You don’t normally get a lot of political controversy – especially at city council – in the last week of August, but these are exceptional times… Back from the dead, and back from a contentious February meeting on this very same subject, council will debate again implementing a Public Space Use Bylaw. Strap in and get ready for what’s sure to be a rowdy time at city hall!
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 August 23. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
CLOSED MEETING:
Public Space Use Bylaw – Before the discussion in the open forum, council will talk about this in-camera under Section 239(2)(f) of the Municipal Act “regarding advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.”
Public Space Use Bylaw – As promised a few weeks ago, the Public Space Use Bylaw has returned agains for council debate and possible ratification. The bylaw itself hasn’t changed from when it was first introduced in January, so this meeting will, in essence, finish the work started at the February 14 meeting; council will either approved the bylaw or reject it.
To recap: The bylaw will bar encampments in “spaces with competing public use during the daytime hours” and prohibit of encampments within a certain distance of things like railways, waterways, splash pads, schools,and childcare centres. The bylaw will also prohibit damage to City infrastructure, regulate the types of shelters and materials used, and the number of shelters allowed in the same space.
“Where there is no competing public use, encampments will be permitted both daytime and overnight. Examples would be open park space that is not programmed or designated as a sports field, and not in an environmentally sensitive area,” said the original report in summation.
You may remember that council directed staff to do some community engagement about the bylaw as they waited for a resolution to an appeal of a similar bylaw in Kingston, an appeal that ended when one of the parties pulled out in April. Staff did not continue those efforts after the appeals case ended, so what happens now? “Based on the context provided and the time sensitivity of addressing the urgent situation impacting Guelph’s public spaces, staff feel that the conditions do not currently exist to conduct meaningful engagement on the Public Space Use By-law,” reads one of the reports.
If approved at this meeting, the bylaw will come to the September 10 meeting of council for final adoption and then go into effect on October 1.
Guelph Politico 