City of Guelph

It is the intention to develop a growth strategy that reflects the values of the city of Guelph, while implementing a Provincial Plan. The growth applies to the increase in people and jobs and the resulting development that is anticipated in the City.
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Why does growth matter? Why should the city of Guelph and those who work or live here care about the topic?

Managing growth and change, while making the city a better place to live, is important to all who live and work in Guelph. Just as we plan our lives we must look ahead to understand what we want in our community and how to achieve it.
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Why is the City conducting this Strategy — what do you expect to get out of it?

Guelph has a one hundred and eighty year old history of planning. The current Official Plan establishes the vision for the City to the year 2021. Based on the Province’s population and employment projections it is anticipated that Guelph’s growth will be higher than the current City projections to 2021, and the Growth Management Strategy will look ahead to 2031 to understand what options for growth are available, and determine the consequences of these alternatives.
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Has the City already decided what kind of growth it wants — is this a hollow exercise to support a pre-determined outcome?

No. The City has not determined what kind or how much growth it wishes to accommodate. How much, what form and where growth might occur will be the subject of the Study. Provincial Growth Plans will affect, and may limit, Guelph’s choices but the Growth Management Strategy is the opportunity to be heard on the issues.
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Does Guelph have to grow — what is the starting assumption for the Strategy?

Guelph will continue to grow for a number of reasons. Development approvals have already been given for a significant amount of new development (approximately 7000 units) in new growth areas. The Province has finalized its growth plan – Places to Grow – which allots significantly higher amounts of growth to the city than has been contemplated in current local planning documents. Due to Guelph’s location on the outside edge of the Greenbelt that surrounds the Greater Toronto Area, there is expected significant development pressure on the community, i.e. households want to reduce their direct living costs by moving to more affordable areas just outside of the higher cost GTA area. The Growth Management Strategy is intended to plan for growth in matters dealing with the form, location, type, and amount of development in relation to the contextual framework of the Provincial Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
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To what degree can Guelph control its future and manage growth? How much influence does the City have?

Guelph has the ability to control and manage its future growth but will be required to do so in the context of Provincial legislation and the economic market.
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How does this Strategy fit into the Province’s Places to Grow initiative — how, if at all, are they connected?

The study will be carried out in co-ordination with the Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horsehoe. It will be important to monitor implementation of the provincial Growth Plan and develop a response that reflects Guelph’s values and heritage.
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How is this Strategy different from the SmartGuelph initiative of 2002?

The SmartGuelph initiative established a set of well-defined and articulated principles for growth and development in the city. The results and subject matter of this Strategy will be more specific and geographically grounded as the meaning and implications of the principles are explored.
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What are the key components of the Strategy and when/how can the public be involved?

There are four key components or phases to the Strategy. The initial stage (Phase I) will involve background research and consultation to assess the context for growth and frame the issues. The second stage (Phase II) will provide for the development of alternative options for growth management and will involve discussion and input into the alternatives. The third stage (Phase III) will provide for an analysis and assessment of the alternatives, an understanding of what the requirements will be (infrastructure, finance) for each option, and the selection by City Council of a preferred development option. The final stage (Phase IV) will involve the development of an implementation strategy for the preferred growth option, involving matters such as phasing of development, infrastructure, planning document amendments, and funding mechanisms. For more information on the process click here. For more details on you can get involved click here.
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How will the City/project team use the input received from the public and other stakeholders?

The public will be informed of and involved in all phases of the project through a variety of consultative means including surveys, meetings, workshops and interviews. All information received from the public and stakeholders will form part of the documentation for the project and will be used to formulate options and decisions throughout the study process.
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Why is the Strategy going to take three years to complete?

The Strategy will involve four phases and extensive public consultation and review. In order to ensure the consultation reaches all parts of the community and the options and issues are adequately addressed, the Strategy timeline has been extended over a three-year period (2006-2008).
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Growth has an impact in a lot of areas — what is the City doing to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach to growth planning?

The Strategy will involve working with all stakeholders throughout the process. It is intended to build on past initiatives and move forward within the current context for managing growth both at the City and Provincial level. The consultative process has been designed to ensure all parties have balanced access to information and opportunities for input.
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Who pays for growth?

The costs of growth are as varied as the factors which affect growth. There are capital costs associated with new growth, on-going maintenance costs associated with growth, costs for hard and soft services, and the costs to replace existing and planned infrastructure. While much of the cost for local growth is paid for by the local municipal tax base, there is also a responsibility to ensure that the costs of growth are sustainable and based on reasonable, manageable amounts of growth. There is also a need for the Province and the Federal government to support growth through their share of revenue and funding for growth related projects and initiatives which promote sustainable growth.
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What is GuelphQuest Online and how does it fit into the Strategy process?

GuelphQuest Online is a software program that is being used to facilitate discussions on growth options for the community. It is a visualization tool developed by Envision Sustainability Inc. which enables its viewers to see connections between choices and consequences of alternative actions relating to growth and development. The software, a licensed product developed at the University of British Columbia, is currently being customized to Guelph’s context. It consists of a high level overview of future development options for periods up to 2041. It is being used used to facilitate discussion forums to illustrate the complexity of planning, to examine the long timelines required to enact change from existing states, and to illustrate trade offs between differing priorities of economic, social and environmental factors of growth. To give GuelphQuest Online a try, click here.
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What is Building Guelph's Future?

Building Guelph’s Future is a series of workshops following GuelphQuest where Guelph residents completed hands-on exercises dealing with intensification and future population growth in the City. To view the results, click here.

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City of Guelph
City Hall, 1 Carden Street
Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3A1
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