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Saugeen Shores Town Council authorized staff on Monday to proceed
with the Site Plan Agreement for a new Rexall drug store to be located
at the corner of Adelaide and Albert Streets.
The existing former factory building and house located on the property
will be removed with the new store to be located on the southern part of
the property, leaving the northern section available for more future
development.
The Rexall Pharma Plus store, being developed by C & H Properties, will
be approximately 12,000 square feet with two entrances, one off Adelaide
St. and the other off Highway 21 [Albert St.], and will also include a
drive-thru prescription pick-up.
The developer has agreed to contribute $46,830 for improvement to
Adelaide Street and $57,936 for Albert Street.
"While I am excited to see something happen on this site," said
Councillor Diane Huber, "I also have several concerns. I would like to
suggest that not a whole lot of attention has been given to design. This
is a stock plan with little to no adjustment made for our community. It
would have been nice to have a sense that they [developer] would at
least make an effort to fit it in. We required some concessions from Tim
Horton's and they complied. This store, too, should have a more local
feel and merely not be a corporate or stock development.
For instance, the sign for this new development is a corporate stock
sign approximately 25 ft. high that is found all over the Province.
Also, it will be placed right on the corner so that it is the most
obvious thing anyone will see on entering Southampton. Again, Tim
Horton's cooperated fully on their signage.
Also, the site plan does not encourage pedestrian traffic at the
southeast corner. We made changes to the road to allow turning lanes
into Tim Horton's which bring traffic right up to the curb at the new
drug store location.
In addition, all the vegetation will be removed and there may be the
possibility of leaving some trees . While there is a provision for 300
shrub plantings along Adelaide and Albert St, similar to Tim Horton's,
there are only seven Blue Spruce planned for Alberta Street. This is not
acceptable on a development this size. There are also residences behind
this development and where commercial property abuts residential, we
should encourage some kind of buffer. (next column)
13/01/2009 04:21 PM
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(continued)
Giant Rexall Sign.
Editor's Comment: Please note the size of a human
being at the right. At the same
Council Meeting Councillor Huber
tried to make valid points about the proposed Gateway signs to the
community. The Rexall sign should have careful analysis too --
possibly community review. Contrary to the tasteful Tim Hortons'
Sign, this will set a record for height and could overwhelm any effort
by the community to establish a branding. It's a cookie cutter
design typical of strip malls in the GTO
I think we should be far more concerned with the
vegetation issue and we seem to be ignoring it. In our zoning bylaws, we
ask for 30% of property to be landscaped open space but there is every
indication the land will be severed with the northern part being sold
off. If that happens, what happens to the 30% open space?
The whole northern part will sit vacant and I think we
should address vegetation on the north section as well, although I have
heard that this section is not part of this store development.
I am confident and convinced that the lighting is going to fit in ... I
hope, but perhaps some period lighting could be considered. I also hope
that with the Shouldice stone being used they [developer] will be
searching out more local product."
Deputy Mayor, Doug Freiburger also agreed that, "We should take a look
at the Blue Spruce footprint for the future. I agree if there is not
enough then we should be doing something more, but can we force somebody
to do something on a future development?"
Town Clerk Lynda White, said that the process is now at the County
level. "Over the next two weeks staff will work on the details and come
back to council at its next meeting."
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