Happy Valentine’s Day, it’s a planning meeting! If you have a love for zoning, than this will be a holiday worth remembering as city council tackles a couple of decision reports, a sign bylaw variance request, and a brand new planning application that it almost definitely going to bring with it some controversy. Let’s dig into the reports from this first planning meeting of what will surely be a very busy 2023!
NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at this meeting in-person or via tele-presense but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday February 10. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: In addition to appearing in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
145 Speedvale Ave West: Decision Report for Zoning By-law Amendment – Last February, the Shell station at the corner of Speedvale and Edinburgh brought an application to expand their services by increasing the floor space of the convenience store and adding a car wash. The verdict from City staff? Make it so, but they are also saying that “Specialized Neighbourhood Shopping Centre” (NC-?) Zone is a better fit than the “Specialized Convenience Commercial” (C.1-?) Zone they asked for.
Decision Report 205-213 Speedvale Ave E Proposed OPA and ZBA Files OZS18-011 and OZS22-003 -This decision comes to us from a statutory planning meeting that took place way back in April 2019. The request was to turn three single-detached dwellings into a new three-storey apartment complex with 21-units, plus a fourth single-detached dwelling that would be converted into three-units. There have been some minor changes to the plan, the driveway entrance has been moved to Delhi Street and the wooded area will be maintained for amenity space. There have also been some slight changes to the elevation plus an additional half-storey in height. As far as staff is concerned though, this is a done deal.
Sign Bylaw Variances for 43 Woodlawn Road West -The Smart Centre, the big plaza where the Woodlawn Walmart is located, is looking to install a new ground sign with an electronic message board on the western end of the property near the Bank of Montreal location and the main entrance to the plaza (the same one the buses use). City staff though are saying no dice because it’s five to six times as large as what’s permitted for a sign like this in this location, plus an electronic message board 22 metres from a signalised intersection doesn’t seem like a great idea either.
Public Meeting Report 58 Wellington St E Proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments File OZS23-001 -A lot of eyes will be on this one because we’re talking about a 23-storey mixed use building containing 250 residential units, three commercial/residential units and 714 square metres of retail commercial space. Right now, this lot is just an empty patch where a gas station used to be, but the location is the corner of Wellington and Wyndham, kitty-corner from the supposed location of where John Galt cut down the first tree to initiate Guelph. Chances are that this is going to get some attention as it’s five storeys more than what’s typically allowed in the Downtown Secondary Plan and two storey shorter that the proposed Skyline tower just a block up the hill. Remember, this is the statutory public meeting for this development, meaning that no final decisions will be made. Council will only vote to accept the report as received.
Guelph Politico 