Author: John Draper

Zoning of Rehabilitation Centres

John Draper

In July 2020, Council was asked to approve the use of the (mostly vacant) Medical building at 316 King Street East (opposite the High school) as a rehabilitation centre for patients with drug or alcohol problems.  There was a lot of concern expressed by councillors and the public due to proximity to the school so the issue was deferred pending a study of zoning of such facilities (see link below).  A contract was awarded to Meridian Planning Consultants to report on this subject and their report was presented to Council at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.  Their basic conclusion was that such a use should be possible but subject to case by case decisions which would include collecting public… Read complete articleZoning of Rehabilitation Centres

Some Entertainment Venues Now Open

John Draper

With the Province re-opening, we can hope that more local entertainment venues will open since with Step 3, 50% capacity is allowed.  That means cinemas, theatres, museums, Art Galleries etc. can open and operate.  But in Cobourg, not all venues have announced any change.  The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall is still closed; the Firehall theatre is closed; the Cobourg Community Centre is partially closed; there are no events at the United Church; the Learning connection is not holding live events; the Cobourg Lions Centre and Columbus Centre are not holding events – at least not yet.  BUT, some venues are now open and providing entertainment.  There is a page on the Cobourg Calendar site that tries to list all… Read complete articleSome Entertainment Venues Now Open

Cobourg Planning Department Busy

John Draper

There are three new residential developments coming to Cobourg, one new commercial development and more details are being provided on a previously planned commercial development.  One notification was at the Council meeting on June 28 and four will be at the Committee of the Whole meeting on July 19.  The three residential developments require public meetings and must be approved (or not) in 120 days or the applicant could refer the matter to the Ontario Land Tribunal (previously the OMB).  The two commercial developments have 30 days and no public meetings – so we can expect a fairly quick response. One of the applications includes a large, five storey apartment building with 86 units and these could be condos or… Read complete articleCobourg Planning Department Busy

Managing Crowds at Cobourg’s Beaches

John Draper

Cobourg residents and Councillors have expressed concern about managing the crowds attracted to Cobourg’s beaches – this has been a special concern with the onset of the pandemic but even in normal times, beach crowds can be a problem.  To address this, the Town created a survey and asked the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) to generate recommendations on “how the municipality can manage the popularity of Victoria Park Beach.” Survey results were published in March (see link below to Cobourg News Blog report) – and with the help of Community Services Staff, the PRAC have now published their recommendations and will ask the next Committee of the Whole to accept them.  It’s quite comprehensive but being recommendations and not… Read complete articleManaging Crowds at Cobourg’s Beaches

Next Step of Re-opening will be Earlier

John Draper

The Province originally said that Ontario would move into Step 3 of re-opening once 70 to 80% of adults had received one dose of vaccine and 25% had received two.  Now that 77% of people 12 and over have received one dose and 50% have received two doses – that threshold has been met already.  Also required were a lower ICU occupancy rate and generally a low new case rate and these have also happened. The numbers for our region (HKPR) are not quite that good but may well be soon.  Given the good results, the Province has announced that we will move into Step 3 five days earlier on July 16 (at 12:01 am) and has released detailed regulations… Read complete articleNext Step of Re-opening will be Earlier

Cobourg House Prices Steady

John Draper

In June, house prices in Cobourg stayed close to their record highs – despite talk of a housing price bubble which would suggest a drop.  According to the Northumberland Hills Association of Realtors, the average sale price of a house in the area in June was $849,437.  (Note that Northumberland Hills includes Port Hope, Hamilton and Cramahe as well as Cobourg).  Only 130 units were sold in the area, down 14.5% from June 2020 although this volume  is 12.1% above the five-year average.  Year to date, home sales totaled a record 749 units – this is up by 36.4% from the same period in 2020.  The graph below compares the trend with prices in the GTA and it’s clear that… Read complete articleCobourg House Prices Steady

Installing more EV chargers in Cobourg

John Draper

At the June 21 Committee of the Whole (CoW) Council Meeting, the Sustainability & Climate Emergency Advisory Committee (SCEAC) recommended that Council proceed with installing eight Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers at three locations in Town to take advantage of a $40K grant from Natural Resources Canada.  However, Councillors were concerned that they did not have enough information on who would use the stations and ongoing costs to the Town.  Brent Larmer advised that David Kuhnke, (representing EV owners in Cobourg) would be presenting at the next regular Council meeting on 28 June, so Council decided to defer a decision pending his input and a report from Staff.  David’s presentation did not answer all the questions so a decision has not… Read complete articleInstalling more EV chargers in Cobourg

Cobourg Considering Regulating Airbnb

John Draper

At Monday’s Council meeting, concerns about Airbnb rentals were raised by correspondence from Cobourg resident Anne-Marie Jackson; she complained about problems from an Airbnb establishment on Blake Street (which is within walking distance of Downtown).  Anne-Marie said that “We have seen a notable increase in transient visitors, an increase in on-street parking – often 4-5 vehicles at a time – parties with loud and disruptive guests, documented drug and criminal activity, and as a result, increased police activity.  Further “During documented criminal activity, drug activity and noise complaints where police were called, residents have made attempts to contact (the owner) to address their concerns through the Airbnb ‘Contact Your Neighbour’ portal, but the attempts have gone unanswered. Complaints submitted to Airbnb,… Read complete articleCobourg Considering Regulating Airbnb