Bruce Engell

A status Case Management Conference was held regarding the remaining appeals against the City of Toronto's comprehensive Zoning By-law No. 569-2013.

The City provided updates on settlement discussions concerning various issue-specific and site-specific appeals, including those related to propane storage, school boards, parking, cemeteries, and places of worship.

The Tribunal scheduled a further one-day CMC for December 3, 2025, and directed the City to provide a written status update and an updated tracking chart of remaining appeals by November 26, 2025.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a case management conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the municipality for failing to make decisions on applications for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and a Plan of Subdivision to permit a 37-unit residential farm co-operative.

The Tribunal issued a procedural order setting a 10-day video hearing to commence on July 7, 2025, and established the procedural dates for the exchange of witness statements, expert meetings, and other pre-hearing requirements.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding an appeal by Soneil Markham Inc. against the City of Brampton's failure to make a decision on a Zoning By-law Amendment application.

The application seeks to permit a mixed-use development with multiple towers.

The Tribunal approved the finalized Procedural Order and Issues List and scheduled a 15-day merit hearing to commence in March 2026, allowing time for ongoing mediation in related appeals.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a first Case Management Conference regarding appeals by Crown (Bradford) Developments Inc. against the City of Barrie's failure to make decisions on Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications.

The applications seek to permit a mixed-use development with two 45-storey residential towers.

The Tribunal scheduled a second Case Management Conference to finalize the Procedural Order and Issues List, and set a deadline for a resident to submit a Participant Status request.

The applicant appealed the City of Brampton's refusal of a zoning by-law amendment to permit a 29-storey mixed-use building.

The subject property was designated Mixed-Use Two (MU2), which limits height to 20 storeys and density to 3.0 FSI.

The applicant argued that a secondary plan policy allowed for greater height and density with justification, without needing an official plan amendment.

The Tribunal found that the correct density calculation was 9.53 FSI based on net site area.

The Tribunal held that while the exception policy was permissive, it could not be used to 'leapfrog' the maximum height and density of the next higher designation, as doing so would undermine the foundational hierarchy of designations in the Secondary Plan.

The appeal was dismissed as the proposal did not conform to the official plan.

The Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals by Bovaird West Holdings Inc. against the City of Brampton's failure to make decisions on applications for a zoning by-law amendment and a draft plan of subdivision.

The parties disputed whether certain issues proposed by CN, relating to the interpretation and relevance of specific provincial and municipal planning policies, should be included on the Issues List.

The Tribunal ruled that the proposed issues pertain to land use planning policies within its purview and allowed them to be included, noting that their relevance would be appropriately adjudicated at the hearing.

The Tribunal also granted a request to adjourn the previously scheduled nine-day hearing, rescheduling it as a five-day hearing in July 2025, and approved a revised Procedural Order.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Vaughan brought a motion for directions to phase the hearing of an appeal regarding a proposed 21-storey residential development.

The moving parties sought a Phase 2A hearing to determine natural heritage and hazard issues (the permissible building envelope) before a Phase 2B hearing on remaining planning issues.

The appellant argued the motion was barred by issue estoppel due to a prior review disposition.

The Tribunal found issue estoppel did not apply, as the prior disposition did not decide the phasing request.

The Tribunal granted the motion, finding that determining the permissible building envelope is a threshold issue and that phasing the hearing would provide the most fair, just, and expeditious resolution of the appeals.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Vaughan brought a motion requesting a phased hearing for appeals concerning a proposed 21-storey residential development on lands with environmental designations.

The moving parties sought a Phase 2A hearing to determine the permissible building envelope based on natural heritage and hazard issues, followed by a Phase 2B hearing for remaining planning issues.

The appellant opposed the motion, arguing it was barred by issue estoppel due to a prior review disposition.

The Tribunal found that issue estoppel did not apply, as the prior disposition did not decide the phasing request.

The Tribunal granted the motion, concluding that the environmental issues are threshold matters and that a phased approach would provide the most fair, just, and expeditious resolution of the appeals.

The City of Sarnia appealed a Zoning By-law Amendment that permitted a residential townhouse development on lands in the Village of Point Edward.

Following Tribunal-led mediation, the parties reached a settlement for a phased development utilizing holding provisions to address scale thresholds, servicing, and noise mitigation.

The Tribunal accepted uncontested expert planning evidence that the revised amendment is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement and conforms to the applicable Official Plans.

The appeal was allowed in part to implement the settlement.

At a Case Management Conference regarding appeals for a proposed gravel pit expansion, the Chiefs of Ontario brought a motion to be added as a party to the proceedings.

The applicant opposed the motion, arguing it would cause delay and prejudice.

The Tribunal granted the motion, finding it in the public interest to adjudicate the issues with fulsome evidence, including from the Chiefs of Ontario, and that the potential prejudice to First Nations communities outweighed any perceived prejudice to the applicant.

The Tribunal also approved a Procedural Order and Issues List to govern the upcoming hearing.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a procedural order governing the hearing of an appeal by Litwillow Holdings Ltd. regarding the City of Brampton's failure to make a decision on a zoning by-law amendment application.

The application seeks to permit a high-rise mixed-use building with 330 units.

The order sets the hearing dates, procedural steps, and issues list for the upcoming video hearing.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a case management conference to receive status updates on multiple remaining appeals against the City of Toronto's comprehensive Zoning By-law No. 569-2013.

The Tribunal received updates on various site-specific and topic-specific appeals, noted several withdrawals and ongoing settlement discussions, and scheduled a further case management conference for May 2025.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals of the City of Sarnia's Official Plan Amendment No. 3.

The Tribunal directed the parties to continue mediation efforts and submit a draft final Procedural Order and Issues List by January 24, 2025.

A 12-day video hearing was scheduled to commence on September 9, 2025.

The Tribunal issued an amending decision pursuant to Rule 24.4 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure to correct a technical error in its previous decision.

The amendment removed a 'DRAFT' watermark from the first page of Attachment 1.

In all other respects, the original decision remains unchanged.

The applicant appealed the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on applications for an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment to permit a mixed-use development at 2500 Don Mills Road.

The parties reached a settlement for a revised proposal featuring two towers of 49 and 44 storeys, 1,196 residential units, and a new public park.

Based on uncontested expert planning evidence, the Tribunal found the settlement proposal consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement and in conformity with the City's Official Plan.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals in part and approved the instruments in principle, withholding its final order until the City confirms several conditions are satisfied.

The Tribunal issued an amending decision pursuant to Rule 24.4 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure to correct typographical errors in a decision issued on October 16, 2024.

The amendments included replacing an attachment, correcting the spelling of 'Brampton', and correcting the word 'sized' to 'seized'.

The applicant appealed the City of Brampton's failure to make a decision on a zoning by-law amendment application for a 330-unit high-rise mixed-use building.

At the first Case Management Conference, the Tribunal granted party status to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and participant status to three local residents.

The Tribunal also scheduled an eight-day hearing on the merits and approved the Procedural Order.

The appellant appealed the City of Brampton's refusal of applications for an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment to permit an eight-storey, 82-unit mixed-use development.

The parties reached a settlement prior to the hearing.

Based on uncontested expert land use planning evidence, the Tribunal found the proposed amendments were consistent with provincial policies, conformed to the applicable official plans, and represented good planning.

The appeals were allowed in part to approve the agreed-upon amendments.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a first Case Management Conference regarding 16 appeals against the newly adopted 2023 City of Brampton Official Plan.

The Tribunal granted party status to five requesting entities, including conservation authorities and railway companies, finding they had a direct interest.

The Tribunal deferred the issue of consolidating the appeals with a related Major Transit Station Area case to a subsequent joint CMC, and established a schedule for the appellants to provide modification letters to the City.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a procedural order to govern the hearing of an appeal by the appellant municipality against a zoning by-law amendment intended to permit a residential townhouse development on the Marina Lands in the respondent municipality.

The order sets out the organization of the hearing, requirements before the hearing, the issues list, and the order of evidence.