What's Happening at 65 Delhi Street?
The County of Wellington is proposing the creation of a new Transitional Housing with Supports project at 65 Delhi Street in Guelph for up to 28 individuals.
- The building is currently vacant and the proposed Transitional Housing with Supports project will provide new housing opportunities for residents of Wellington-Guelph who are experiencing homelessness.
- Historically, the building at 65 Delhi Street has had a community purpose, having been used as a satellite facility for the hospital and later as recreational space. The City of Guelph has no future use planned for the site and has sold the property to the County of Wellington to use for Transitional Housing with Supports (conditional on rezoning).
- The proposal does not call for any additions to the existing building. Proposed changes to the exterior are restricted to the addition of ramps to improve accessibility of the building and the addition of fire escapes to meet safety standards.
The County of Wellington is committed to working with the community and project partners on an ongoing basis to address questions and concerns about the proposal.
What's New? Announcements about 65 Delhi Street
- January 26, 2023: The County of Wellington County Council approved the design for 65 Delhi to go to tender as presented by architects. View the approved designs from the January 26 County Council meeting.
- September 13, 2022: The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) reached a decision on the appeal, upholding the City of Guelph Council approval of zoning by-law amendments.
- August 2022: The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing took place regarding the appeal of City of Guelph Council approval of the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application.
- August 2021: An appeal of City of Guelph Council approval of the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application was filed with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
- July 12, 2021: City of Guelph Council unanimously approved the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application for Transitional Housing with Supports for up to 28 individuals at 65 Delhi. Watch the recording of the July 12 City of Guelph Council meeting.
- July 9, 2021: On behalf of the County of Wellington, MHBC Planning submits request to the City of Guelph to revise the application to reflect a maximum of 28 supportive housing bedrooms.
- June 29, 2021: Virtual Information Session hosted by Ward 2 Councilors James Gordon and Rodrigo Goller. Watch the recording of the Virtual Information Session.
- June 4, 2021: On behalf of the County of Wellington, MHBC Planning submits updates to application to City of Guelph in response to planning comments at the May 10, 2021 City of Guelph Council Meeting. Learn more about the updates to the application.
- May 10, 2021: City of Guelph held Statutory Public Meeting (virtually). Watch the recording of the May 10 City of Guelph Council meeting.
- April 30, 2021: City of Guelph Staff Report available online.
- April 20, 2021: City of Guelph Notice of Complete Application & Public Meeting to Amend the Zoning By-Law. Learn more about the application.
Why is the County of Wellington involved?
The County of Wellington is one of 47 designated Service Managers who deliver Housing, Ontario Works and Children's Early Years services on behalf of the province of Ontario in a specific geographic area. For the County, the geographic area includes the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington.
The County is involved with this project as part of our responsibilities to plan and manage housing services which includes the delivery and administration of provincially mandated social and affordable housing programmes, as well as initiatives to prevent and address homelessness.
Learn more about the County of Wellington Housing Services' role |
County of Wellington Housing Services project planning processes In our role as Service Manager the County of Wellington works on an ongoing basis to explore opportunities within our community to prevent and respond to homelessness. This work is undertaken collaboratively with a variety of local stakeholders including municipal partners; Indigenous organizations; health and human service organizations and operators of homeless serving system (e.g., Wyndham House; Stepping Stone formerly known as the Welcome In Drop In Centre that operates Loyola House pilot and Grace Gardens). The County of Wellington and the organizations that make up the Homeless serving system are knowledgeable about the needs of those experiencing and/or at risk of homelessness in Wellington-Guelph. As a community, we work to integrate the experience and voices of individuals who experience homelessness into our local planning processes as well as provincial and national initiatives to prevent and respond to homelessness. From a built form perspective, the County of Wellington Housing Services remains committed to high standards of service and is working with local experts including engineers, architects and planning consultants to review and revise potential layout within the building to ensure effective design layout. Informed by lived experiences and working in partnership with community-based health and human service professionals and Indigenous organizations we hope to design services and supports that address emerging needs and create staffing models and intake processes to ensure high quality service and supports are available to meet the needs of our diverse community. |
The Ontario Planning Act Planning Processes
The City of Guelph's Zoning By-law acts as a legal tool under Ontario's Planning Act to regulate the use of land and future development in the City. The Planning Act allows the City of Guelph, through zoning, to determine exactly what land uses are permitted and provides detailed requirements that permitted land uses must follow. The City of Guelph's Zoning By-law complements the City’s official plan and is needed to help implement the official plans goal, objectives and policies.
When a proposed development does not align with the existing Zoning By-law, a Zoning By-law amendment, also known as a rezoning, is required.
Zoning does: permit specific land uses on a property and includes specific regulations that development on the site must adhere to (e.g., limitations on height of new buildings).
Zoning does not: regulate who can live in a building or residence; whether the building is owner-occupied or a rental property or, how the building is operated.
See the City of Guelph "Participate in city planning" webpage for more information.
Learn more about the 65 Delhi Street proposal Zoning By-Law Amendment application |
An application to amend the zoning by-law was submitted to the City of Guelph by MacNaughton Hermsen Britton Clarkson Planning Limited (MHBC Planning) on behalf of the County of Wellington in April 2021. The application and supporting material demonstrates that the proposal conforms with the City of Guelph Official Plan Policies and is consistent with relevant provincial legislation. For additional details, please refer to the April 2021 Planning and Justification Report. Under the Planning Act, the process to amend a zoning by-law requires that at least one public meeting is held and that the public be notified of the proposed changes. A virtual public meeting was held on May 10, 2021 with the purpose of sharing information about the proposal and to consider public comments regarding the development application which can be reviewed by staff and applicants. City of Guelph Council will make a decision on the zoning by-law amendment at a future Council meeting. |
A PLACE TO CALL HOME: A 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for Wellington-Guelph
Housing and Homelessness Plans (HHPs) play a critical role in how Service Managers take action to address housing needs as well as prevent and respond to homelessness locally.
VISION: "Everyone in Wellington-Guelph can find and maintain an appropriate, safe and affordable place to call home."
The proposed transitional housing with supports at 65 Delhi Street aligns with multiple objectives from A PLACE TO CALL HOME: A 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for Wellington-Guelph:
- OBJECTIVE 3: To offer a comprehensive range of supportive housing options for residents with complex needs due to aging, disabilities, mental health issues and addictions
- OBJECTIVE 5: To end chronic homelessness
- OBJECTIVE 6: To promote client-centred, coordinated access to the housing and homelessness system
Learn more about Wellington-Guelph Housing and Homelessness Plan (HHP) |
In accordance with the Housing Services Act 2011, the County of Wellington is responsible for developing, implementing and reporting on a 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan (HHP). Service Managers are required to:
The first HHP for Wellington-Guelph was developed in 2014 and then updated in 2018. A PLACE TO CALL HOME: A 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for Wellington-Guelph combines local data with input from the community to set objectives and priorities for housing and homelessness services that address local needs in Wellington-Guelph. The analysis shows that there is not enough affordable housing in Guelph-Wellington; and we know that there are individuals from all walks of life who are or have experienced homelessness in our community. The updated HHP identifies 8 objectives that guide County of Wellington Housing Services work. OBJECTIVE 1: To help low-income households close the gap between their incomes and housing expenses. OBJECTIVE 3: To offer a comprehensive range of supportive housing options for residents with complex needs due to aging, disabilities, mental health issues and addictions. OBJECTIVE 4: To increase the supply and mix of affordable housing options for low- to moderate income households. OBJECTIVE 5: To end chronic homelessness. OBJECTIVE 6: To promote client-centred, coordinated access to the housing and homelessness system. OBJECTIVE 7: To support the sustainability of the existing social and affordable housing stock. OBJECTIVE 8: To foster access to culturally appropriate housing and homelessness services for Indigenous peoples. The County prepares Annual Reports to share with the province and our community. |
The County of Wellington Housing Services - Our Mission:
"To ensure effective, efficient and fair provision of high quality affordable housing to residents of Wellington County and City of Guelph. The County of Wellington Housing Services strives to create innovative solutions to local housing needs, in an atmosphere of cooperation with our tenants and the local community."
The Wellington-Guelph Housing Continuum and our Housing Programmes
The Wellington-Guelph Housing Continuum illustrates the spectrum of housing options along with local housing programmes across this spectrum. In brief and following along the continuum, our housing programmes include: homelessness prevention strategies such as shelter diversion and emergency housing; rapid rehousing programme (transitional housing) and scattered site supports (supportive housing) programmes as well as rent-geared-to-income units (community housing); capital grants, loans and rent subsidies (affordable housing) and finally, homeownership grants and loans.