Council Meeting - July 21, 2026

The City of Cambridge Council meeting held on July 21, 2026, included extensive discussions on several development and housing-related matters. Key procurement-related topics included zoning bylaw amendments and official plan amendments for multiple development projects, such as a 16-story mixed-use building at King Street East and a 132-unit stacked townhouse development at Water Drive and Dundas Street South. The council also considered the citywide water allocation policy and zoning bylaw amendments, with delegations from the development community emphasizing the need for efficient staff-administered water capacity allocations to avoid delays in housing development. A significant agenda item was the approval of recommendations from the mayor's affordable housing reserve fund working group, which proposed using the reserve fund to purchase land for affordable housing projects, thereby maintaining public control over these assets. The council unanimously approved this approach. Additionally, the council passed a motion requesting staff to work with the Region of Waterloo to update noise studies and consider traffic calming measures on Franklin Boulevard due to resident safety concerns. Several bylaws related to zoning amendments and water allocation were also unanimously approved. The meeting featured robust public engagement and council debate, particularly around development density, traffic impacts, and affordable housing strategies.