RECAP: Accessibility Committee Plots Its Own Path for Election Options

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After a timing forced delay back in February, the time was finally right for the final showdown between City of Guelph staff and the Accessibility Advisory Committee about voting options for the 2026 municipal election. Well, showdown was a bit strong, but so were the concerns that the AAC has about another election without internet voting. Now the matter is going to council next month, but for now there’s the recap of this month’s AAC meeting… Continue reading “RECAP: Accessibility Committee Plots Its Own Path for Election Options” →

This Week at Council: The Four Unit Problem

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This month’s planning meeting of city council was all about four, and despite what you’ve heard it’s actually the loneliness number. That was the impression you might have gotten watching what happened when staff deliver their draft report about allowing fourplexes and four units as-of-right in Guelph. It looks like this policy might have an uphill climb, but staff have until June to make a case, in the meantime, here’s the recap…. Continue reading “This Week at Council: The Four Unit Problem” →

POLICE NOTES: Remains Found, Bus Bathroom Break, and Creepy Woman with Bikes

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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: Remains Found, Bus Bathroom Break, and Creepy Woman with Bikes” →

RECAP: Panel Hears Appeal of Latest Anti-Abortion Bus Ads

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On Friday, it was a rare meeting of the Advertising Review Panel. At issue was a complaint by Guelph and Area Right to Life who want to buy a couple of new bus ads and the City of Guelph who did not want to sell them. The two parties met in the council chambers to hash out their differences, and then it was left in the hands of the panel to render a decision about whether the ads will be taken, or whether the bus will leave the station without them. Let’s recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Panel Hears Appeal of Latest Anti-Abortion Bus Ads” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for April 16, 2024

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After skipping March like usual, the Accessibility Advisory Committee will pick up where it left off in February, with questions about the direction on alternative voting methods for the 2026 municipal election. That’s going to be complicated, but fortunately much of the rest of the agenda seems straightforward with some items on heritage, waste collection and transit to consider, and then we have to get ready for a special meeting in May. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for April 16, 2024” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for April 18, 2024

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Time to catch the bus, or rather the committee that advises about the buses. The April agenda for the Transit Advisory Committee looks suspiciously like the March agenda, but with one additional item. Once again, TAC will look at chimes, and ridership concerns, and general updates, but they will also hear about a proverbial meeting of local transit minds. So let’s dig into the details as we look forward to next week’s meeting. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for April 18, 2024” →

RECAP: First Meeting of New Combined Social Services Committee Painted Bleak Future

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It was an historical day at the Administrative Centre on Wednesday as members from Wellington County and Guelph councils sat down for the first Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee. Most of the meeting was in the realm of reviews, reviews of how all the key services work and reviews of projects in progress, but there were some flashing warning signs about the impact from using Strong Mayor Powers in the Royal City. Let’s recap… Continue reading “RECAP: First Meeting of New Combined Social Services Committee Painted Bleak Future” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #414 – Tiny Homes, Big Impacts

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We’ve heard a lot about tiny homes lately as the housing crisis has gotten worse, but they’ve been a thing for a while. Somehow, it’s both a niche real estate trend, and a new innovation in accommodating Canada’s unhoused population, but it’s the latter that we’re interested in today because we’re going to talk about one of Guelph’s two tiny home projects meant to tackle homelessness. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #414 – Tiny Homes, Big Impacts” →

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for April 9, 2024

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Gentle density is the name of the game at this month’s planning meeting. You can click here for the amended agendas 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 “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for April 9, 2024” →

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Gets Ready for Designation Dump on Council

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There were April showers at this month’s Heritage Guelph meeting, and it was showering perspective designations to city council in the near future. Staff laid out their future plans in this meeting, some key deadlines for ongoing projects, and then looked at some more perspective designations, which will be among the ones that will come to city council in the next couple of months. For now, let’s talk about the April meeting in the recap below… Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Gets Ready for Designation Dump on Council” →