This is going to be a difficult column to write because I’ve always believed that the improvement of your own circumstance does not need to come at the expense of others, but Guelph, we need to talk about your privilege.
On Monday, council will be asked to ratify the decision of staff to refuse a zoning bylaw amendment request to build a 25-storey apartment tower at the corner of Wyndham and Fountain downtown. Once again, Guelph throws density in the bin even as outreach on the growth strategy apparently says that creating density downtown should be a priority.
Look, I won’t deny that 25 storeys might seem a bit excessive when that’s almost double the size of other towers downtown, but I find it weird how staff will work with some developers for a year to shave a couple of townhomes off a proposal while the kibosh was put on this entire plan after just five months.
If council does indeed vote to refuse the application on Monday night, this will be the second high density development that council will have voted against this year, and at a time that housing is supposed to be top of mind for this council council.
Now some of you are probably about to scroll down to the comments and yell at me about affordable housing, to which I say, “I know.”
The problem is that affordable housing, social housing, or supportive housing does not grow out of the ground like foliage. Outside of direct government investment, which never seems close to being a reality, we need private developers to step up, and no one in business for profit is going to feel incentivised to make less profit, or no profit, when the vacancy rate for Guelph is practically zero.
Every unit we don’t build, especially in high density developments, is effectively keeping the housing market hyper-inflated because of scarcity. Meanwhile, MoneySense just told everyone that Guelph is great place to come and buy a house, which was endorsement shared by almost everyone at city hall. Now, it’s just another barrier for people already here and still can’t afford a place to live.
So at least the character of downtown is preserved, whatever that is. Meanwhile, the city moved ahead with making the downtown dining district permanent for the summer, which does wonders for the 17 businesses at the corner of Wyndham and Macdonell this program helps, but what about the rest of Guelph?
Again, I wouldn’t argue that those 17 businesses don’t need the help, but I would argue that the vision of both council and staff at city hall is staggering limited to that one very exclusive area of the city.
For instance, the vast majority of Guelph Transit routes run through the intersection that the city has now closed down for over a month and a half after only considering the impact from one weekend’s worth of data. Transit schedules run on such tight timing as it is that I predict closing a major downtown intersection all day is going to have a serious negative effect on transit, which is already on the endangered list because of lost revenue.
Make no mistake, the downtown dining district is meant to appeal to the people that live in or near downtown, people who can comfortably walk there. Closing down streets does not appeal to the vast majority of the city and directing them to the nearest parking lots versus on street parking seriously underestimates how most people travelling downtown think.
But privilege is not an exclusively downtown phenomenon. I’ve been monitoring the commentary on a GuelphToday.com story about a proposal to open a fast food joint, a car wash and a gas station in the east end, and the dualistic debate between those pleased with the development and those that want to shut it down.
I get it, Big Macs and gas pumps are not exactly glamourous, but one cannot discount the need for gas in a society where cars are the primary means of transportation. At the same time, a friend pointed out on Facebook that you can’t ignore the fact that many people including teenagers, seniors, and people of limited means are also looking for clean, affordable, and easily accessible places where they can hang out.
These people are not going to be taking advantage of the downtown dining district.
On another matter, I was looking up Guelph’s demographics based on the last census, and it turns out that Guelph’s median income is $77,984 per year, and the single largest group of people in Guelph ranked according to income is people making more than $150,000 per year. Right now, these are the people being heard at city hall the loudest. They’re the ones with time and money to dine al fresco at boutique restaurants and consider towers and chain burger joints a blight on the neighbourhood.
So what does the rest of Guelph think? Who knows, they’re too busy just trying to make enough money to live here.
