In the last planning meeting for 2025, there was indeed a lot of planning. No new projects were on the agenda, so no future additions to the housing stock, but maybe the fruits of this meeting will lead the way(?). In the first half, council talked about making it easier to get more ADUs built in the city, and in the second half they looked at doing more than four units as-of-right in low residential areas. Let’s get into the recap!
Planning Meeting of Council – December 9, 2025
There were no new projects on the agenda for the last planning meeting of the year, but there were some discussions about how to create more housing in the city. Councillor Leanne Caron led the meeting in the chambers while Mayor Cam Guthrie attended virtually from the Strong Cities conference in Toronto.
First up was the combined public and decision meeting for amendments to the Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Grant Program, part of the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan. The changes in the homeowner stream included tiered funding for private utility upgrades in select scenarios, eligibility for projects up to three units and the ability to now apply for multiple projects, while the project stream will see up to $15,000 now available per unit for construction, plus the same tiered funding for utilities and no cap on the number of units eligible.
Policy Planner Brittany Manley explained that these changes were based on a review staff had done with people who had filed applications for the grant or had expressed interest in applying, and the hope is that they will make it easier to get more uptake on the available funding, which comes from the Housing Accelerator Fund. The one delegate on the topic noted his concerns that the available grant money was not enough to recover the costs of building the detached ADUs he’s been working on due to the set amount of rent he can collect over the term of the contract, and he’s not building these units to make a profit. It’s worthing noting that about 13 projects have been approved or are in the process of getting approval so far, and most of those have been new basement apartments.
When council had a turn to question staff, Guthrie asked about increasing the amount available in the grant for each project, but GM of Planning and Building Services Krista Walkey said that increasing the available funds for future projects would also mean reopening the grants that have already been received; the work here is to make it easier for more people to apply and not give more money away per project. Council approved the changes unanimously.
Some housekeeping amendments concerning phase 3 of the Hanlon Creek Business Park had been pulled from the agenda, so that just left the staff report exploring five-plus units as-of-right in low density areas of the city. Staff determined that 18 per cent of Guelph properties could be fit for such allowances based on servicing, transit access and parcel size and were seeking leave from council to either pursue a bylaw or sign off on the work so far as having completed this requirement in the HAF agreement.
Again there was one delegate. Chris Bonnett, who said that he was representing himself, but that a lot of his neighbours on Mayfield Avenue south of the university shared his sentiments, essentially called this a Pandora’s Box. His concern was how quickly fiveplexes or sixplexes could be turned into 10 or 20 units, which would negatively impact these low-density areas with a sharp jump in the number of residences on even just one or two lots.
Some councillors had similar concerns noting that they only approved four units as-of-right earlier this year, and they’re still not able to properly judge its success. Is this too much change too fast? More practically, there were concerns about water capacity, which is why staff are presently doing a water supply analysis and that will include the potential effects of the “use it or lose it” provisions that allow municipalities to renege planning approvals if projects take too long to begin construction. It terms of impact, staff noted that with 70-80 per cent of Guelph zoned as either RL.1 or RL.2, there’s only so much that can be done to try and activate more supply in developed areas of the city.
Perhaps sensing hesitation, Guthrie proposed an amendment to one of the recommendations to focus a more technical review of suitable properties to only corner lots on arterial and collector roads. Some councillors were open, but others still hedged saying that we all might be surprised about how many properties we’re still talking about with even those limitations. Regardless of the concerns, the amendment was approved by a slim 6-5 majority. (Councillors Klassen and Busuttil were unaccounted for at the meeting.)
In another attempt to make the motion palpable, council voted to remove part b of the recommendation, which directed staff to prepare draft Official Plan policies and zoning bylaw amendments, which might signal the intention of council to proceed with five-plus units as-of-right. It still wasn’t enough for the five councillors to come on side, but staff have now been directed to prepare a report for the fourth quarter of next year to and bring it back to council for further consideration.
One more meeting till Christmas break!
Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.
Guelph Politico 