For people concerned about housing issues, this is probably the Committee of the Whole meeting for you! Two big reports are on this agenda, one dealing with moves to stop the loss of housing and one to deal with the creation of more housing on City-owned properties. In other news, committee will approve a plan to diversify membership of the police board and changes to the plans to enhance ground water protection. Here’s the full preview…
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 October 31. 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:
Wastewater Lab Closure – This could be a reference to last year’s decision by the Ontario government to close six laboratories that test wastewater for the presence of viruses. Why this is a topic to be discussed in-camera is unknown, but the clue may be that the stated reason is due to matters “regarding labour relations or employee negotiations.”
STAFF RECOGNITIONS:
1) Council and Committee Coordinator Andrew Sandor will be cited for his Completion of Municipal Administration Program (MAP) AMCTO and Completion of Municipal Accounting and Finance Program (MAFP).
2) General Manager of Information Technology Adam Fischer completed the Rotman, Chief Information Officer (CIO) Canada Executive Leadership Program Certification.
Diversity Plan for the Guelph Police Service Board – For those of you who may not know, the Guelph Police Service Board is made up of the mayor, a city councillor, one per person appointed by council and two people appointed by the Ontario government. This plan, which is a requirement under the Community Safety and Policing Act, will try to strengthen community representation including voluntary demographic self-disclosure, consideration of existing board diversity, and prioritization of candidates from equity-seeking groups who meet required skills.
Affordable Housing Programming and Policy Update – This report covers two of the most in-demand pieces of policy: A bylaw banning renovictions and a tax on vacant homes. On the subject of the former, staff are saying that they don’t have enough information to proceed yet due to legal complexities and the desire to analyze the effectiveness of other bylaws. They want to delay until 2027 to do more research, which also, apparently, requires more staff capacity, especially if committee wants to accelerate that timeline. As for the Vacant Home Tax, staff are recommending a two per cent tax rate on the assessed value of vacant properties, which should generate roughly $300,000 annually. According to staff that will be just enough to cover program costs for staffing and administration, and any surplus would go into the Affordable Housing Reserve. Like other bylaws, this would be a complaint based system. As for renovictions, staff are asking to be directed to continue the advocacy to the provincial government to make appropriate changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.
Advancing Affordable Housing on City-Owned Properties – Staff are recommending that committee pursue a plan to create new affordable housing on City-owned property. The plan: Build on two presently vacant addresses one at 5 Normandy Drive and the other at 7 Eastview Road, which could be home to 12 units split between three fourplexes, one at Normandy and two at Eastview. The projects will be funded by $3.4 million, including $3.0 million from the HAF and $400,000 from the City’s Affordable Housing Reserve, but will be built and operated with the support of community partners. The City’s next steps include issuing requests for proposals and expressions of interest to secure both a builder and an affordable housing operator, with construction potentially beginning in 2026.
City of Guelph Source Protection Plan Proposed Amendments and Endorsement – There over 40 new polices in this update, which includes groundwater monitoring and modeling, land use planning and development controls, collaboration between the municipality and the provincial government, and water conservation and efficiency. These policies are also tied to two main threat categories under the Clean Water Act, specifically consumptive water taking and activities that reduce groundwater discharge. There’s also the usual changes to terminology and revised definitions.
Guelph Politico 