A full house with a packed council chambers at Victoria Hall and overflow to the Old Bailey Room downstairs turned out for a public meeting Wednesday night hosted by the Town of Cobourg regarding proposed development at 202 Second Street.
The purpose of the meeting was to consider Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments for the proposed development by Balder Corporation and Dez Capital, and represented by Fotenn Planning and Design on behalf, for a nine-storey, mixed-used building containing 196 residential units and 243 square metres of commercial space.
Mayor Lucas Cleveland, Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty and councillors Aaron Burchat, Miriam Mutton and Randy Barber were in attendance. Councillor Adam Bureau recused himself due to conflict of interest, noting he lives and owns a business close to the proposed development site, and Councillor Brian Darling was absent.
Cleveland noted the public meeting was just part of the process and one required to be held.
“At this point in time, the only action that has been taken is that the developer themselves have proposed an idea,” he said. At this time staff have made no comments, at this time council has made no comments officially.”
The mayor said he has made comments publicly in news media and social media that he doesn’t support the project in its current form.
“Now while I do not speak for this council in those words, I would suggest that possibly the majority, certainly if not every member on this council, does not support it in one way or another,” Cleveland said.
“This is why this process exists, is so that when ideas are submitted before any staff resources are allocated, before council weighs in on the subject, the public has the first option to have a conversation and share that feedback with both the staff, this council and the developing group.”
Municipal clerk Brent Larmer said on Aug. 28 notices about the meeting were mailed to properties within 120 metres of the site, a public meeting notice sign was placed on the property and the notice was posted on the Town’s website that day as well.
Cobourg’s Manager of Development Review Victoria Heffernan noted no decision was being made at the public meeting.
Heffernan said staff would complete their review and compile all public comments received before a report is prepared and moved to the council standing committee phase for consideration of the proposals.
“The role of staff is to interpret and translate applicable policies and law that are relevant to planning proposals and provide all necessary information to council so that they may make an informed decision.”
Future applications still need to be submitted for review for compliance, including site-plan control, agreements and building permits, she noted.
202 Second Street is already privately owned, but is rented to the Town of Cobourg for parking spaces.
Sydney DiTomasso, a senior planner from Fotenn, joined the meeting virtually and said Cobourg’s Official Plan recognizes the town is growing and must accommodate that growth.
“Cobourg is forecasting about 5,200 new residents by 2031 and aims for 40 per cent of that new growth to happen within the built area,” DiTomasso said. “To do that, the town promotes compact, mixed-use development, walkable neighbourhoods and higher-density use of underutilized land and high-density residential development is permitted in the main central area.”
DiTomasso also referenced the Downtown Cobourg Master Plan, noting it similarly promotes intensification of underutilized land, particularly along Albert Street with a goal of filling in gaps, add retail frontages and bring more activity and vibrancy downtown.
“Local policies also emphasize that new development needs to fit in with Cobourg’s heritage character,” she said. “Overall this application makes efficient use of an underutilized site and aligns with provincial and local growth policies and helps ensure Cobourg is meeting the needs of both today’s residents and future populations.”
The proposed plans include different height levels around the building of four, seven and nine storeys.
Representatives from BSN Architects, who also joined virtually to speak about the design and view of the building.
Numerous letters from residents were submitted and can be read at (https://pub-cobourg.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=09102e6e-b4f2-4ba0-a8c1-08d29c0e84f2&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=18&Tab=attachments)
Mayor Cleveland said 23 speakers were registered prior to the delegations, though not all stepped up to the microphone when called upon.
The correspondence, both written and orally, overwhelming opposed the proposed development for reasons including height, impact on Victoria Hall, aesthetics, parking, construction, fire access and more.
Two former Cobourg mayors did speak and first up for the delegations was John Henderson.
“My first concern is the development’s recommended massing of nine storeys, which I believe not only encroaches on Victoria Hall and its iconic bell tower, but can also impact our downtown core,”
Henderson said. “Currently the main central commercial zone requires all residential, commercial and mixed-use buildings to be no taller than three stories with a floor index maximum of 2.0. This measure, believe it or not, was thoughtfully introduced in the 1990s. James Hoffman, a visionary and a developer, worked in unison with multiple Cobourg councils led by the following mayors (Angus) Read, (Joan) Chalovich and (Peter) Delanty to remediate the brownfield and to revitalize our waterfront.”
Henderson suggested the mitigating strategies proposed by the developer along with BSN Architects such as the creation of the podium and upper storeys step back, especially levels six to eight, are perhaps well-intended, “but in my belief are well, again, in excess of the current planning principles.
“A development three times the height of the maximum storeys allowed with 196 units and 212 incorporated parking spaces, I believe threatens to overwhelm the public realm.”
During his delegation and accompanying letter, Henderson commended “the use of a material palette that reflects its surrounding, at-grade commercial units, integrated pedestrian pathways to encourage walkability to Rotary Park/waterfront, public realm improvements and enhanced tree canopy. In addition, I commend the proposed Blue Roof System which supports the Greenland’s System to mitigate water run-off promoting sustainable water management techniques to address the Midtown Creek Special Policy Area.”
Henderson added, “my third and final concern is related to the lack of collaboration behind the 202 Second Street Inc. project. To my dismay, I have read that BSN Architects and Fotenn over significant time (2021 to 2025) were not able to have a collaborative engagement on the Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment with the Town of Cobourg Heritage Planner. This is especially a concern considering the size and scope of this proposal for 202 Second Street. This lack of collaboration could have long-lasting negative effects on our community.”
Another former mayor, Gil Brocanier, noted that a number of concerns from residents would be addressed by staff during the proposed development process, and his main opposition at the meeting was the amendment to the Official Plan.
Brocanier spent nine years as a town councillor, four as deputy mayor and eight as mayor.
“I spent all of those years working with councils to establish and maintain Cobourg as a desirable place to live and work with our built assets being one of the most important features of our character that I focused on,” he said.
Brocanier referenced condo development and said when he first became a councillor the northshore of the harbour “was a cold, dust driveway. That’s all it was. There were no buildings down there at all.”
He said the council of the day recognized the importance of the area and set out a secondary plan for how the area would be developed.
“In this secondary plan, we felt it was important to consider the most important building in Cobourg – Victoria Hall – and we wanted to make sure Victoria Hall could always be seen from the harbour,” Brocanier said. “As a result of that, the whole harbour area as you see it today became a mix of three and four storeys only. The focus on building heights back in the 1980s is why Cobourg has received so much praise and accolades on our harbour development.”
Brocanier said there has since been more condo development in the main central area that was subject to conformants with the height restrictions of the Official Plan.
He said previous councils and staff have maintained and nurtured the built character residents enjoy today in main central Cobourg.
“Here we are today with a development proposal that is an affront to main central Cobourg in general and to Victoria Hall in particular,” Brocanier remarked. “The approval of nine and seven storey condos would degrade the significance of Victoria Hall which I previously stated is the most important building in Cobourg but in fact it is the most important building in Northumberland County.
“If approved for anything over four storeys, this development would undo decades of the diligence previous councils and staff have applied to keep the character and visual appeal of Cobourg.”
Brocanier urged the current council to hold firm and not amend the Official Plan.
The meeting was livestreamed, but the video of the meeting wasn’t available at https://pub-cobourg.escribemeetings.com/ at the time this story was published.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
