Brookside plans could include 16-storey buildings

By Cecilia Nasmith

At a time when a proposed eight-storey building in the downtown has occasioned vocal and vehement opposition, plans for the former Brookside Youth Centre property could bring 16-storey apartment buildings about a kilometre to the east.

The news comes as the Town of Cobourg announces a Sept. 16 date for council to begin to fine-tune plans for the development of the former Brookside Youth Centre.

The 5 p.m. meeting in council chambers (third floor east at Victoria Hall, 55 King St. W.) will examine changing the vacated former provincial facility's zoning from Development and Development Floodplain to Residential Two Exception, Residential Four Exception, Residential Five Exception, Corridor Commercial, Open Space and Environmental Constraint to permit residential, commercial and open-space uses.

Specifically, plans call for 26 semi-detached dwellings, 106 street townhouse dwellings, 138 stacked townhouse dwellings and 700 apartment units in multiple residential buildings up to 16 storeys, as well as 5,000 sq. m. of commercial space at the property's southwest corner (which would be the intersection of King Street West and Cottesmore Avenue, across the street from Cobourg Collegiate Institute).

Submissions on the development can be made in written and verbal form to clerk@cobourg.ca (or dropped off at Victoria Hall, 55 King St. W.).

Anyone wishing to speak to an agenda item can register as a virtual speaker by e-mailing clerk@cobourg.ca no later than noon on the business day prior to the meeting.

The announcement included two caveats.

“If a person or public body would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the council of the Town of Cobourg to the Ontario Land Tribunal but the person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Town of Cobourg before the bylaw is passed or subject official plan amendment is adopted, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision.

“If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting, or make written submissions to the Town of Cobourg before the bylaw is passed or subject official plan amendment is adopted, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.”