Welcome to the agenda for the April planning meeting, and for the first time in a couple of months we have a genuine planning proposal for new units. That’s later in the agenda, first, council has approve another whole batch of heritage designations, and then approve two major pieces of policy in the form of getting higher downtown (building-wise speaking) and charging density and development in the area around Stone Road Mall.
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 March 4. 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:
895 and 919 York Road: Ontario Land Tribunal Update – Because this is a matter being appealed right now at the provincial planning oversight board, it has to be discussed under Section 239(2)(e) and (f) for matters 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.”
52 Paisley Street: Notice of Intention to Designate – This flat looking building, which is actually a row house, has been around since the latter part of the 19th century and has almost always been some kind of rental housing. The staff report notes that this is an example of both Georgian and vernacular styles, and how it’s “broadly symmetrical” with the doors and windows equally spaced apart. It meets three out of nine criteria for designation and was approved by Heritage Guelph at their March meeting.
54 Paisley Street: Notice of Intention to Designate – This is the middle unit of the Paisley Street row house.
56 Paisley Street: Notice of Intention to Designate – This is the end unit of the Paisley Street row house.
136 Glasgow Street North: Notice of Intention to Designate – According to the staff report, this is “one of the City of Guelph’s most impressive Italianate redbrick residences.” Built in the late-19th century, this was the home of Thomas Gowdy, a successful business man and Mayor of Guelph, and as it stands today it meeting eight out of nine criteria for designation, and was also approved by Heritage Guelph at their March meeting.
30 Eramosa Road: Notice of Intention to Designate – As you ascend Eramosa Road, you may notice this building that looks like a duplex on the north side of the street. When it was built, the building served as a foundry and machine shop, but those portions were demolished and the building that remains has served as a residence for the last hundred years. It meets four of the nine criteria for designation, and was approved for designation by Heritage Guelph at their February meeting.
32 Eramosa Road: Notice of Intention to Designate – This is the other half of the same building as 30 Eramosa.
9 and 13 Paisley Street: Notice of Intention to Designate – On the north side of Paisley is this yellow-tinted building which has hosted an number of commercial establishments over the decades, including W. G. Mitchell who capitalised on a new transportation craze in the last-19th century with a bike shop at this location. It meets four of the nine criteria for designation, and was also approved by Heritage Guelph at their March meeting.
15 and 17 Paisley Street: Notice of Intention to Designate – These units are part of the same row as 9-13 Paisley, so they have a shared history. This also meets four of the nine criteria for designation.
328 Victoria Road South (Frost Building): Notice of Intention to Designate – This location is the G. F. Frost Research and Information Centre, or what’s more conventionally known as the Turfgrass Institute. This is an important designation because it’s within the area of the Guelph Innovation District that’s owned by Fusion Homes and being primed for development. According to heritage staff, the building meets five of the nine criteria to designate under Ontario Regulation 9/06, and was also approved by Heritage Guelph at their March meeting.
Statutory Public Meeting and Decision Downtown Heights Study Official Plan Amendment – Alert! This is both a statutory meeting and a decision meeting, so delegates will get their 10 minutes, but council will also make a decision about the report. So what is the recommendation from staff on downtown heights? In one word? Taller. While the OPA will aim to preserve five view corridors for the Basilica of Our Lady – mostly aligned with key roads like Eramosa, Gordon and Macdonell – some areas within the Downtown Secondary Plan boundary will now be allowed to go as high as 24 storeys. Those areas are mostly centred around parts south of the Metrolinx tracks, areas along Elizabeth Street, and the Old Quebec Street property. Mostly though, the new height limits are adding two-to-four storeys; in the core area of downtown most properties will have six or eight storey limits.
Stone Road and Edinburgh Road Community Planning Permit Decision Report – This project came to council for the statutory meeting in January. To recap: This is a policy meant to streamline the development permitting system by combining bylaw amendments, minor variances and site plan applications into a singular continuous process that will bring the review period down to 45 days from a currently typical 180. There will be three classes of application that will have different notice requirements; if you check all the boxes in the bylaw no notice is necessary, some slight variations can be approved by staff and will require some notice in class two, while class three involves some major variations that will require leave from council. After council approves the policy, there will be an appeals period before it goes into effect.
Public Meeting and Decision Report, Proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments for 132 Clair Rd W (Block 2, Draft Plan of Subdivision 23T-15501) – Across the road from the Longo’s plaza on Clair Road there’s now a proposal to build nine blocks of stacked townhouses with a total of 62 new units plus 750 square metres of common amenity space. This is another one of those statutory and decision meeting deals.
Guelph Politico 