Near the start of the Covid-19 crisis, Cobourg’s Planning department received a re-submission of an application for Site Plan Approval that had originally been submitted in 2014. The re-submission on 6 April 2020 was for a significant development on the corner of King Street East and Brook Road North. Since there have been a good number of projects in Planning, I barely noticed it and I did not give it the coverage it deserved – so here it is now. The project consists of four buildings – one is labelled as a Tim Hortons, another is a convenience store and a third shows two restaurants. The fourth building has five retail stores. Both Restaurants and the Tim Hortons have drive–throughs and there is also a gas bar included. It’s not known if the Tim Hortons label is wishful thinking or if it’s factual.
The site plan included is very busy and hard to read if you are not a planner or engineer so I have made a very simplified version which conveys the idea but leaves out many details. The original includes many trees and more detail of the parking so before you criticize the design, check the submitted plan here. And of course, the planning department will be studying the submitted plans to ensure they meet all requirements so the final design will likely have changes. The Planning Department posts all submitted documents on the Town’s web site here. Look under Site Plan applications. The project is called “428-432 King Street East (SPA-04-20)”.
Assuming it goes ahead, this would be a good addition in the East end.
Links
- Update on Major Projects – 18 Feb 2020
- Major Projects Continue during Covid-19 crisis – 27 May 2020
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All new private, commercial investment is welcome. Now, we will have the same number of Tim Horton locations as we have methadone clinics.
A commercial development, no matter how small, is probably long over due as a convenience to those living at the east end of town or travelling on Rte 2. I suspect the hold up was the lack of a sufficient customer base. The commercial in the north end of town is highly dependant on patrons arriving via the 401, 45, from Port Hope, etc.
Of concern to me is that in the detailed plan l could not find any allowance for a bus pull off on King St. I hope this is not the case.
Cobourg needs to plan for a future which is far less dependant on the automobile than it is at present. That change will come in iñcrements. To that end it is gratifying to see the housing choices in Stalwoods proposed Phase 5 development just to the east. Perhaps this, and other informed projects like it, will justify the sidewalks.
To those who say electric vehicles will solve the environmental problems associated with the automobile, the fact remains that over one third of the energy consumed by such vehicles takes place during the extraction and processing of the materials needed to build them, the production of the vehicles themselves and their final disposal.
And electric cars are fueled up with electricity produced by coal, gas, nuclear, whatever is handy other than unreliable solar and wind
It looks like Ontario’s electric cars are more than likely fueled up with zero carbon emission produced electricity, rather than coal or gas pruduced.
In 2018, about 96% of electricity in Ontario is produced from zero-carbon emitting sources: 60% from nuclear, 26% from hydroelectricity, 7% from wind, and 2% from solar. The remainder is primarily from natural gas, with some biomass.
The town will do its part to offset that through the introduction of 3 additional drive-thru restaurants in this newly planned development.
Very local, even regional, however on a national and international scale, the specs favour my assertion, minimal input from unreliable solar and wind.
This is a local blog Wally, check the title up at the top of this page… Cobourg News Blog. Regional if you want it, that’s why I gave the specs for Ontario. Now you want to move the goal posts to national and international to validate your weak argument. What’s next, intergalactic?
You were wrong on your assertion of E-Vehicles charging up with fossil fuel generated electricity, so just admit it. No shame.
C’mon, give me a thumbs up for my comment. I gave you one the other day about your term “maskholes”.
Thanks for the 👍 Wally.
Fake news, but you only fooled yourself.
Fake Muse
Is Verse Than
Fake News
“To those who say electric vehicles will solve the environmental problems associated with the automobile, the fact remains that over one third of the energy consumed by such vehicles takes place during the extraction and processing of the materials needed to build them, the production of the vehicles themselves and their final disposal.”
— Keith Oliver.
THAT is what I responded to with my comment. Note that there is no reference to “local” You declare this to be a “local blog” then why not dump down on Keith and tell him to check the title at the top of the page. The stupidd policy that you allude to restricts comments by everyone about anything referencing outside Cobourg. You wouldn’t do that to Keith, but you would to me, because you are chronic condescending troll. That is the whole purpose of your comment.
I did not dispute your commentary. However it was myopic. Keith and I did not make any reference to local, regional. Your myopic assertion misleads to an extrapolation that all other regions, countries, even the galaxy for goodness sakes.
You have been a chronic troll to me on this blog, picking a nit here or there, invariably petty stuff, kinda like a grammar nazi.
“You were wrong on your assertion of E-Vehicles charging up with fossil fuel generated electricity, so just admit it. No shame.”
And your assertion is that E-Vehicles are not charging up with fossil fuel generated electricity. That is not a fact.
“C’mon, give me a thumbs up for my comment. I gave you one the other day about your term “maskholes”.
What a child you are! I do not believe that you gave me a thumbs up because you are pseudonym, ergo, untrustworthy. “Can’t you just take my word for it?” you whined to another commentator a while back. There are security benefits from using a pseudonym, but there is a downside to more meaningful personal trust.
I’m with you on this one, Wally. At least neither of us are afraid to reveal who we are.
Yes, it’s called transparency and accountability, things that pseudonyms regularly call for with the notable exception of their glorious selves.
As an aside. Solar and wind can be reliable, especially wind, if they are combined with off-peak storage systems. These include the production of hydrogen to be used to poweer generators when demand is high, and the build up of under water pressure system for the same purpose. A study conducted over many years identified the high land formations to our north as an excellent location for wind turbines.
“ if they are combined with off-peak storage systems”
Of course, because wind is unreliable. And the storage systems — how many hours can they store it, enough to run industry or a small city?
Unfortunately, the “high land formations to our north” are also “an excellent location” for green space and quiet recreation, far from the visual and audible incursions of monstrous electro-mechanical installations.
I wonder if Keith meant the “near north” (cottage country) or perhaps some place north of, say, Hearst or Armstrong?
Jim T
If you’re against wind turbines as an alternative source of electricity, what other means of production would you suggest? Or shall we keep on with our present outmoded system?
To Wallys’ last comment, a wind turbine installation, proposed by a private, for-profit company and cancelled by the Ford Government would have produced enough reliable power to supply 100,000 homes in the Kingston area.
Why can Denmark and Norway produce a significant percentage of their power by wind while any serious effort here in Canada falls victim to politics or esthetics. Unbelievable but true!
“what other means of production would you suggest?”
I would suggest small modular reactors. Their footprint on the earth is a fraction of what wind farms occupy. Their blades cannot be recycled so they are buried in massive landfills, eg Wyoming. Denmark has hundreds and hundreds of off-shore wind turbines shredding the ocean view, whereas smrs allow for less on-site construction, increased containment efficiency, and enhanced safety due to passive safety features. Wind turbines are an assault on birds, not the common sparrow, starling or chickadee, but bigger birds, especially birds that are endangered species. That is not politics Keith — it’s science.
About time I know the Red Tape was once again a problem
The Zoning and Official Plan was correct as it was a historic commercial site
But for some reason the Town / County Curbed up the 3 Motel entrances on Brook Rd
when they put in the new side walk s for the new housing to the North with out the new owners consent or Knowledge
Then they had to battle to get them back . 7 Years of proposals and planning
There truly is no affordable development happening in Cobourg
Time is Money ! folks
Great vacancy in this area for gas, grocery and fast food. Development is
long
past due. Businesses will do very well.
Is this the same development that was to include a grocery store or was that another development? I am pretty sure there was a plan for a grocery store in that area…
The supermarket was/is planned for the corner of Wilmot and King.
This Mall was originally planed and sold to these people back when Joe Scheffer was the Economic Development officer for the town . It was part of the Towns Willmot Business park. There is a codicil in those land sales that you must / should develop & build on the lands with in 2 or 3 yrs . There is more land in the same position there and why the Town does not enforce their own rules is beyond me . It was meant to spur on jobs and
construction not as a land bank and wait for appreciation