In this last planning meeting for the summer break, there’s a lot on the agenda for the consideration of Guelph city council. On the docket are two new heritage designations, two new statutory planning meetings (including the nearly completed new heritage district plan), an update on Guelph’s housing picture, and the plan for a much talked about new development in the downtown area. Here’s the 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 July 10. 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:
1242-1270 Gordon Street and 9 Valley Road: Ontario Land Tribunal Update – Last discussed in-camera at May’s regular meeting, it appears there’s further news on this matter and again it will be discussed in closed under As Section 239(2)(e) and (f) of the Municipal Act, for “litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals…”
19 Dublin Street South: Notice of Intention to Designate – A voluntary designation, this small one-storey limestone cottage located between Waterloo Avenue and Essex Street meets two of the nine criteria used to determine cultural heritage value or interest as set out in Ontario Regulation 9/06. The Heritage Advisory Committee endorsed the designation in May.
7 Balsarroch Place: Notice of Intention to Designate – This limestone farmhouse south of York Road has been around for over 160 years, and been through many Guelph famous hands. It meets five of the nine prescribed criteria under Ontario Regulation 9/06 and its designation was endorsed by the Heritage Advisory Committee last month.
Statutory Public Meeting Report: 266-280 Clair Road West, 950 Southgate Dr. Proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment File OZS25-018 – This is a pretty big parcel of land in the south end, almost nine hectares in all, and the plan here is to rezone what is supposed to Industrial land into High Density Residential. The developer is looking at two apartment buildings of 16 and 14 storeys, along with 31 stacked and back-to-back townhouse blocks with 940 units in all. This is only the statutory meeting for this project meaning that no final decisions will be made at this meeting; council will only vote to receive the report.
Ward Heritage Conservation District: Draft Plan and Guidelines – It was about this time last year that council approved phase #1 of this third and final HCD project (for now), and now we get this statutory meeting for phase #2. The draft plan is divided into two sections. Part A, “Understanding the District,” explains the Ward’s heritage significance, outlines its cultural heritage values, identifies key heritage attributes, and establishes the objectives of the conservation district. Part B, “Planning for Change,” provides the policies and procedures property owners and the City would follow when making alterations, including when heritage permits or Cultural Heritage Resource Impact Assessments may be required. After this meeting, staff will gather the last bits of feedback before bringing this back to council for final approval in September. Council will only vote to receive this report at this meeting.
Public Meeting and Decision Report for Proposed Rental Replacement By-law and Enabling Official Plan Amendment – After approving the Vacant Home Tax and Renoviction Bylaw last month, this is the third and final piece, the Rental Replacement Bylaw and accompanying Official Plan Amendment. The proposed bylaw would apply to development applications requiring Planning Act approval that involve the demolition or conversion of residential rental properties containing six or more units, such as purpose-built apartment buildings and townhouse complexes. Developers would generally be required to replace any affordable rental units being lost with new rental units of the same size and number of bedrooms and maintain those replacement units at or below Average Market Rent for 10 years. However, replacement requirements would not apply if Guelph’s average vacancy rate over the previous two years reaches at least three per cent or if the rents in the building being demolished are already at or above Average Market Rent.
Guelph Growth Management Monitoring Report 2025 – The “challenging” conditions for construction continued last year meaning that Guelph recorded 531 housing starts in 2025, which is only 29.5 per cent of its annual provincial target of 1,800 starts. On the flip side, staff report that the fundamentals are strong with accomplishments like four units as-of-right, increased downtown heights, streamlined development approvals and forward motion on the Guelph Innovation District. The City also has enough land to accommodate the next 26 years of housing growth.
Proposed Urban Design Master Plan (UDMP) Application for 64 Duke Street, Mid-town Village – This is part of the much talked about Wood Plant No. 2 project, and staff emphasize in the report that approving this plan does not mean approving the actual development or zoning. The plan? It would transform the former industrial property into a mixed-use neighbourhood containing approximately 800 to 850 residential units across seven buildings ranging from three to 23 storeys. The plan establishes the overall layout and design principles for the site rather than detailed building designs. It outlines the locations of buildings, streets, parks, trails, public gathering spaces, parking, and transportation connections, and it also outlines a phased construction strategy. Staff are recommending that council support the plan.
Guelph Politico 