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Local residents protest airport boundary adjustment | BrantBeacon
Residents express concerns around Airport lands
Letters
Below is a compilation of community member letters sent to Council for consideration
Letter from Kellie Stright, Farm in area under threat of annexation
The Honourable Will Bouma
MPP Brantford – Brant
Suite 101
96 Nelson St.
Brantford, ON N3T 2N1
May 18, 2026
RE: Proposed Brantford Airport Land Annexation
Dear Mr. Bouma,
I am writing as a resident of Brant to express my concerns about the profound lack of transparency regarding the Provincial Facilitator process for the potential Brantford Municipal Airport Land Annexation boundary adjustments.
Lack of Information
The appointment of a Provincial Facilitator following a motion passed by the Brantford Municipal Airport Board with no City of Brantford or Brant County staff reports, studies or reviews brought forward for discussion is highly unusual. Decisions of this magnitude directly affecting residents and their community warrants evidence-based information and decision making. No information has been forthcoming. Annexation has serious financial impact on residents as their taxes increase significantly and services they receive decrease significantly.
Misleading Intent
The Brantford Municipal Airport Board and City of Brantford’s sudden jump from negotiating cost sharing agreements with Brant County for airport improvements to land annexation is an extreme deviation. This is a backdoor attempt to acquire Brant County land for other City of Brantford planning objectives. One of which is the West Brant Access Route (Formerly Oak Park Road Extension, formerly BSAR, formerly Ring Road) which Brantford, Brant County and Six Nations residents have opposed since its inception. The February 26th public meeting on the West Brant Access Route had overwhelming attendance. Residents attended looking for answers on city councils’ sudden reversal on this issue. The consultant chairing the meeting could not provide answers but he did tell residents it was a done deal which was misleading and he shut down the public meeting early when residents became frustrated with the public engagement. Only one City of Brantford elected official attended the meeting, and they did not take questions from residents at the meeting. City councils lack of accountability to residents was astounding and a wakeup call for more transparency and the need for civic accountability.
Behind Closed Doors Decisions
Many county residents attended the May 28th Brant County Council Meeting looking for answers about the Provincial Facilitator process and the potential boundary adjustment discussions. County Elected officials could not provide any information to residents as the meetings are taking place in camera behind closed doors. County officials clearly communicated the process was forced upon them and they were advised if they opted not to participate in the process the Provincial Facilitator and City of Brantford would conduct the negotiations without them. It’s astonishing to learn the City of Brantford can be handed the power to determine the fate of residents in a neighbouring municipality. There is no transparency in the process when decisions are made behind closed doors and residents can’t get any information or participate in the decision making. There is no accountability. There is no democratic process.
Rushed Timeline
The Provincial Facilitator set a very short deadline for the negotiations deliberately limiting public input and scrutiny. A clear indictor this process is based on political influence rather than fair, evidence-based, responsible planning and input from county residents. Other influences are in play. A local land developer has been meeting with a City of Brantford elected official lobbying the city to acquire agriculture zoned lands within Brant County so they can benefit financially. One wonders what the elected official was promised in return.
Lack of Public Mandate
Airport Annexation Boundary changes were not a part of the previous municipal election campaigns. Elected officials were not given a public mandate to pursue boundary changes as in 2017 the city annexed 2,720 hectares of land from the county to accommodate long term residential and employment development growth through to 2051. The mass majority of that land has yet to be developed so clearly the city is not lacking land for residential or employment development.
Loss of Productive Farmland, Food Security and Farm Income
Taking local farmland out of production impacts local domestic food security both in accessibility and affordability. It increases the carbon footprint as reliance on imported food increases. It also impacts the lively hood of farming families such as ours located along Robinson Road. When farm lands are taken out of production it also impacts a loss of habitat for local wildlife. The section of the Grand River that backs up to our farm is provincially designated as “Exceptional Waters” and should never be developed.
I am respectfully asking the province:
- To remove the use of the Provincial Facilitator process to mandate annexation discussions behind closed doors, bypass the democratic process, enforce land developer driven agendas and be used as a weapon by municipalities.
- Allow county and city staff to review all options for the County and City to work out cost sharing options for airport improvements so both municipalities can mutually benefit.
- Allow open public consultation where all local residents are heard and can participate in decisions affecting their livelihood, property taxes, governance, municipal services and sense of community.
With regards,
Kellie Stright
11 Robinson Road
Brantford ON, N3T 5L7
519.761.7749
Letter from Devon Acres Organic Farm, at risk due to Proposed Expansion of the Runway
To the following:
Clerk Brant County council, Mayor David Bailey, Individual Councillors of the County of Brant
We are writing out of concern for actions that apparently might be taken by Brant county council and the city of Brantford which appear to be not at all clear to us and others resident in the Oakhill Drive / Robinson Road area. Others have written to voice their concerns and we concur with all that they have written.
Our concerns in addition to those which have been stated by others are as follows.
There will be additional pressure on farming. Farm land is already very expensive to buy, especially for young but really for any aged farmer, though even more so for some one just starting out.
It is important to protect and even to enhance farms close to urban areas and to provide corridors to connect these farms to ones much further from the built up urban area.
Increased traffic along Robinson Road will affect some of the farms located there. But us farmers will simply conduct our affairs as we have done before and will not really be too tolerable of more cars and trucks. This will probably lead to clashes with motorists slowed by farming equipment on the road. Robinson Road is a rural road, not primarily a way to get from one point to another but a road for the residents and farm along the road. Find another way; that is what highways 53 and 24 are for. I’ll repeat for emphasis; Robinson Road is a rural road.
Development in the Shellards Lane area and along Rest Acres Road north of Highway 403 has been made with no apparent thought for public transit. People should not be moving primarily by private automobiles. This is extraordinarily inefficient and is a great contributor to increased air pollution and to accident, injury and death. It is also very expensive, consuming money that would be better spent on the development of public transit.We personally farm on this road and intend to keep farming here regardless. We are not going to accept roads running through our land nor airport runway expansion taking away from us.
Finally there are many environmental concerns. More roads and more moving vehicles are deadly to insect populations which are already suffering dramatic declines in numbers. Insects are important as a food source for birds, bats, aquatic life and even some mammals. Insects are very important to farms as pollinators and for many farms as controls on other insects destructive to crops.
More traffic puts pressure on many species; lots of different birds as well as rabbits, marmots, deer, coyote. Many do manage when urbanized but are better off in a farm and rural setting.
I am sure that I have forgotten to include other concerns.
We as I have said are here to stay. This is not just a not in my back yard thing. It is a not in any one’s backyard. This is no good for anyone. It is not in any one’s best interest to build more roads and put more cars on roads and more aircraft in the sky. All this needs to be done differently. Brant County and the City of Brantford can show leadership on transportation changes that actually work in the interests of all of us.
Thank you.
Robin, Marie, Aerron and Maggie Kirby
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