March’s planning meeting will put a couple of massive new projects on the table, but at this point they’re only theoretical. There will be two statutory planning meetings for this month’s planning meeting, and there will also be two new heritage designations, and if we’re talking about housing this much, then it makes sense for staff to combine their talents and present to council the sum and total of the City of Guelph’s housing development initiatives, this far.
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 6. 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 10 am in lieu of the regular start in recognition of the Holy Month of Ramadan and those that celebrate in the Muslim faith.
CLOSED MEETING:
Council Education Session: Land Use Planning and Legal Considerations – Interesting subject, not that we will be able to hear much about it because this will be discussed in-camera under Section 239(3.1) (1) of the Municipal Act in regards to “a meeting held for the purpose of educating or training the members.”
225 Waterloo Ave: Notice of Intention to Designate – Constructed in the neo-classic vernacular style, this building was called “Meadowview Park” when it was constructed around 1869. It was owned by Robert C. Kennedy and built using limestone cut from the Kennedy Quarry, the remains of which can still be seen in backyards along Waterloo Avenue. The historical and building details make this property worthy of designation as it meets six of the nine prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, according to Ontario Regulation 9/06. This is a designation that was initiated by the property owners themselves.
35 Foster Avenue: Notice of Intention to Designate – This property was bought by John Brown, a local stone-cutter who was likely responsible for the construction of the limestone cottage here, in 1865. A side-gabled limestone cottage with pick-faced, squared tuck-pointed limestones, this house meets three of the nine prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, and was also a voluntary designation.
Public Meeting for Proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications for 70 Fountain Street E – Not for the first time, someone is proposing the transformation of this site from a three-storey office building into a residential tower. This one though proposes a 24-storey, mixed-use building having approximately 440 square metres of ground-floor retail space, five stacked townhouse-style units integrated into the building’s four-storey podium at the lower and upper ground floors and a residential tower above containing 419 purpose-built rental dwelling units. This is the statutory planning for this project, which means that no final decision about approving this project will be made at the meeting and council will only vote to receive the report.
Public Meeting for Proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications for 328 Victoria Rd S and 588 Stone Rd E – This is the next step in developing the Guelph Innovation District property owned by Fusion Homes. Covering about 116 hectares, this proposal will take the block plan and rezone it to allow for the creation of approximately 4,544 housing units and about 4,635 jobs, with a mix of low- and medium-density housing, mixed-use commercial areas, employment lands, a school block, parks, open space, natural heritage areas, and stormwater ponds. The zoning amendment would replace the current Urban Reserve zoning with several new zones for residential, mixed-use, employment, park, and natural heritage uses, along with site-specific provisions permitting higher densities, building heights up to 18 storeys in mixed-use areas, and modifications to park and mixed-use regulations. This is also a statutory planning for this project, which means that no final decision about approving this project will be made at the meeting and council will only vote to receive the report.
Housing in Guelph 2025 Report – This report aims to be perhaps the most comprehensive overview of the City’s work to support the development of more housing in Guelph. It highlights that in 2025 the City advanced several initiatives to improve housing readiness, focusing on five key strategies aligned with the Ontario Big City Mayors’ framework: unlocking land for housing, enabling greater density, reducing barriers for developers, streamlining approvals, and supporting affordable and non-market housing.
The data shows that there’s been strong growth in the housing development pipeline with development applications at the pre-submission stage increasing to 4,903 units in 2025 from 2,499 in 2024, while 1,743 units were approved through formal development applications, which is still a 14 per cent increase from the previous year. Although the total number of building permits decreased, the number of housing units created actually increased slightly to 656 units in 2025 compared to 645 in 2024, and these reflected the previously discussed shift multi-unit housing and Additional Dwelling Units (or ADUs).
The City is facing pressure from planning appeals, labour shortages, changing provincial legislation, economic uncertainty, and slower population growth as well as frequent appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal, especially around the 2023 Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw, and staffing shortages in areas like engineering, planning, finance, and legal services.
Guelph Politico 