BradfordToday is taking a look back through our Newsmakers of 2024 series at a few of the important stories that shaped the news cycle in Bradford West Gwillimbury this year. Here's a glimpse at the town's efforts to plan for long-term growth.
Long-time residents likely won’t be shocked to hear Bradford is growing, but you might be surprised at just how fast that’s happening.
Between 2001 and 2024, the town’s population grew from just 23,100 to 48,600, and by 2051 it’s expected to hit 84,370 with 30,900 total jobs. As a result, staff have been working on a new growth management plan, with the help of resident feedback, but don’t worry if you haven’t been able to participate so far, because more opportunities are expected in the coming year.
It’s all part of the town’s ongoing efforts to update its official plan — which helps determine municipal boundaries, where water and sewer services will be provided, the future locations for homes, schools, parks and businesses, plus more.
Previous efforts were delayed in light of ongoing policy changes from the provincial government, but restarted in March this year, even though those policies continue to evolve.
Some councillors were wary of moving ahead, but Alan Wiebe, the town’s manager of community planning, explained that “time is of the essence,” as the town only had just enough land available for development to meet the previous population target of 50,500 people by 2031.
With only seven years left “on that planning runway,” the town is under pressure to update its official plan so developers can submit applications and complete all the necessary studies and agreements to get shovels in the ground — all of which frequently requires six or more years.
Building the plan
That led to a public meeting on June 25 where Frank Marzo, of consulting firm WSP Global, outlined the goals and timeline for the new growth plan.
That’s broken into two parts, with work expected to be carried out on both simultaneously — Part 1, intensification, and Part 2, settlement boundary expansion.
Part 1 is expected to take one year and focus on the Bridge Street corridor and the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) — which includes the 800-metre radius around the GO Transit station, where taller denser developments are expected and which comes with a target of 150 people and jobs per hectare. Part 1 also looks at the existing urban boundary in Bradford and Bond Head, in which 42 per cent of all new housing units are expected to be built in order to achieve 55 people and jobs per hectare.
Part 2 is expected to take six months and focus on finding areas adjacent to existing settlements best suited to handle new growth, plus planning to provide those areas with municipal water and sewer services.
WSP expects the town will need an additional 16,270 housing units of various types for the anticipated population, and even with increased density targets, town staff have previously estimated Bradford would need to add 449.1 hectares of new greenfield lands to meet the goal.
While about 45 people packed into Bradford council chambers for that meeting, only five provided feedback, four of which were representatives of landowners who felt their properties could help meet one or both of the two goals.
Councillors largely focused on the importance of building up in the MTSA and along Bridge Street, suggesting that taller buildings would be key to hitting density targets and building up the downtown while also needing more ground-floor commercial space to reduce the distance residents need to travel for essentials like groceries.
That was just the first of several planned meetings and workshops though, and in an effort to be transparent and inclusive, the consultants recommended the town hold one or more public information open houses as well as one of more public meetings for each part of the plan.
On top of all that, WSP suggests the town create a dedicated website about the project, including meeting dates and updates, as well as communicate to the public through digital and printed media.
Initial results
Masoudi updated council on Nov. 19, after consultants hosted two workshops on Oct. 16 for resident feedback.
According to her report, about 70 people participated in both sessions with 43 per cent of comments related to urban boundary expansions with a priority on protecting rural and agricultural lands while supporting infrastructure improvements, especially in regards to Brownlee Drive and the overall need for greenspace.
About 27 per cent of comments were about the intensification strategy and included concerns about density and greenspace loss, with a preference for mixed-use development and walkable, connected hubs.
Other comments emphasized careful planning for traffic and transit expansion, as well as the need to plan for essential services, such as hospitals near the highway.
The workshop also resulted in three potential boundaries for the MTSA, all of which avoid areas within the Greenbelt Plan or the Holland Marsh, and all include: the properties fronting Bridge Street as far east as the West Holland River, the properties along Dissette Street as far north as the intersection with Tomizza Street/Baynes Way, the properties along Holland Street just to just west of the four corners intersection with Barrie Street/Simcoe Road, and as far south as Centre Street.
Masoudi’s report also summarized some of the findings from Watson and Associates about the town’s growth review, which included the 2001-2024 growth stat.
From 2016 to 2021, Bradford’s annual growth rate was about four per cent, outpacing both the county’s 2.2 per cent and the provincial average of 1.4 per cent.
Over the last five years, Bradford accounted for about 15 per cent of the county’s population growth, and that share is expected to rise to 17 per cent by 2051.
Moving forward, several more reports are expected to look at intensification, growth and other opportunities within the town’s employment lands; opportunities for the MTSA; and identify areas for both short-term and long-term growth.
For more information, visit townofbwg.com/planbwg2051.
