Guelph City Council receives the Guelph Growth Management Monitoring Report 2025.

5:48:33Guelph Growth Management Monitoring Report,

5:48:44and then after that is our last one,

5:48:48a proposed urban design master plan.

5:48:52So for this, we have a presentation

5:48:58from our staff, from Jason,

5:49:03and then just a recommendation to receive as well, okay?

5:49:06So thank you and welcome, Jason,

5:49:09I'll turn it over to you for whenever you're ready, okay?

5:49:22Good evening, Mayor Guthrie and members of council.

5:49:25Tonight I'll be taking you through a brief presentation

5:49:27of some of the highlights of the Guelph Growth Management

5:49:29Monitoring Report for 2025.

5:49:32And while the city's growth management strategy

5:49:35is to the year 2051, in the interest of time this evening,

5:49:38I promise my presentation will be finished well before that.

5:49:44Now before I begin, I wanted to highlight

5:49:45that there has been a change in the scope

5:49:46of the report this year.

5:49:48The Affordable Housing Monitoring

5:49:49that used to be part of this report

5:49:51is now provided as a separate information report

5:49:53that was released last week,

5:49:55titled the Housing Affordability Strategy,

5:49:57First Annual Implementation and Monitoring Report.

5:50:01That report now tracks the city's progress

5:50:03towards the 30 actions of the Housing Affordability Strategy

5:50:06adopted on December 10th of 2024,

5:50:09and it also set the affordable housing thresholds

5:50:11for the coming year.

5:50:27The purpose of this report is to provide information

5:50:29on Guelph's progress towards achievement

5:50:31of official plan and provincial policies,

5:50:33progress towards the provincial housing pledge

5:50:37of 18,000 new homes by 2031,

5:50:39information on recent development activity,

5:50:41and the city's supply of approved housing.

5:50:44This report will also highlight some of the steps

5:50:46we've taken as a city to help increase that supply,

5:50:49despite the challenging housing market.

5:50:54To begin, I'd like to start by explaining

5:50:56the city's growth management framework

5:50:58as shown in Schedule 1A of the official plan shown here.

5:51:02The city's official plan sets policies and targets

5:51:04for growth and development for specific areas of the city

5:51:06that are identified on this schedule.

5:51:08This includes the intensification targets

5:51:10for the built up area,

5:51:11density targets for the designated Greenfield area,

5:51:14downtown, also referred to as our protected

5:51:18major transportation area towards the center

5:51:20of the schedule, and strategic growth areas.

5:51:23And through this presentation,

5:51:24I'll be highlighting some of our progress

5:51:26towards achievement of those targets.

5:51:30Now, by the end of 2025, Guelph was home

5:51:32to an estimated 150,700 people and 87,550 jobs,

5:51:38reflecting annual growth of approximately 1,100 people

5:51:42and 550 jobs.

5:51:44Now, it should be noted that this population estimate

5:51:46is reported as a census equivalent population,

5:51:49which does exclude those people that were missed

5:51:51during the census, but when factoring in those people,

5:51:54our estimated population is about 155,750 people.

5:52:00Guelph's official plan is planning to achieve

5:52:02a population of 208,000 people

5:52:04and 116,000 jobs by 2051, and to achieve those forecasts,

5:52:09we need to continue to plan to accommodate

5:52:10additional 52,000 people and 28,000 jobs.

5:52:14And the official plan also sets a target of 57 jobs

5:52:17for 100 residents, and we are currently aligned

5:52:20with that target.

5:52:24This slide shows the breakdown of the number

5:52:25of new residential units created each year

5:52:27over the past 20 years by dwelling type.

5:52:31In 2025, through building permits,

5:52:33we allowed for the construction of 664 new housing units,

5:52:38which is below the 20-year average

5:52:40and also our target of 947 units per year

5:52:43to achieve our population forecast in 2051.

5:52:47Town houses led as the dominant type of housing

5:52:51with 47% of the total units created last year,

5:52:54followed by additional residential units at 39%.

5:52:59The slower than expected housing construction activities

5:53:01result of challenges that are currently being faced

5:53:03by the housing market across the country,

5:53:05but most notably in Ontario.

5:53:07These challenges include higher construction costs,

5:53:10ongoing supply chain and skilled labor shortages,

5:53:13the Canada-US trade conflict, weaker employment,

5:53:16and for the first time ever last year,

5:53:19Canada lost population since its confederation

5:53:21due to the tightening immigration

5:53:23at the federal government level.

5:53:28Interest rates have also begun easing from their peak in 2023,

5:53:31but new home prices continue to remain higher

5:53:33than resale prices, driving down the demand for new homes.

5:53:38Now, despite these challenges that have moderated growth

5:53:40in the short term, the longer-term trend

5:53:42does remain positive, and since adopting

5:53:44the city's growth management strategy in 2022,

5:53:47Guelph has delivered housing growth

5:53:49within 130 units of that forecast to date,

5:53:52and we do remain on pace to achieve

5:53:54our 2051 population target.

5:53:59Now, in 2025, Guelph exceeded its intensification target

5:54:02of 46%, with 91% of all new residential growth

5:54:05occurring within the built-up area.

5:54:08We're also meeting our Greenfield Area density targets

5:54:10of 68 residents and jobs per hectare,

5:54:12currently achieving density of 74 residents

5:54:16and jobs per hectare, an increase from 73 in 2024.

5:54:21And over the past few years, we've seen both residential

5:54:23and job growth within several of our strategic growth areas,

5:54:27and we do remain on track to achieve

5:54:29those density targets as well.

5:54:31And each of the city's 13 strategic growth areas

5:54:33do have individual targets, and more information

5:54:36on that can be found in section 4.4 of Attachment 1

5:54:39to the report.

5:54:41And while the issued residential permits that we saw

5:54:44on the previous slide indicate planned housing activity,

5:54:48housing starts provide a measure of projects

5:54:51that are actively moving forward to construction.

5:54:54Those issued residential permits turn into housing starts

5:54:56once construction on those units do begin.

5:55:00And last year, Guelph saw 531 housing starts,

5:55:03and this represents 29.5% of our provincial housing target

5:55:08of 1,800 housing starts for 2025.

5:55:12Now, through recent provincial legislative changes

5:55:14on how development charges are collected by municipalities,

5:55:17the province has now tied some of that lost revenue

5:55:20to housing start performance.

5:55:22Municipalities who achieve a minimum of 80%

5:55:24of their housing targets do receive funding from the province

5:55:27through the Ontario Building Faster Fund.

5:55:30Now, eligibility for Guelph, sorry, eligibility for Guelph

5:55:34to achieve this funding would have required 1,440 housing

5:55:39starts, and that is a level that's nearly 100 units

5:55:43above the highest annual total achieved in Guelph

5:55:46for over the past 20 years.

5:55:49And given current, the housing market conditions,

5:55:51achieving this target is even more challenging right now.

5:55:55Furthermore, municipalities do have limited control

5:55:58over when approved developments proceed to construction

5:56:00after building permits have been issued.

5:56:03And as I said, this slowdown isn't unique to Guelph.

5:56:06Housing starts are down across Ontario,

5:56:08and even the province in its budget has lowered its forecast

5:56:11for housing starts for the second year in a row.

5:56:14And by the end of last year, the province had also

5:56:16begun describing its goal of creating 1.5 million homes

5:56:19by 2031 as a soft target.

5:56:22However, the housing targets and funding framework

5:56:24for municipalities under the Ontario Building Faster Fund

5:56:28do remain unchanged.

5:56:35Moving on to the city's downtown,

5:56:36it is currently achieving a density of 96 residents

5:56:39and jobs per hectare up from 95 in 2024.

5:56:43And this does represent a slight decrease

5:56:44from the peak of 105 in 2023.

5:56:48And this decline was due to the cooperators

5:56:51moving approximately 1200 employees

5:56:53to their headquarters in the Handcreek Business Park

5:56:55in the fall of 2024.

5:56:57Now it is anticipated that portion of these jobs

5:56:59will return when Connoisseur College does move

5:57:02their satellite campus into the building.

5:57:03However, that project has also been placed on hold

5:57:05until student enrollment members

5:57:07were able to sustain the operational success

5:57:09of the satellite campus.

5:57:13And our downtown is targeted to achieve a density

5:57:15of 150 residents and jobs per hectare by 2031,

5:57:18175 by 2041, and 200 by 2051.

5:57:24Now just to put this into perspective,

5:57:26recently a 24-story mixed-use building

5:57:28was approved at 70 Fountain Street East.

5:57:31And if we build an additional 10 to 12 of those

5:57:34within our downtown prior to 2051,

5:57:38the downtown density target could be met.

5:57:44Now with respect to our overall housing supply,

5:57:46Guelph is meeting provincial policies

5:57:48which require a minimum of three years of housing supply

5:57:51on lands that are zoned with adequate servicing

5:57:53available for development.

5:57:55And we term this Guelph's short-term housing supply.

5:57:58In 2025, we added more than 1,300 units

5:58:01to our short-term housing supply,

5:58:03increasing that supply of homes to 7.7 years

5:58:06up from 6.4 years in 2024.

5:58:10In a lands that are designated for residential development,

5:58:12we have an additional 18.3 years worth of housing

5:58:15for a combined total of 26 years of housing supply,

5:58:18where a minimum of 15 years

5:58:20is required under provincial policy.

5:58:22The city's expanding housing supply

5:58:24reflects continued progress towards advancing

5:58:26development approvals to better position the city

5:58:28to become housing ready for when that housing market

5:58:31does begin to recover.

5:58:33And we've also made efforts to increase the supply of housing

5:58:36that are ready to proceed to building permit.

5:58:38And last year that was 645 units,

5:58:43which is an 85% increase over the 325 units in 2024.

5:58:49However, it should be noted that some of our current

5:58:50housing supply is constrained by additional,

5:58:57however, it should be noted that some of the current

5:58:58housing supply is constrained

5:59:00by additional development conditions

5:59:01and is not quite ready to proceed to building permit.

5:59:07Some of the lands that do contribute

5:59:08to Guelph's short-term housing supply

5:59:10do have development constraints

5:59:11such as brownfield remediation requirements,

5:59:14requirements for records of site condition,

5:59:16or zoning holding provisions,

5:59:18all of which must be addressed

5:59:19prior to construction beginning.

5:59:21And in many cases, the timing of meeting these conditions

5:59:24is under the control of the developer or home builder.

5:59:28Overall, approximately 30% of Guelph's short-term

5:59:31housing suppliers subject to these conditions

5:59:33to be met prior to construction of the site,

5:59:35representing about 2166 units.

5:59:41And the local development community is also identified

5:59:43that approximately 600 units are also affected

5:59:46by factors and constraints

5:59:47that are not within provincial or municipal control,

5:59:50such as issues around land consolidation,

5:59:52utility easements, financing challenges,

5:59:54and matters of private litigation,

5:59:56all of which would contribute

5:59:57to delays in construction of the site.

6:00:02And just for context, here is a map that highlights

6:00:05are the sites that contribute to Guelph's housing supply.

6:00:08And red is the short-term housing supply,

6:00:10and in yellow is the designated sites

6:00:12for residential development,

6:00:14most of which do exist within our secondary plan areas.

6:00:20Now, looking at how our existing housing stock breaks down,

6:00:23the majority of the units in Guelph

6:00:25are low-density single-detached and semi-detached units.

6:00:29A shift in the demand for different forms of housing

6:00:32resulting from decreased housing affordability

6:00:34combined with policies that promote

6:00:36transit-supportive densities and complete communities,

6:00:38it was resulting in a shift towards the approval

6:00:40and construction of more townhouses and apartments.

6:00:44And as more medium and high-density housing

6:00:45is approved and built,

6:00:47the city's housing stock is expected to continue to shift,

6:00:49offering a wider range of housing choices

6:00:51to serve the needs of current and future residents.

6:00:55And by 2051, it's anticipated that 38% of the city's housing stock

6:00:58will be in the form of low-density housing,

6:01:0123% townhouses, and 39% apartments.

6:01:07So as we all know, it's been a challenging couple of years

6:01:09in the housing market, both here and across the country,

6:01:12especially when it comes to new housing construction.

6:01:14The city has stayed focused on what is within our control

6:01:17to help encourage new development

6:01:19and position Guelph to be ready for residential growth

6:01:21when demand for new housing returns.

6:01:24Now, despite these challenges,

6:01:25the city continues to meet key official plan

6:01:28and provincial requirements on growth.

6:01:31The city has advanced a range of policy and process improvements

6:01:34to increase development potential,

6:01:36such as through the downtown height study

6:01:38that now allows up to 24-story buildings downtown.

6:01:42And the city does continue to increase efforts

6:01:43to streamline approvals of development applications.

6:01:47We've also made strategic and infrastructure investments

6:01:50to increase servicing capacity

6:01:52to enable future residential development.

6:01:54And the city has worked to remove infrastructure barriers

6:01:56to growth, all aimed at making it easier

6:01:58for development to proceed.

6:02:00The result is a stronger and more resilient housing supply,

6:02:03and through the continued efforts

6:02:05to advance approvals of development applications,

6:02:07the city has increased its short-term housing supply

6:02:10by an additional 20% in just one year,

6:02:13and increased the number of units ready to proceed

6:02:15to building permit by 85%.

6:02:18These actions have made Guelph more housing ready

6:02:21and puts the city in a good position

6:02:22to support new housing construction

6:02:24when that market does recover.

6:02:26Now, looking ahead,

6:02:30the focus will be turning the groundwork we've laid

6:02:33to improve our housing supply

6:02:34and turning that into actual homes

6:02:37by helping those units move from approval

6:02:39through to construction as market conditions improve.

6:02:42We'll continue our ongoing monitoring and development activity

6:02:45and continue to improve our processes

6:02:47so that approvals can stay as efficient

6:02:48and predictable as possible.

6:02:51We will also continue investing

6:02:52in the infrastructure needed to unlock growth,

6:02:55especially across our strategic growth areas downtown

6:02:58within our designated greenfield lands

6:03:00and within our secondary plan areas.

6:03:03With provincial legislative changes

6:03:05that have now changed how Ontario Municipality

6:03:07is able to collect municipal development charges,

6:03:09the city will continue to advocate

6:03:11to other levels of government for the funding and tools

6:03:14that will enable more housing,

6:03:15so that Guelph continues to remain on track

6:03:17to meet its growth and housing targets through 2051,

6:03:20and meet the needs of current and future residents.

6:03:24And over the past two years,

6:03:25staff's advocacy work has resulted

6:03:28in the city being awarded 83 million dollars

6:03:30in provincial and federal grant money

6:03:32to help reduce those infrastructure barriers,

6:03:34support growth and infrastructure renewal,

6:03:37and ensure that service delivery

6:03:38does keep pace with population growth.

6:03:42With these priorities in place,

6:03:43they will continue to ensure that Guelph

6:03:44is well positioned to respond quickly

6:03:45as that housing market does recover.

6:03:50And this concludes the presentation

6:03:52of the highlights of the Guelph Growth Management Launch Report

6:03:55for 2025. Thank you.

6:03:57Yeah, thanks, Jason.

6:03:59Yeah, your presentation is great.

6:04:02Thank you very, very much.

6:04:05Is there any questions and or comments

6:04:08just at the same time?

6:04:09I'll start with Councillor Aldousi,

6:04:12Councillor Coller, and then Downer,

6:04:15and then Corrine. Okay.

6:04:17Thank you very much, Mayor Guthrie.

6:04:19Through you two staff.

6:04:22I hope that this question doesn't appear too cynical.

6:04:30With the statement that we are housing ready,

6:04:33are we more housing ready than other jurisdictions,

6:04:38less housing ready or equally housing ready?

6:04:41Because I see us potentially competing

6:04:45for the same purchasers and equally

6:04:48for the same construction workers

6:04:52to actually build these houses.

6:04:54So I'm wondering if we're doing a lot of work

6:04:57just to stay where we are proportionate

6:04:59relative to other municipalities in Ontario.

6:05:09Through the mayor to Councillor Allt.

6:05:13So, you know, certainly through the Housing Pledge,

6:05:15we committed to be housing ready

6:05:17and doing what we could with in our control

6:05:19to be ready for housing.

6:05:21And we've been working diligently on that.

6:05:23The half funding program also allowed us to advance policies.

6:05:29The four units as of right, the CPPS

6:05:32that Council did here earlier this week,

6:05:35we signed off on our first CPPS,

6:05:36which was again being housing ready.

6:05:40All municipalities are working a lot.

6:05:42Anyone who received half funding,

6:05:43we generally have the same type of initiatives we're working on.

6:05:46So I think we're keeping keeping in step

6:05:50with our neighbouring municipalities

6:05:52to ensure we have everything ready.

6:05:55We're planning our infrastructure dollars

6:05:57where we see development happening,

6:05:59Wellington Street opening up.

6:06:01And that work that was done last year

6:06:05allows development kind of south of the tracks to proceed.

6:06:07So it allows that 70 fountain to proceed.

6:06:09So we've been making strategic choices

6:06:11on where we're being housing ready.

6:06:15We, you know, every municipality is doing what they can

6:06:19to attract individuals to come to their cities

6:06:24and with the numbers we have and the increases we have

6:06:27in our short-term housing supply and our policy work.

6:06:29I think we're in great position for that.

6:06:31And thank you very much for that answer.

6:06:34I certainly do appreciate the work that staff has done

6:06:38with a very challenging public policy approach

6:06:42from the provincial government.

6:06:43But I don't want to be too cynical.

6:06:45I certainly don't want to be too Pollyanna.

6:06:47I just want to be realistic.

6:06:49And what I'm hearing is we're running as fast as we can.

6:06:56Great. Thank you, Councillor Allt.

6:06:58Guller and then Karan and then Downer and then Colossal.

6:07:07Thank you through your worship.

6:07:10Thank you very much for the presentation.

6:07:11It's really helpful to have this data in front of us.

6:07:14I wanted to ask about the employment forecast.

6:07:17I see that for the population, we're on track.

6:07:19But for the employment, it's listed as working to improve.

6:07:24I believe there has been a significant shift

6:07:26in the last few years to more work from home and more.

6:07:29So how is that taken into account?

6:07:31Because as we saw in the presentation earlier today,

6:07:34now a big manufacturing facility that might have employed

6:07:38two, 300 people could now have a dozen employees

6:07:42that are supervising robots to do that work.

6:07:45So how are we shifting that expectation of employment

6:07:48to unemployment lands to employment elsewhere?

6:07:54Through the Mayor to Councillor Goller,

6:07:58work from home is considered still employment.

6:08:02And we're actually undertaking an update

6:08:06to our employment land strategy to look at the changing landscape post-COVID

6:08:11where there is more work from home.

6:08:13There's more work that doesn't have a standard workplace

6:08:17where people go to delivery drivers and whatnot.

6:08:19The gig economy as well, they're all still jobs.

6:08:22And we're trying to get a good handle on how that will impact

6:08:26our employment forecast and we will pivot from there.

6:08:30Definitely.

6:08:31OK, I really appreciate that because I know many tradespeople

6:08:34that now they'll meet in someone's garage in the morning

6:08:37and then their trucks go out and they're doing the work

6:08:39within the residential areas, but they no longer require

6:08:42that warehouse facility.

6:08:44So it's good to know that there is an update coming on that.

6:08:49My my other question was to the degree that the

6:08:54downtown infrastructure improvements, once they are unlocked,

6:08:59how soon do we expect to catch up to these growth growth forecasts?

6:09:05Do we do we expect that once the pipes are underground?

6:09:09It would be like that year we might see enough builds to

6:09:13or enough approvals to meet the provincial requirements.

6:09:18Is that one we might see it?

6:09:22Through you, Mayor, again, to Councillor Goller,

6:09:26most of the larger developments within downtown Guelph

6:09:29have been constrained by servicing capacity.

6:09:34And we do have approvals on several sites

6:09:36that actually do have zoning holding provisions

6:09:39that require us to ensure that there is servicing,

6:09:43adequate servicing available.

6:09:46Once the infrastructure does go in,

6:09:49it's expected that we'll be able to lift all of those

6:09:52holding revisions across downtown and then those developments

6:09:54will be able to proceed.

6:09:5670 Fountain Street East is actually it.

6:09:59They're holding Britain just got lifted.

6:10:01Yeah, it just got lifted.

6:10:04And we expect more to be lifted shortly as well.

6:10:08OK, thank you for that.

6:10:09And so that I understand, does it count towards the provincial

6:10:12targets when we lift the restrictions or when the shovels go in the ground?

6:10:18Yeah, that's correct.

6:10:20OK, OK, so it's.

6:10:23Yeah, it is when the foundations are poured,

6:10:26it's generally when the building permit is issued

6:10:29and then construction does begin on the site.

6:10:31OK, OK, OK, so it can just be that the city approves the development,

6:10:37but then the private sector has to have their own work done.

6:10:40OK, thank you for that.

6:10:41Thank you, Worship.

6:10:46Yeah, I'm just going to jump in.

6:10:49OK, they count by the foundations board.

6:10:52And actually, that's through CMHC that does the numbers and then sends it down to the province.

6:10:59And then that's how things are kind of determined.

6:11:01And that's why every municipality everywhere has been saying,

6:11:06well, we could approve 5000 homes.

6:11:10But they're not built and the foundation is in poured, then we get penalized.

6:11:14That's not fair.

6:11:16Right.

6:11:17And as I'll get to that later, it's just a little taste of what I'm going to say.

6:11:24Councillor Caron is next.

6:11:25I can feel the emotion in your voice, Mayor Guthrie, and my questions have been answered,

6:11:30but my comment was very similar to yours in that the complexities of the reason why

6:11:37concrete isn't being poured and shovels aren't in the ground and cranes aren't in the sky

6:11:41is is massive.

6:11:44And you've outlined a lot of those reasons.

6:11:47And I think, you know, from people that I've talked to over the last little while,

6:11:51the primary reason that I'm hearing is instability.

6:11:57So not just in commodities and steel and concrete, but the market and the interest rates and the

6:12:03buyers and the market costs.

6:12:06So you've outlined a lot of the reasons and that's really helpful for us to,

6:12:13as policymakers, to know that we're doing everything we can.

6:12:18And what's out of our hands and what is in our hands is very different.

6:12:24Great.

6:12:25Thank you, Councillor Caron and to Downer, please.

6:12:27And then, Clawson.

6:12:28Thank you through you, Mr. Mayor.

6:12:31I just wanted to just ditto to what others are saying.

6:12:35I really enjoy reading these reports every year.

6:12:38There's often really interesting information about trends and things like that.

6:12:43And, you know, and what's what's being impacting growth here on us, sort of,

6:12:49that's also on a macro level and how it then it comes down to us.

6:12:54One of the things I just wanted to be, I think I know the answer to this,

6:12:59but the university, like they're building those units on college.

6:13:05They don't require a site plan, but they do require building permits, I'm assuming.

6:13:11So does that, will that get be put into the next year's update at that time?

6:13:17So is that, so does the university development start playing out into these reports too?

6:13:23Through the mayor to Councillor Downer, I may have to defer to Christa for this one,

6:13:30but it would depend on how the structural make up of the units.

6:13:36If they're,

6:13:38it needs to be a kitchen, it needs to have a bathroom to be considered unit.

6:13:44I'm not sure if there's communal bathrooms there.

6:13:49I may have to defer to Christa.

6:13:51I haven't seen the actual interior plans for that yet.

6:13:55Yeah, through the mayor to Councillor Downer.

6:13:57So the one bill, in particular, would not be counted as units,

6:14:02but the province is all in the same place.

6:14:05Units, but the province is also recording now student beds is part of the Build Better Faster

6:14:11Fund. So they include long-term care facilities and student beds.

6:14:16So some of the projects, the private projects that are geared towards students

6:14:20are self-contained units and they would count as units.

6:14:24The one in particular on college and McGilvery that's coming forward would most likely not,

6:14:31but they are also keeping a separate sheet on student beds and that would count toward

6:14:36the Build Better Faster Fund.

6:14:38And you know, the mayor certainly talked about that a little bit,

6:14:41but the way they calculate, there's like the foundation start part plus there's the ADUs.

6:14:45You have to pull a bunch of information for different spreadsheets to get our starts every year.

6:14:51Okay, great. Thanks.

6:14:53The next question may not be through planning staff.

6:14:57It might be with the CAO Baker,

6:15:00but we're sort of ready for when the market changes through all the building and our plans for

6:15:07infrastructure.

6:15:09But how will we be financially ready for this, for any, when the market changes?

6:15:15Because as we know, at one point, a couple of years ago, growth was paying for itself at a

6:15:21point of about 80 percent and now is probably down well below 70 percent.

6:15:27So that means that existing residents pick up the cost of infrastructure

6:15:34and the capital costs.

6:15:36I'm not talking about operating, but that again, but buying buses and all of those things

6:15:42are part of that.

6:15:43So how are we planning to be ready financially for when there's an uptick in the market?

6:15:49And there's, and we could see, you know, while we're at point seven or nine now in growth,

6:15:55we could suddenly go to 1.5 again.

6:16:00Yeah, so thanks for the question and through the mayor to counselor Downer.

6:16:05I feel like right now we're going through the, our low, like our lowest of the low in terms of our

6:16:12revenue and they impact financially.

6:16:15We've deferred significant capital.

6:16:17We continue to look at that as we look into 2027 and 28 to help us manage through these reduced

6:16:24revenue periods.

6:16:27We definitely continue to work with planning on this pipeline and really try to anticipate

6:16:34revenue projections tied right to development now.

6:16:37Like where we're getting to like a very granular level of planning because, because of the financial

6:16:43situation.

6:16:44And so the team continues to work on that.

6:16:47If we do get the, when the, when the shovels go in the ground and the building permits get pulled,

6:16:53that's great news for us.

6:16:55That is when the revenues rebound.

6:16:57That's when we can start to really feel more stability and, and, and our, our revenue

6:17:05projections starting to return to where we expect them to be.

6:17:08I think the longer term, just with what the province has been doing to the development charges,

6:17:14I think we do need to expect that over the long term here, this trend of

6:17:20reduced DCs, it is going to continue.

6:17:25And that, and that those pressures are going to be on our taxes and our rates long term.

6:17:31And then we're, we're, we've been building those costs in now over the last couple of years,

6:17:36just with the changing legislation.

6:17:38But I fully expect that those are going to, those are going to continue to be real pressures that

6:17:43have to be picked up in, in our tax and rate budgets, unless the upper levels of government

6:17:52come to the table, which, which I, you know, we're advocating for all the time.

6:17:56So I hope that helps answer that question.

6:18:01Great. Thank you, Councillor Downer.

6:18:03And now I have Lasses-Closon.

6:18:06Yes. Thank you through you, Mr. Mayor.

6:18:08Thank you for the presentation.

6:18:10I had a quick question about the Conestoga College satellite campus downtown.

6:18:17I was here a few years ago when we made an announcement in, in the atrium about, about

6:18:23the Conestoga College coming downtown.

6:18:25And it was really exciting at the time.

6:18:27And there was a promise of not just jobs, but like lots of different students who would be living in this area.

6:18:33And, and so reading the report, I appreciate you made comment about it in the presentation.

6:18:39But there doesn't seem to be any illusion to a timeline or what a return to a level that can support

6:18:48the operational success of the campus.

6:18:50Do we have any concept of when that satellite campus might come online?

6:18:59Through you, Mayor, to Councillor Closon, we, we currently don't, with the federal government

6:19:04really restricting international student admissions, which was what Conestoga College

6:19:10was really banking on.

6:19:13I don't, I haven't heard any, any updates, perhaps terribly.

6:19:20Yeah. So thanks, Jason.

6:19:22I would, I would say we've been continuing to be in contact with Conestoga.

6:19:26We don't have a date, but we continue to stay connected.

6:19:30We are advancing kind of in terms of an advocacy effort.

6:19:35This will become more of a priority, I think, as we looked into, into 2027 and we think about our priorities.

6:19:43This, that's an important building in the downtown.

6:19:47We need to get it active.

6:19:48And so you'll see that be front center as, as we look into 2027.

6:19:56Thank you.

6:19:58Is there anybody else before I do a speech?

6:20:05Okay. Nobody else.

6:20:06All right.

6:20:09We, Guelph met our housing targets in 2023.

6:20:17Do you know how many cities in Ontario met the housing targets in 2023 out of the 50,

6:20:2450 plus cities that are required?

6:20:28Only 12.

6:20:31Guelph met the housing targets in 2024.

6:20:37Guess how many cities only met the target in 2024?

6:20:41Does anyone know?

6:20:4315. Guess how many cities, we did not meet it for 2025.

6:20:52Okay. Guess how many cities got met it in 2025?

6:20:57I've been told 13.

6:21:01Okay. So the, the program, this is my own thoughts.

6:21:08The program was, in my opinion, a valid attempt to try to sort of lay the match to get things going,

6:21:20which we needed to do in this province.

6:21:24It was the way it was measured and implemented that it did not work.

6:21:31And taking into consideration, like Councillor Goller said, like, how do you count?

6:21:35Is it by us approving?

6:21:37Nope. It's by a foundation board.

6:21:39Well, we can't control when a permit is pulled for a foundation.

6:21:42So why are we, why are we being, you know, why are we getting the money?

6:21:47And then it's circular, right?

6:21:49It's like, well, we need the money so that we can unlock more infrastructure that helps build more homes.

6:21:58But then you're not giving us the money to unlock the infrastructure to unlock more homes.

6:22:02So why don't you just give us the money?

6:22:05Right? Because they have the money.

6:22:06It's in an envelope.

6:22:08I've not seen it, but it's in an envelope somewhere.

6:22:11Okay. So it was, it was, it was valid.

6:22:14In my opinion, it was still valid to do, but it just, the implementation just didn't work.

6:22:20And the province has acknowledged that now.

6:22:23They, they have, they're stopping this.

6:22:25They're stopping this stuff now.

6:22:27Like they're moving on to something else.

6:22:29They're working with the Ontario Big City Mayor's Caucus and staff.

6:22:32I know, trying to figure out a new way of doing it because they acknowledge it.

6:22:35But I just, what I hate is when I hear like, oh, gwealth this and gwealth that.

6:22:42I just gave you the stats.

6:22:44We met it for two out of the three years in a, in a, in a bad sort of arena of home building.

6:22:52We met it two out of the three years.

6:22:55We did a good job.

6:22:57And, and that should be, that should be, that should be, that should be, that should be,

6:23:02acknowledged.

6:23:03And, like kudos to, to council with policy changes, but major kudos to staff, like

6:23:12getting to yes, thinking outside the box, figuring things like, please believe me,

6:23:16there was a lot of that.

6:23:17So we did what we could collectively.

6:23:21Guess how much in, guess how much in DCs we've collected this year so far?

6:23:27It's July.

6:23:28Guess how much in DCs we've collected this far?

6:23:32I think it's like $65,000.

6:23:35A little bit more.

6:23:37It's now a little bit more.

6:23:38I don't have the exact number.

6:23:39Roughly.

6:23:40It's about, I think around two million now.

6:23:43So we did get, we did get some, some, uh, non residential, uh, non residential, non res.

6:23:50All right.

6:23:50But like a month ago it was 65,000.

6:23:52Yeah, it was.

6:23:53So yes, you, you're accurate, but we did get some June.

6:23:56Okay.

6:23:57A contribution.

6:23:57Well, thank you whoever that was.

6:23:59But, um, like this isn't a Guelph thing.

6:24:04Okay.

6:24:05Now look, I say that, I'm getting to my ending here.

6:24:08Thanks everybody.

6:24:09I say that not to be like, because we're done.

6:24:14And like, I'm not here going to be here in a few months.

6:24:16So here's my little speech to anybody that's coming back or anyone that's elected.

6:24:20Do not let up on this just because there's province, this and federal government that

6:24:27and DC this, like we can be concerned and we can have our opinions and we can advocate,

6:24:32but we cannot let up on this housing issue.

6:24:35We cannot for the sake of my own kids, please don't please.

6:24:40Okay.

6:24:41We have to have a culture like we have of staff getting to yes and figuring stuff out.

6:24:46We have to work with the development community that includes the for profit and the nonprofit

6:24:52communities, uh, development sector.

6:24:54We got to figure out new policies.

6:24:56We got to continue to push and push and try to figure stuff out because to be ready doesn't

6:25:02mean we are ready, meaning we don't do anything else.

6:25:06To be ready requires us to continue to make more changes so we can be even more ready

6:25:11when the market hits and when the market is ripe.

6:25:14Okay.

6:25:15But this sort of data to me is so good, like, like counselor downer said, this, this stuff is so good,

6:25:21but it's not fair.

6:25:23It's not fair to take the data out of context and throw, you know, throw the grenade in the room

6:25:29and walk away somehow, somehow, you know, my colleagues here or staff or things like that are,

6:25:36you know, bad people and not wanting to get development done or things like that.

6:25:40So it, we, we've come a long way.

6:25:42I'm very proud of this council and staff this term.

6:25:45I'm very proud of that work and we, but we cannot let up.

6:25:50We cannot.

6:25:51We have to keep pushing and we have to keep changing things to continue to be more ready

6:25:56when it comes together.

6:25:57But I thought I would hit you all with those stats there because I just want everyone to

6:26:01know that even though this report says, oh, we didn't make it.

6:26:05And, you know, all respect to our media partners, but like, you know, I can just see the,

6:26:09I can see the headline, you know, but we made it for two years out of the three

6:26:15where many municipalities did not.

6:26:18And that's because we hit the yes button a lot of times or raised our hand in yes,

6:26:22a lot of times this term of council.

6:26:25So all right.

6:26:27Who's, who's, who's moving this recommendation for me?

6:26:29Did we already do that?

6:26:30No, who's doing it?

6:26:31Gawler and Richardson.

6:26:33Okay.

6:26:34Anything more?

6:26:36I'm calling the vote.

6:26:37Is anyone against receiving?

6:26:40Nobody.

6:26:40That's unanimous.

6:26:41Thank you very much.

6:26:42Now, speaking of like the heritage stuff and speaking of housing and, you know,

6:26:52density in a built up area, this is a good segue into the proposed urban design master plan