Tag: Guelph Innovation District

This Week at Council: No to Five Units, Yes to More Grants

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Everyone was prepared for a long one at the planning meeting of city council this month, but in the end length was relative. One big item was deferred off the agenda, and we will see it again in September, but for this meeting, we focused on two other areas. Council once again had a look at doing five units as-of-right, and it turns out feelings about it haven’t changed, and then they looked at a new grant to get housing built. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: No to Five Units, Yes to More Grants” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 12, 2026

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It’s time for the May planning meeting! 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 12, 2026” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 12, 2026 Meeting?

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This month’s planning meeting is going to be a difficult one, and perhaps even a lengthy one. On the agenda are a tonne of new heritage designations, which should not be controversial, so the controversy will inevitably begin with the return of new planning permissions that might make it easier to get more units built on some select properties in the city and a difficult staff decision on a major development project there’s a lot of eyes on. Let’s get into the preview! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 12, 2026 Meeting?” →

This Week at Council: Big Nights for Big Projects

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It was a packed night, or make that a couple of nights, at Guelph City Council. Two nights, two big planning projects, one in the south end and one in the east end. Both have been hotly anticipated (dreaded?), at least one for many, many years, and while one is still at least theoretical, the other is now moving on to the next phase of development. For all the details, let’s get right into this week’s recap of council business… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Big Nights for Big Projects” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 10, 2025

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Get ready for a bonus meeting for 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for September 10, 2025” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the September 10, 2025 Meeting?

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Let’s call it a planning week. A day following the regularly scheduled planning meeting for this month, we will get an additional planning meeting. A special meeting for a special project, if you will. Remember the Guelph Innovation District Secondary Plan? Well, it’s going to get a workout as the first block plans finally come to council for approval, and in a surprising twist, staff are not offering a ringing endorsement. Let’s get into it… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the September 10, 2025 Meeting?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #339 – Too Beautiful to Fail

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For 20 years, the fate of the old Ontario Reformatory Lands have been a matter of some question, and the answer to that question is complicated by the tangled web of ownership. As successive governments have worked to untangle that web, all that residents and history buffs have been able to do is plan, advocate and educate, but what happens now that we’re so close to revealing the final fate of the OR Lands? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #339 – Too Beautiful to Fail” →

OPINION: A Modest Proposal for Our Greenfield Areas

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Breaking news! A new development group, Forgetit Developments proposes a forest for the city’s Innovation District and Clair-Maltby lands. Towering over the landscape…trees. Forgetit Developments is to install a forest on the city’s Ontario Reformatory lands and Guelph’s southend. Continue reading “OPINION: A Modest Proposal for Our Greenfield Areas” →

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Kicks Off Comments on Reformatory Heritage Area

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At a meeting of Heritage Guelph on Monday, the members of the committee got a chance to talk to the consultant reviewing the Heritage Conservation District merits of the Ontario Reformatory lands. In the course of the workshop, we learned where we are in the process, what is happening next, and how Guelph area residents can help out with their own ideas and information. Check out the recap of the meeting below. Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Kicks Off Comments on Reformatory Heritage Area” →

OP-ED: Will the Guelph Innovation District Be Everything We Want it To Be?

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A few days ago, Guelph-based builder Fusion Homes announced that they had closed the deal to buy the Guelph Innovation District Lands. A slick video posted on social media promised “thousands of jobs, and endless new entertainment, shopping and dining experiences,” but was that the point of creating the GID in the first place? One concerned Guelphite wants the developer to remember the core ideas of the GID in the first place. Continue reading “OP-ED: Will the Guelph Innovation District Be Everything We Want it To Be?” →