City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 29, 2025 Meeting?

Get ready for another lesson in the use of council authority and discretion when they sit again as a tribunal for this meeting of city council. This one may have some long-term implications and may even establish a precedent as a developer is seeking relief from the DCs, they say, may hold up an important project. Did we mention that this project is a student residence? Let’s set up the meeting in this council preview… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 29, 2025 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #466 – Remember The Alma? Oh.

We’re at the end of another school year, and while some students are looking forward to summer, they’re also looking forward to next fall. Or perhaps even stressing over it. Housing is a big issue in Guelph, and it’s somehow even bigger when it comes to student housing. Last summer, the largest first-year student enrolment ever weighed on students and the greater Guelph community, but relief may be coming if city council doesn’t get in the way(?). Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #466 – Remember The Alma? Oh.”

RECAP: Tech Issues and Chaos at Packed Social Justice Candidates Meet

In front of a packed house at the Italian Canadian Club on Tuesday night, six of the eight candidates running to be the next Member of Parliament for the riding of (most of) Guelph met to have a not-debate. Although there was a lot of shouting and interruption, the Guelph-Wellington Coalition for Social Justice aimed to have a frank exchange of ideas, and they mostly accomplished it. Here’s the recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Tech Issues and Chaos at Packed Social Justice Candidates Meet”

This Week at Council: Downtown is Getting Higher, While Stone Road is Getting a Plan

The planning meeting of council for the month of April involved getting high. Or, to put that another way, it involved re-establishing height limits. The ones downtown. Council considered how high buildings can go in the future, and then they moved their gaze to the south end with a new project on Clair Road, before looking at a new way to make housing happen faster in the area around Stone Road Mall. Let’s get into the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Downtown is Getting Higher, While Stone Road is Getting a Plan”

POLICE NOTES: Cars Taken, Salesman Scammers, and a Shoplifting Playdate

There are 145,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot going on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Cars Taken, Salesman Scammers, and a Shoplifting Playdate”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 23, 2025 Meeting?

Since Committee of the Whole this month landed on April Food’s Day, we can think of the regular council meeting as a late Easter treat. The treat though is that the main focus of this meeting is on the consent agenda from the earlier Committee of the Whole meeting, but there is a new item in the form of administrative business on a grant from the provincial government. Looks like any controversy will have to be a surprise because this is the agenda! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 23, 2025 Meeting?”

RECAP: 5 Guelph Candidates Answer Student Questions at St. James

Kids say the darnedest things, and in this case they asked the darnedest questions. The five major party candidates running in the riding of Guelph heard the school bell Thursday morning at St. James Secondary School in the east end to answer questions posed by the students there and to refine their arguments about why they’re worthy to be Guelph’s next Member of Parliament. For everyone else, there’s this video and recap! Continue reading “RECAP: 5 Guelph Candidates Answer Student Questions at St. James”

GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?

These are busy days at Politico HQ. There’s a federal election on right now, and Guelph has become so big that it’s spread over two ridings with so far a dozen candidates vying to be the next Members of Parliament. If one candidate in particular is successful then that means there will be a vacancy on Guelph city council. What happens then? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?”

RECAP: City Council Meeting for April 8, 2025

April showers with new planning concerns this week! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for April 8, 2025”

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for April 15, 2025

If it’s an even numbered month, then that means it’s time for the Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting. In this edition, the AAC will tackle a new playground feature, the redrawing of a couple of streets, the design of parks and trails, and the possibility of funding a new accessible ride at a local cab company. Get the full details about al the items on the agenda below… Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for April 15, 2025”