Guelph council passes motion to increase building heights in downtown

Guelph city council approved a recommendation to increase the building heights in the downtown core.

Councillors voted on the change on April 8. The decision means some buildings could go as high as 24 storeys in some areas of the municipality.

Speaking on the Mike Farwell Show on Tuesday, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said he hopes the move will make the downtown core more “vibrant” for homeowners and businesses.

“We just think that density and height is a good thing,” said Guthrie. “We’re hoping that can unlock some land for people to build and live in our downtown core.”

The mayor added that a future policy will be coming to council later this year, dubbed the Community Planning Permit, to help with the city’s supply of affordable housing.

“If there’s going to be an option of more height, then maybe we can have a conversation with them [builders] through that process where it would say ‘Okay, you get a little more height, but you need to provide X amount of affordable housing for you to achieve that,'” said Guthrie.

Councillors also voted on 12 amendments to the original motion, including on energy standards, heritage protection, and limiting the height in some areas.

The report comes after over a year and a half of community engagement.

The city’s Downtown Second Plan has a target of 200 people and jobs per hectare by 2051.