarm systems
- Air conditioner anti-theft devices like security cages, alarm systems or tamper-proof fasteners
- Security audit, and
- Murals
In order to be eligible for the grants, applicants must file a police report and complete both repair and prevention measures.
Applications to the program are expected to open on April 1, 2026, and will be done through an online application form.
“Upon receipt of the application, a safety audit will be scheduled, and this visit will also confirm that the applicant has experienced an act of vandalism and has filed a police report,” said Tran. “The repair will be completed and once paid for, staff will review invoices and proof of payment, and issue the funds accordingly. The intention is for applicants to complete repairs expediently, as well as the prevention, and for funds to be awarded in a timely manner.”
The senior project manager went on to say that downtown institutional buildings will not be eligible, and that only one application per property will be allowed.
“The program cannot be stacked with our existing grant programs in the same year for the same work, [for example] the applicant cannot receive window replacement funds under the vandalism grant, as well as the City’s existing downtown façade grant,” said Tran. “… Lastly, the program is administered by economic development staff. The funding envelope is currently a one-time allotment, pending future approval in the next budget. Staff will report back on the grant status and uptake within one year, or when funds are used up, whichever is sooner.”
Later, Councillor Mandy Samwell said she was happy to see the pilot program coming forward.
I’m thrilled to finally see this project coming to life, and it’s going to have an incredible impact on the businesses in our community, throughout the whole city, really, that are facing vandalism,” she said. “…I think that one of the most meaningful pieces of this is not even just the funds that are available, but it’s going to be the safety audit.”
Councillor Brian Van Tilborg also shared similar sentiments.
“This has been a long-time coming and I’m really, really glad to see it’s come this far, at least as a pilot program,” he said. “…This is the start of something that can help and I’m curious to see how it works out and how beneficial it is when an audit is done on the property. That alone may make enough changes to make that property more secure. I’m happy to see this coming and to see a little bit of funding there to help them fix the problem that was not caused and through no fault of their own.”
The vote to support the amendments to the Greyfields and Downtown CIPs were then carried unanimously. The item is expected to return to council for final approval during the regular meeting on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
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.
