Virtual public meeting for Drake Hotel expansion and development
Administrator | Nov 16, 2021 | Comments 12
A virtual public information meeting is to take place Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 7 pm regarding the planning applications from Drake Property Holdings in Wellington.
The County has received applications for a commercial development and a new urban residential lot. The applicant seeks permission to construct six additional hotel rooms fronting onto Wharf Street at the Drake Motor Inn and to expand the Drake Devonshire Inn by creating additional dining and accommodation space (10 units).
The consent application proposes to create one new residential lot fronting onto Niles Street. The new lot would allow for the construction of a single-detached dwelling.
Members of the public who wish to attend the virtual public meeting must register by contacting Matt Coffey, Planning Coordinator, Approvals, at mcoffey@pecounty.on.ca by noon on Monday, Nov. 22. The meeting will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams.
Materials for each of the above applications can be viewed on The County’s website.
This public meeting is an information meeting only – held as part of the new planning application process announced this summer.
At a public information meeting, the proponent/agent will present the proposal. If any member of the public would like to ask questions or make comments, they will be able to do so after the presentation by the applicant.
The statutory public meeting required under the Planning Act will be a Planning Committee meeting and would only be held after the public information meeting and when the assigned County planner has completed an analysis of the project.
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We are suffering from a bucolic plague. Saturation occupancy with nothing left to appreciate.
Input into community concerns is limited. This is the elephant in the room for Wellington…….downtown will effectively be taken over by the Drake and its clientele….but our council and planning department keep pushing tourism development through over objections of many taxpayers……
Holding public “consultation” meetings like this virtually, seems to be PERCEIVED like they are asking for public input. My ask to Council: Bring back in-person consultations.
Just go and build a resort somewhere out of town, the summer congestion is unreal!
These are extraordinary times and they call for us to think in different ways however these virtual meetings should have stopped over a year ago. This is no way to make meaningful decisions that impact our community to such an extent. Trust me, developers and their consultants get plenty of one-on-one time with the planning staff to get the answers they need and want. However the community is never afforded that same courtesy.
As Mike points out, look no further than the Quintes Isle Campark decision to see how flawed this is. Due to virtual meetings, the community never had the opportunity to truly be heard and get answers to their questions. They could only write letters, and there were many (140+ in opposition) yet planning staff and Council never asked those people one question or heard the concerns and so simply chose to ignore them. Written communication only accounts for about 7% of the meaning when it comes to understanding communication. That flawed process led to the decision to obliterate what is precious about that section of the South Shore.
Please Council, realize virtual meetings are like making decisions in a vacuum. Our County, our community, deserve better from you than this.
It does matter. Person to person discussions cannot be replaced by virtual. Beyond me why the County is continuing this. 13 Councilors and a Mayor can meet unmasked but don’t dare bring in a live resident taxpayer. Makes absolutely no sense.
It does not matter if you are able to go to meeting, look at what happened with Quinte Isles, lots of objection but council still blessed the ruin off the south shore.
As we should be concerned about how virtual meetings to plan for virtual development leads to virtually poor planning. This rush to develop will come back to haunt this community – so why is it happening? Don’t use affordable housing as an excuse for this – the development being approved is not affordable.
I think if our council has this community’s best interest at heart, they need to slow things down and make a real effort to include the public in the process – which is/has not happened.
I agree with regards to these virtual meetings. We can have 18,000 people at a hockey game but no one can go to a development meeting. Why are we still doing this?
Yay more virtual meetings so no one can show up so no one can interfere perfect plan for the developers. I believe all large construction projects should be put on hold until the pandemic is over. Only seems fair
Going to cause way to much traffic give it a break already with Lakeside motel and now Wellington Hotel this is crazy there is no room our streets are small council sold the parking lot for $2 we are in deep here. I am starting to hate what my hometown is allowed to become. Our grandparents would have never allowed this garbage.
As I read the proposals, the Drake Motor Inn is to receive 6 new units. The Drake Devonshire is to get 15 new units. As well the existing pavillion is going to double in size and another dining room and kitchen expansion are to be built. The “Midtown” parking lot will be dedicated to the Drake properties and Midtown Brewing. The Drakes traffic study minimizes the effect of this increased capacity. At present the traffic flow to the Devonshire and the Midtown lot cause some back ups. Clearly the Drake sees a blossoming future for tourism in Wellington….as do the owners of the soon to be Wellington Hotel.