The first couple of Committee of the Whole meeting this year have been pretty dry, but this March meeting is very stacked by comparison! First, there will be long awaited final report on changes to advisory committee of councils, and along with that there will be the mid-term review of governance at city council. And if that’s not enough, we’ll talk about water, traffic, and how we can get by better without single-use plastics!
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 28. 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.
NOTE #3: This meeting starts at 9:30 in lieu of the regular start in recognition of the Holy Month of Ramadan and those that celebrate in the Muslim faith.
CLOSED MEETING:
601 Scottsdale Drive: Ontario Land Tribunal Update – The address is the Alma, the privately-owned student residence on the property of the old Holiday Inn. A lawyer of the developer appeared at last November’s planning meeting to argue that they shouldn’t pay development charges since this is student housing on University of Guelph property, but let’s just say there’s a lot of grey here. And yet, because this is a matter “regarding litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board; and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose,” it must be discussed under Section 239(2)(e) and (f) of the Municipal Act.
STAFF RECOGNITIONS:
Manager of Technical Services Kyle Gibson, and Construction Inspector Bob Richardson will be recognised for their Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists: Municipal Infrastructure Contract Administrator Designation.
2025 Property Tax Policy – As usual with the March Committee of the Whole meeting, council has to approve the new tax policy, which is basically how the tax levy increase passed at budget time is turned into what you see on your tax bill starting in June. For 2025, a single family detached property with a median value of $408,000 will see an additional $343.37 added to their annual tax bill.
Redesigning Advisory Committees of Council: Final Report – Say goodbye to the previous slate of ACOCs, and say hello to seven new committees who will carry on with the work of advising council. Here’s the list new committees and how they compare to the previous committees:
- Accessibility Advisory Committee (no change)
- Heritage Advisory Committee (formally Heritage Guelph)
- Planning, Environment and Water Advisory Committee (combined Planning Advisory Committee, Water Conservation and Efficiency Public Advisory Committee, the Natural Heritage Advisory Committee and Waste Resource Innovation Centre Public Liaison Committee)
- Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (combined Guelph Museums Advisory Committee and Public Art Advisory Committee)
- Transportation Advisory Committee (formally the Transit Advisory Committee with more of a focus on transportation overall)
- Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee (combined Guelph Economic Development Advisory Committee and Tourism Advisory Committee)
- Committee of Adjustment and Property Standards Committee (combined Committee of Adjustment and Property Standards Committee)
- *The Municipal Property and Commemorative Naming Committee will be disbanded and its responsibilities will be handled in a new community engagement process.
If approved, recruitment of the new committees will begin in April, council will make appointments in May, and the first meetings will begin starting in June.
2025 Governance Review – In the middle (ish) of every term of council, the clerks office reviews governance policy and procedures. Among the proposed changes here are additions to the Procedural Bylaw including a formal schedule for who serves as the chair of council meeting in the mayor’s absence, the allowance of correspondences for all budget meetings, the removal of references to Robert’s Rules of Order, and the authority to remove members who are being disruptive.
There are also some changes to the Code of Conduct including a new requirement for council members to maintain separate social media accounts during elections, and to refrain blocking members of the public on social media, plus a new parental leave policy, which recently became an issue for one member of council.
Other proposed changes: There’s a move to always have Committee of the Whole on Tuesday to avoid conflicts with the Board of Health meetings after holiday weekends, and a request to appoint a resident representative at the Board of Health, while most of the recommendations made by the Accessibility Advisory Committee at a meeting last October have been rejected by staff. There have also been a number of smaller administrative changes to reflect current practices in the administration.
2024 Water Services’ Annual report, Summary Report and Water Efficiency Strategy Progress Report – Another regular March report is this one concerning the annual report of the safety of Guelph’s drinking water. The highlights: The City saved 203 cubic metres of water per day with water conservation efforts last year, average daily water use went down another 2.3 litres per day in 2023, and nearly 600 applications and audits were completed through the rebate programs. In terms of water quality, there were two incidents of non-compliance with regulatory requirements but both were corrected without any further action and no improperly treated water reached customers.
Single Use Items Strategy Phase 2 Reusable Containers – Last June, city council wanted some more feedback from staff about going further in reducing plastic use, including a bylaw requiring eateries to allow customers to bring in reusable containers for take out. Staff are recommending a change to the bylaw to include this wording: “Businesses must provide a reusable container or accept a customer’s clean reusable container for food orders made in-store for food consumed on or off a Business’ premises unless served through a window to a customer at a drive-through or purchased for delivery.”
Vision Zero Action Plan – An important part of the Transportation Master Plan approved in 2022 is Vision Zero, which is a principle that no death on a Guelph road is acceptable, and to get to zero we need to create safer streets through better design and policy. To get there, committee will consider this presentation that outlines Guelph’s “high risk network”, meaning streets that present the highest risk for injury and death, and will look at the elimination of the flashing 10 kilometre per hour signs and replacing them with more static signs. Why? So that the City can install automated speed enforcement cameras, which are not allowed in areas with the flashing signs under provincial legislation. The plan will also expand community safety zones outside of the immediate areas around schools.
Guelph Politico 