Interim Control By-law 56-2026

On May 26, 2026, the City of Brantford adopted Interim Control By-law (By-law 56-2026, “ICBL”) for lands within Brantford’s employment areas to support planning for their future use.

What interim control is:

Interim control is a tool municipalities can use when undertaking a land-use planning study. Council can pass an interim control by-law and specify land uses that can or cannot be established during the period of time that the ICBL is in effect. The intent of this tool is to give the municipality time to undertake the applicable study.

Interim control by-laws can be in-effect for up to one year from their initial adoption, and can be extended by Council up to a total of two years from initial adoption. The authority for interim control comes from the Planning Act.

Why the City of Brantford adopted the Interim Control By-law:

The City of Brantford is completing the 2026 Official Plan Review, and one of the components of this project is a land needs assessment and comprehensive review of the City’s current employment areas.

This assessment is occurring because of changes to the definition of “area of employment” found in the Planning Act, and the definition of “employment area” found in the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. The definitions have been changed to focus the scope of employment areas to manufacturing, research and development, and warehousing and goods movement.

If a use is established and it doesn’t align with Provincial definitions, then that land cannot remain an employment area. Without the Interim Control By-law, there may be negative impacts if incompatible and/or sensitive land uses are established (e.g. harder for existing manufacturing businesses to expand their operations).

What is permitted while the Interim Control By-law is in effect?

Though the Interim Control By-law will pause some uses from establishing, it does not create a freeze on all development.

The ICBL permits existing uses on the property to continue, and it also permits certain new uses to be established as well. A list of permitted new uses is included below, and terms with an asterisk (“*”) have the same meaning as defined in Zoning By-law 124-2024:

• One or more of the following uses:
  • Asphalt plant*;
  • Brewery, distillery, or winery;
  • Cannabis production and processing facility*;
  • Concrete batching plant*;
  • Food processing plant*;
  • Manufacturing Use*;
  • Research use*;
  • Transportation terminal*;
  • Warehouse*;
• Any other business and economic use prescribed by the Province under subparagraph 1 vi of the definition of “area of employment” found in subsection 1 (1) of the Planning Act.
• One or more of the following uses, provided that the use is accessory* to a use identified in clause 4. a), b), or c) above:
  • Office, general*;
  • Retail store*; or,
  • Any other use which serves an accessory* function to a use identified in clause 4. a), b) or c).
• A use identified in Section 3.32 (Uses Permitted in All Zones) of Zoning By-law 124-2024.

Where does the Interim Control By-law Apply?

The interim control areas have been added to the City’s interactive zoning web map. The web map will load with the interim control areas visible and you can toggle them on and off from the layer list in the top-right corner of the map. 

Interactive Zoning Web Map – the layer list will be on the top-right side of your screen and be the second icon from the top. The yellow arrow in the image below points to the layer icon.

The interim control by-law layer will be the second option in the layer list menu. Click the check-box to turn it on. It will display as a grey cross-hatched field. The Interim Control By-law Area layer is highlighted in the image below.