Tag: Ontario Reformatory Lands

This Week at Council: This Land *Is* Our Land

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At February’s planning meeting, council showed some love to community advocates by voting their way on a couple of key issues. First up, the last meeting about the heritage conservation district for the OR Lands will now be the second-to-last meeting after council sent it back to staff for a change. Council also asked staff to make a change to the Official Plan in the name of protecting a well-loved, and long ignored piece of property. Here’s the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: This Land *Is* Our Land” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for February 10, 2026

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If you love planning, this is going be a good meeting for you! 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 February 10, 2026” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the February 10, 2026 Meeting?

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You better show your love of planning policy at this February planning meeting of city council because it’s going to be a very busy one. There are a couple of new heritage designations on the docket, plus a new development plan for consideration, but mostly this meeting is about approving another heritage conservation district and an update to the Official Plan. Pack your pajamas? Maybe, here’s the preview… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the February 10, 2026 Meeting?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – The Good Old Guelph (feat. Stephen Robinson & Jack Mallon)

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Guelph loves its cultural heritage! As we count down to the 200th anniversary of the city in 2027, we’re seeing more and more of a focus on our local history, but there’s something else happening in 2027… the elimination of the heritage registry. Any property listed, but not designated, on January 1, 2027 will be deleted. The stakes, and the workload, have never been this high! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – The Good Old Guelph (feat. Stephen Robinson & Jack Mallon)” →

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Endorses National Urban Park Idea for OR Lands

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In the second Heritage Guelph meeting for January, the focus was on a piece of heritage business that has gotten a lot of attention lately: The Ontario Reformatory Lands and the Heritage Conservation District plan meant to protect them. The committee got their chance to weigh in on the plan, and they also go their chance to weigh in on a very specific proposal for the lands in the form of a national urban park. Let’s recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Endorses National Urban Park Idea for OR Lands” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 27, 2025

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You know it’s a treat when you get two Heritage Guelph meetings in the same month! There’s only one subject for this one and it’s going to be the always popular and contentious Ontario Reformatory Lands. The work on the Heritage Conservation District plan continues and Heritage Guelph will get their chance to formally review the work to date and give staff further advice about the direction they’re going in! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 27, 2025” →

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Pushes Staff to Do More on OR Lands and U of G!

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It was rough going for the first Heritage Guelph meeting of 2025, and not just because of the content! It took the better part of an hour for City of Guelph staff to work out some technical difficulties, including a switch involving online platforms, and then they dug into the agenda, which leaned heavily on a lot of committee concerns about the future of the OR Lands, and the future of heritage buildings at the University of Guelph. Here’s the recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Pushes Staff to Do More on OR Lands and U of G!” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 13, 2025

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Heritage Guelph gets back to work promising a busy 2025 after what was definitely a very busy 2024! No major heritage designations this week, or any complicated fights about demolitions at this meeting (we think). There will be a kind of demolition discussion at this month’s meeting though, and there will be some discussion about the workload ahead, and then we will head downtown for another big project! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 13, 2025” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #446 – The Good Old Guelph (feat. Stephen Robinson & Jack Mallon)

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There has been a lot of heritage news this year, and especially in the last couple of weeks. This should not be surprising because heritage staff in all municipalities have been in a mad scramble these last few years to designate as much heritage as possible before the end of this year due to Bill 23. That changed back in the spring, so it’s probably a good time now to catch our breathe and look at the work done so far, and all the work that is to come. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #446 – The Good Old Guelph (feat. Stephen Robinson & Jack Mallon)” →

This Week at Council: Heritage, Integrity and Budget in 24 Hours or Less!

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Three meetings in 24 hours! It kind of sounds like a gimmick, but that’s the way the schedule shook out this past week with the continuation of the November 13 planning meeting, the regular meeting of council and then the budget confirmation meeting. There were some interesting new developments, some predictable hiccups, and at least one big surprise, and capturing it all is this week’s council recap post… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Heritage, Integrity and Budget in 24 Hours or Less!” →