After the usual summer vacation, Guelph City Council is back for the first of the two meetings, the last two council meetings before October’s municipal election. This one is the planning meeting, at home in its usual (for now) spot in the second Monday of the month. This meeting though, as the last planning meeting of the term, will be particular heavy with some very big decisions that will shape or re-shape the south end especially.
NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at this meeting via telephone, but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday September 9. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: Because of ongoing renovations to the council chambers, this meeting will only be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
Decision Report 785 Gordon Street Proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments File OZS22-005 – This is the plan for the redevelopment of the Days Inn site that was brought to council earlier this summer. So what’s the verdict? Let’s quote from the report, “Planning staff recommend refusal of the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications because the proposed height and massing is inappropriate and incompatible with the character of the surrounding area.”
Decision Report 111-193 Silvercreek Parkway North Zoning By-law Amendment File OZS20-017 Ward 3 -Way back in March, council heard the application to redevelop the Willow West Mall property to create a new residential component in addition to the commercial buildings There have been some changes since the original application including small increases to the number of units (148 to 160), the amount of retail space (604 square metres to 620), and the common amenity area (1,995 square metres to 2,135). The two towers on the site will now be one, and while the Beer Store will get to stand, the RBC branch on the corner will be demolished (though it might find a home in the new retail space). With these changes, staff is recommending council approval.
Decision Report 388 Arkell Rd Proposed OP and Zoning By-law Amendments Files OP1705 and ZC1708 – As previously discussed at a meeting in November 2017, the property is presently zoned “Agricultural”, but the Upper Grand District School Board wants to rezone it as “Educational, Spiritual and Other Services”(I.1) so that they can build a high school there. Since the application first came to council, there have been some adjustments to the plan, especially with the entry and exit points to the school, but the project now has the thumbs up from staff to proceed.
Decision Report 1354 Gordon Street Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment File OZS19-008 – It was in Fall 2019 that council reviewed his application for Hamilton Corners to be converted from a commercial space on a nearly empty lot to an eight-storey, 88-unit apartment building with a commercial use on the ground floor plus a standalone gas station. The final plan coming for council approval keeps the eight storeys, but adds 22 more units. The gas station and convenience store are now gone from the plan, and the mixed part of the mixed development will now be used for a micro-brewery or brew pub.
Request for an Extension to Draft Plan of Subdivision 23T-07506 1159 Victoria Rd S -A large development project in the south end that includes Decorso Drive, Poole Street, and Houser Court, still has one phase of development left to complete at the northern most portion of the site. This subdivision has been in-development for nearly 12 years, and though Phase 3 has already been extended twice, staff are endorsing a new extension to 2025 because it is just 18 detached houses, and if the extension laps, then the planning process has to start from the beginning.
Statutory Public Meeting Report 639 Eramosa Rd Proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments File OZS22-014 – This is currently the site of the Kingdom Hall for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but a chiropractic clinic might soon open there instead but it requires a slight zoning change from “Educational, Spiritual and Other Services” (I.1) Zone to a “Specialized Office Residential” (OR-?). Most of the changes to the building will be internal, but there are some proposed changes to the external property too that staff must review.
Guelph Politico 