RECAP: Transit Committee Looks to the Future at March Meeting

After being one shy of quorum in February, it was an almost full house for March as the Transit Advisory Committee threw themselves into some catch-up work and then looked ahead. From the pending presentation of the new fare strategy, to the coming changes from the Future Ready Plan, and yes, to an update about the roll out of the electric buses, there was a lot of ground to cover, so let’s start covering it with the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Transit Committee Looks to the Future at March Meeting”

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Chooses What Heritage Properties They Want to Save (First?)

This month’s Heritage Guelph meeting gained some forward momentum on the heritage planning work plan in the City’s 1,700 designation eligible properties now paired down to an opening line-up of 10 for staff to start with. In other news, the committee sent the heritage designation for 65 Delhi Street to council while also looking at a designation for the Albion, which, during the meeting, was given an all-new nickname it’s apparently had all this time. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Chooses What Heritage Properties They Want to Save (First?)”

This Week at Council: Trees, Short-Term Rentals, and Rec Centre Back On

If you liked trees and tax policy, then this was the Committee of the Whole meeting for you! The packed agenda saw just about every service areas get some time in the spotlight from the internal audit plan, to potential new rules for short-term rentals, to a new plan to finally get the South End Community Centre built. The big item though, naturally, was the plan to increase the city’s tree canopy. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Trees, Short-Term Rentals, and Rec Centre Back On”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the March 22 Meeting?

How do we strengthen Guelph’s economy and bring back some of those sweet tourism dollars? This is a question that’s preoccupied the economic development offices at City Hall lately, and now city council will be brought up to speed on the progress to re-commit to the expansion of Guelph’s economy and how best we might be able to attract visitors to the city in this very special council workshop. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the March 22 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the March 21 Meeting?

After March Break, council will sit down for this month’s relatively thin planning meeting with two items on the agenda. One is about approving a plan for a seniors’ residence in the south end, but the major one concerns a pretty big piece of land. What are council’s thoughts about the work done so far on the Heritage Conservation District plan for the Ontario Reformatory Lands? We’re going to find out! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the March 21 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #363 – The Future of Our Food Future

It was about this time back in 2019 that Guelph and Wellington County were announced as the winners of the Smart Cities Challenge. The challenge was to develop a circular food economy that was going to reduce food waste, promote sustainable food development, and increase access to nutritious food and produce. By many metrics, the project has been a success, so what happens when the funds run out this year? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #363 – The Future of Our Food Future”

MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for March 16, 2023

Hopefully there will be no March Break for the Transit Advisory Committee. Unfortunately, the committee was unable to reach quorum at the February meeting out at the Watson Road Transit office, but back at City Hall it might be easier to bring everyone in to catch up on the work missed in February and take care of business for March. This is what’s on the agenda for the March TAC meeting… Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for March 16, 2023”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for March 7, 2023

Strap in for what might look like a long one! 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 March 7, 2023”

This Week at Council: Campus Redux, Elliott Expansion, and The Pledge!

It was a very busy agenda to end February at city council. Along with the potential construction of the operations campus, the likely construction of new space at the Elliott, and the annual (albeit thin) report from the Integrity Commissioner, the big item of the night was The Pledge. Council had to endorse the Government of Ontario’s goal of building 18,000 homes by the year 2031, but they had some serious caveats. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Campus Redux, Elliott Expansion, and The Pledge!”

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for March 13, 2023

This month’s Heritage Guelph meeting will be about taking the workplans and putting the plans to work. After the last couple of months getting ducks in a row and responding to the heritage changes made in Bill 23, planning staff are now ready to start the collective actions to save as much heritage as possible before the Province’s two-year time line runs out. Shall we begin?! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for March 13, 2023”