Guelph, Ont., October 10, 2023 –The City of Guelph is pleased to announce that two key positions aimed at supporting the City’s efforts and progress in increasing housing supply in Guelph have been filled.
“As an employer of choice, our organization attracts top talent, and the individuals we’ve hired to help expedite housing development in Guelph are no exception,” says Scott Stewart, chief administrative officer. “I’m confident they’ll do great things to support the hard work being done by City staff to build an inclusive, connected city where we look after each other.”
Housing stability advisor
The City’s first-ever housing stability advisor will collaborate and strengthen relationships with Wellington County, community partners, and other levels of government to improve housing equity, security and affordability in Guelph. Their work will support the City’s efforts to adopt a human rights-based approach to housing, help the City implement recommendations from the Collective Results report shared with Council on September 12, and to explore and implement solutions related to housing insecurity and affordability.
Development advisor
The development advisor role is another new position with the City. Priorities here include updating the City’s housing affordability strategy, focusing on the private home ownership and rental market and collaborating with the housing stability advisor to enable the development of more residential units in Guelph, including more units that people can afford.
Helping build more homes faster
These two employees will join a growing complement of staff hired to make it as quick and easy as possible for developers to build homes faster. As committed to in the City’s housing pledge, and to adjust to the Province’s legislation under Bill 23 and Bill 109, the City has filled eight positions, is currently recruiting two, and another four positions will be posted in early 2024. These positions include project managers, engineers and technicians.
These hiring efforts have delivered results, allowing the City to approve 943 new building permits as of August 31 which is about 80 per cent of the total approved in 2022, and a third more than what was approved in 2021. The City has pledged to approve about 2,000 units per year to reach the provincial mandate of 18,000 units by 2031.
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Media Contact
Mark Ellis, General Manager
Human Resources
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension
[email protected]