The first planning meeting of the fall has an application for more units than have been approved all year so far, but will council be interested in chasing them given the cost? That will be one of the questions councillors will tackle in this meeting as they hold a statutory meeting on this massive new project. In terms of small moves, look out for an update to everyone’s favourite planning bylaw, and something that will be discussed in closed…
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 September 5. 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:
Hanlon Creek Land Disposition – What disposition? Can’t say, because this falls under Section 239(2)(c) of the Municipal Act for matters “regarding proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board” and it will be discussed in closed session.
Public Meeting Report: 1 Clair Road East Proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment File OZS25-005 – This development could result in a new mixed-use residential and commercial complex with four buildings, five towers, ranging from 10 to 14 storeys, containing 715 dwelling units. The cost? The present commercial development on that corner, which includes Galaxy Cinemas, Harvey’s, the Beer Store, State and Main, and more will be demolished. Now, those businesses could return in the new development, but there are obviously no guarantees, just as there are obviously about two pages of zoning exceptions needed just to make this development possible. Now, this is just the statutory public meeting for this project, meaning that council will only vote to receive the report and no final decision about this project will be made. Yet.
Parkland Dedication Bylaw Exemptions – We know that there are a lot of opinions about the parkland dedication bylaw in the Guelph community, but this is probably not an opportunity for any big discussion. As a new Parkland Acquisition Strategy is expected in the first quarter of 2027, and along with that a comprehensive update of the bylaw, we will make due with a few changes including exemptions to paying cash-in-lieu for expansions and renovations on residential buildings that are not adding any new units. There’s also a specific carve out for an apartment building at 671 Woolwich Street, where the addition of one new bachelor unit is triggering the proviso for cash-in-lieu, which would be the first time that this building has ever paid parkland dedication fees as it predates them.
Guelph Politico 