(Issued September 8, 2020 at 9:35 a.m. EST) – The Municipal Council of the Town of Cobourg will convene a Public Meeting on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 5 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Concert Hall, Victoria Hall, 55 King Street West, Cobourg, Ontario regarding a proposed Affordable and Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for the Town of Cobourg in accordance with Section 28 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990 c.P. 13, as amended.
THE PURPOSE of the Public Meeting is to hear submissions regarding the proposed Affordable & Rental Housing CIP which is being developed in response to the rising need for affordable and rental housing options within the Town of Cobourg, and is intended to help execute the recently released Northumberland County and Town of Cobourg Affordable Housing Strategies (AHS).
The proposed Affordable & Rental Housing CIP is a strategic policy tool that can provide a suite of incentives to address locally specific needs and priorities in the community, including the promotion of affordable and rental housing, sustainable and accessible development/re-development/retrofits, and brownfield revitalization. Based on the background research, consultation findings and financial assessment undertaken as part of the CIP process, a number of key focus areas and considerations were identified for the development of the Affordable and Rental Housing CIP: Purpose-Built Rental Housing; Smaller Units; Second Units; Mixed-Income Housing; and, Emergency and Transitional Housing. Additional areas of focus included sustainability, accessible and universal design, brownfield revitalization, social and cultural wellbeing, and data collection, reporting and monitoring.
The CIP study officially began in October of 2019 and the process included a Public Launch event in December of 2019 and a Public Open House/Workshop in January of 2020, plus two (2) updates to Cobourg Municipal Council in January and March of 2020. Due to COVID-19, a further Public Open House was not convened, however the CIP Background Report, draft CIP, open house materials and additional information and public engagement opportunities are available by accessing Engage Cobourg on the municipal website www.engagecobourg.ca or by contacting the Town’s Planning Department at the contact information below.
How to participate in the Public Meeting
This Public Meeting of Council will be conducted live and in-person. Due to COVID-19, if you wish to be a Participant in-person at the Public Meeting in Victoria Hall you should notify Brent Larmer, Municipal Clerk, via e-mail at clerk@cobourg.ca or by phone at (905) 372-4301 no later than 12 p.m. (noon) on September 28th in order to obtain instructions on the COVID-19 protocols for in-person attendance.
Alternatively, written submissions to the Municipal Clerk, 55 King Street West, Cobourg, Ontario, K9A 2M2 in advance of the Public Meeting are encouraged and will be made available to any interested person at the Public Meeting.
Citizens may also tune into the LIVE YouTube feed to watch the Public Meeting at www.youtube.com/towncobourg.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION which will enable the public to inspect and understand the Affordable & Rental Housing CIP background information and draft CIP, including information about preserving your appeal rights, please contact the Town's Planning Department at Victoria Hall during regular office hours c/o Adriane Miller, Administrative Assistant, at (905) 372-1005 or amiller@cobourg.ca and reference “Affordable & Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP)”. Information is also available on the Town of Cobourg’s public engagement website www.engagecobourg.ca (Engage Cobourg).