Don’t worry, the October Accessibility Advisory Committee has not been cancelled, it’s just been moved to another day of the week. This special Thursday meeting of the AAC will cover a lot of items under the housing file, from the Public Space Use Bylaw to housing affordability strategies. In other news, the committee will look at transit and then try to agree on a definition for a very important word.
NOTE #1: This meeting will take place in Meeting Room TBD at City Hall, but you can also watch it on video via Microsoft Teams. (Find the link on the meeting agenda.)
NOTE #2: Accessibility-related accommodations available upon timely request to the committee liaison at 519-822-1260 extension 3536; TTY 519-826-9771 email: accessibility [at] guelph.ca.
NOTE #3: The meeting begins at 3 pm and is expected to wrap up around 5 pm.
NOTE #4: This meeting was rescheduled from the original date of Tuesday October 15.
Additional Residential Dwelling Unit Incentive Program: Final List of Accessible Design Features – Using feedback from August’s AAC meeting, staff have come up with a list of features that can be used for an ARDU Incentive Program to fund accessible renovations. The list includes the size of doorways, the placement and type of amenities like mirrors and counters, and the type of accessible features required like grab bars and ramps.
AAC Processes: Public Space Use Bylaw Example – Back in February, the AAC passed a motion asking to be included in any future engagement around the Public Space Use Bylaw. It looked the matter had been dropped, but in late summer the bylaw was brought back to council for discussion and approval, without, notably, any engagement with this committee. No report was included on the agenda, but there will surely be some commentary from the AAC about them not being consulted. Again.
Housing Affordability Strategy 2024 – Presented at city council last week, this new Housing Affordability Strategy looks at things the City of Guelph is already doing like more flexible regulations, financial incentives, and punitive measures like a possible renovation bylaw, and things they want to do like the promotion of YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) principles, reduced parking requirements, a review of City-owned land, and to search for other ways the City can accelerate housing development. Council received the draft version of the plan last week, and now the AAC will get their chance to provide feedback.
Public Space Use Bylaw: AAC Engagement -Deputy CAO of Public Services Colleen Clack-Bush will be on-hand to talk about the bylaw, which went into effect on October 1, but there’s really no new information in the report to the committee.
Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) – About $3.2 million of the over $21 million received by Guelph earlier this year from the Housing Accelerator Fund is going to a Community Improvement Plan or CIP. Specifically, the list of accessible features mentioned above will used for an Additional Residential Dwelling (ADR) Unit incentive program to encourage the creation of accessible ADRUs.
CNIB and PAL card holders transitioning to OnYourWay Fare card – Guelph Transit is working towards bringing all fare programs under the OnYourWay umbrella, and that includes the Canadian National Institute for the Blind card that can be used for discounts on transit passes, and the City of Guelph’s own PAL program, which does the same for people who assist people with disabilities. By acquiring the OnYourWay card, Transit will be able to collect data on these users and will be better able to make adjustments to services. This item will also be discussed at this month’s Transit Advisory Committee meeting.
Committee edit to Appendix A of the Accessibility Advisory Committee Member Handbook 2023 – At the August meeting, committee had some notes about the definition of “Intersectionality” that was proposed for Appendix A of the Handbook. The change is a little subtle, with the third paragraph deleted and a new sentence added to the end segment, plus the origins of the term added to the first paragraph. See the new full definition below…
“What is intersectionality:
Intersectionality has its roots in Black and Indigenous feminist work and the concept was introduced by Black feminist activist Kimberlé Crenshaw. It is a way of understanding how a person’s different identities – such as race, religion, gender-identity, gender expression, class, sexuality, disability, etc. – can affect the way they experience life. It’s like looking at lived experiences through many different lenses at the same time rather than putting them in different boxes. Intersectionality also helps to understand how our communities include or exclude these different experiences in making decisions about who gets access to services or resources.
We include disability when we talk about intersectionality because different people with disabilities face different challenges or barriers. Experiences of disability can be different if you are a woman, man, or gender-diverse, or are Black or Indigenous, or depending on your religion, age, immigration status, or level of education. Using an intersectional lens helps us understand that everyone’s experience isdifferent and more complex than just one part of their identity. It also helps us to make our policies, schools, and communities more inclusive of our diversity.”
Guelph Politico 