City of Guelph seeking private land donations as part of efforts to address homelessness

The City of Guelph is taking a bold step in its efforts to address homelessness. The City is appealing to the public for help finding suitable locations for temporary structured encampments.

In February, Mayor Cam Guthrie used his Strong Mayor Powers to compel city staff to begin identifying potential sites on both municipally and privately owned lands. Guthrie also wanted to learn about the costs and logistics involved in such a project.

The hope was to find suitable sites as close to the downtown as possible. That would provide residents with the greatest access to support services.

In response to the Mayor’s direction, city staff are now asking the public to donate property that could become a temporary structured encampment.

The Mayor took to social media to make an appeal.

“Whether you’re a private developer in the non-profit sector. Maybe you’re a faith-based institution or one of our other institutional partners,” he said. “The City is already looking at our own pieces of land too…we’re just casting the net wide.”

The City said donated lands would be used for a minimum of three years and submissions will be considered.

Interested property owners are encouraged to email purchasing@guelph.ca by April 26.

Council is expecting to see a report later this spring.