This Week at Council: Housing is Exactly as Complicated as You Think

After several weeks of hype, Guelph City Council held a meeting meant to rake out most of their concerns about housing, homelessness, social services, addictions and mental health. A substantial agenda requires a commensurate meeting length, and council tackled seven hours worth of facts, figures and insights into all those issues to find the gaps, and hopefully start to find some solutions. Here’s the recap from this week’s council meeting… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Housing is Exactly as Complicated as You Think”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 26?

It’s been a pretty busy September so far at Guelph City Council, a couple of long summer meetings after almost a month off, so perhaps it’s fitting then that this month will go out like a lamb with a lighter agenda. For the regular meeting this month, council will approve the consent agenda from Committee of the Whole, including the new version of the Territorial Acknowledgement, plus one bit of new business on the heritage file. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 26?”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for September 12, 2023

This is a meting all about housing! 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 September 12, 2023”

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Gets Unsuccessfully Waved Off from Designating Old Farm

It was a very busy day for the Heritage Guelph committee who had a slate of new designations for their consideration, plus the surprise destruction of a heritage feature on the OR Lands. As for those designations, one got deferred, and another was challenged by the property owner’s lawyer, who seemed to suggest that there could be further legal trouble ahead for a really old asset in need of some defending. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Gets Unsuccessfully Waved Off from Designating Old Farm”

This Week in Council: Downtown Parking Gets Racked Out

This week, council came back to do the council’s business with an agenda that included Indigenous relations, but the Downtown Parking Master Plan that was the source of the most controversy. How much should maximums be minimized was the primary source of friction, but that might still have to be worked out at the end of the month. Meanwhile, there was a lengthy closed session we know nothing about. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week in Council: Downtown Parking Gets Racked Out”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the September 19 Meeting?

Planning looks light for this first meeting of the fall. A trio of files are on the docket for this one including a decision on a previously announced project, a request for a sign variance at a York Road area institution, and a brand new application for a business that will invite people to get their putt on. Nothing terribly controversial, but City planning business has to get done all the same. Here’s the preview… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the September 19 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 20?

In September we count down to the end of the month and the newest national holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. On September 30, we’re meant to stop and think about the impacts of five centuries of colonialism on Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, and take steps to make a better future we all share equally. Council is getting a early start with a highly educational workshop meeting. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 20?”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for September 6, 2023

We’re back! For real this time. 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 “LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for September 6, 2023”

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for September 11, 2023

School’s in for Heritage Guelph as September brings a full slate of future heritage designations and potential future heritage designations. Some of these may be familiar because they’re famous cultural landmarks, or because you’ve already seen them come through an earlier Heritage Guelph meeting. Either way, there are lots of heritage decisions to made, five to be precise according to this agenda. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for September 11, 2023”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 12?

In July, there were promised future steps about tackling the housing crisis in Guelph, and we’ve now arrived at the next step. At this special meeting entirely dedicated to the housing crisis, council will hear about the research done about community needs, and how the City is going refresh its affordable housing strategy. For everyone in Guelph concerned about the issue, let’s just call this a must see. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on September 12?”