GUELPH POLITICAST #385 - The Year at Council So Far...

In August, there's usually no council business to talk about but there are unusual times so on the same day the annual mid-year council recap goes live we get a super-unusual August council meeting. In this very busy first year of a new council term, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that council business would burst over the side and flood the vacation months, and it all comes down to a single word: housing.

The housing crisis has been hovering over just about all aspects of City business in the last seven months. Obviously, the biggest piece of this is the so-called housing pledge. As part of Bill 23 passed by the Ontario government, every municipality had to sign a promise to Queen's Park that they will build their share of 1.5 million homes by 2031, and our city council signed their unique version of the pledge way back in February.

Housing would emerge in other ways, like the amended Official Plan amendment that caused controversy at council, or the new Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw that's now waiting to replace the old one that's nearly 30 years old due to over a dozen appeals. That part wasn't in the Strategic Plan, which was also refreshed in 2023 with renewed emphasis on a lot of the City's main objectives, which includes transit, the environment, and yes, housing.

So this week on the podcast, we will cover all the ins and outs of the last seven months at city council and that includes all the issues discussed above plus other matters that have come to council including the first phase of the Heritage Conservation District on the OR Lands, changes to the fare structure for Guelph Transit, the tree canopy, short-term rental licensing, the South End Community Centre, and the rise of pickleball. That's a lot of ground to cover, but we'll do it in about 10,000 words to an hour!

So let's recap the year at council so far on this week's Guelph Politicast!

The special meeting of council to make a decision about the allocation of affordable housing funds to Kindle Communities is tonight. The next official meeting will be Committee of the Whole on Wednesday September 6 at 2 pm, and the agenda for that meeting will be posted next week on the City's website.

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