Four-storey apartments approved for Water St.

City council voted a final time Monday to allow three new apartment buildings across Water St. from the zoo, even though a neighbour who lives next door to the property expressed concern about the plan.

Local developer Triple T Holdings is proposing to build the four-storey buildings on a piece of vacant land at 1341 Water St. (just east of Carnegie Ave). There will be 96 apartments in total.

The new development would be built beside another existing townhouse community and just east of a newer condominium complex that’s accessed from Centre Line.

Bruce MacPherson told council he lives next door to the property where the apartments are proposed.

He said the plan represents a dramatic change for the area and that it will increase traffic and decrease the neighbourhood’s property values.

“It seems ironic the developers have done an environmental impact analysis, but have demonstrated scant concern for human neighbours,” MacPherson said.

A city fire station is also located near the proposed new development site. The land was a quarry back in 1966 and has been undeveloped since.

Mayor Daryl Bennett asked city planning director Jeffrey Humble, later in the meeting, whether the proposal meets provincial guidelines for development in the area.

Humble said yes, and he added that development was “envisioned” on that property when the city’s Official Plan was amended about a decade ago.

In other council business Monday:

Food services

Council voted a final time to hire a Cobourg catering business to provide food, drink and snacks at the Evinrude Centre for the next five years. The plan is to hire CGC Concession Group Canada.

But Coun. Dan McWilliams said he didn’t like the idea of hiring a particular caterer to work the kitchen; he would have liked those who rent the centre to have their choice of caterer.

He also pointed out there’s a plan to renovate the Evinrude Centre’s banquet room so it looks more like a restaurant and less like a gymnasium.

“It’s really not an attractive room,” he said of the banquet room at the Evinrude, adding that maybe it would be best to hire a caterer when the renovation is done.

But city community services director Ken Doherty recommended hiring a caterer now.

“Plans for any major renovation to the conference room (at the Evinrude Centre) are still in their infancy,” he said. “This is a process that could take several years.”

In the meantime, he recommended the city hire a caterer willing to be “a true partner” in increasing the number of events for the Evinrude Centre.

Mayor Daryl Bennett called it “a reasonable business proposal,” saying this particular caterer knows the business.

“This gives us a good start on repurposing the facility,” he said.

George St. construction

Council voted a final time on redesigning and repaving a traffic-clogged section of George St.

Construction is expected to start in May and be done by August.

Last year, the city planned to improve George St. between Lake St. and Hunter St. The plan includes cycling lanes, left turn lanes, traffic signals at Dalhousie St., a landscaped median, two pedestrian refuge islands, street trees and fresh pavement.

A contract was awarded to local firm Coco Paving. The cost was expected to be $1,982,201 (excluding HST).

But now the plan is to expand the repaving of George St. from Lake St. to Townsend St. That’s because the road is in rough shape, and the best time to repave would be either this year or next.

It’s going to cost an additional $205,000 — which will bring the total cost of the project, with HST, to $2,471,537.