Callum Shedden

The appellant appealed the Town's approval of a Zoning By-law Amendment that permitted the severance of an existing lot to create a new residential lot.

The appellant raised concerns regarding lot coverage, setbacks, privacy, and shadowing.

The Tribunal preferred the expert land use planning evidence provided by the Town and the applicant, which demonstrated that the amendment was consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, conformed to the Growth Plan and local official plans, and represented good land use planning.

The appeal was dismissed.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued an amending decision to correct a typographical error in a previous decision regarding a Case Management Conference.

The amendment corrected a statutory reference from subsection 17(36) to subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a first Case Management Conference regarding multiple appeals against the Town of Fort Erie's adoption of Official Plan Amendment No. 56 and Zoning By-law Amendment No. 144-2021, which relate to the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan.

As development applications were pending that could resolve some appeals, the parties requested and the Tribunal scheduled a subsequent Case Management Conference for January 12, 2023, directing the parties to prepare a draft Procedural Order and Issues List.

This is a procedural order arising from a case management conference regarding an objection to a Notice of Intention to Designate a property under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Due to a pending sale of the property, the Tribunal set out a schedule for the new purchaser to become a party and file a new Notice of Objection, and for the current objectors to withdraw their objection upon closing.

A second case management conference was scheduled.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a procedural order to govern the hearing of an appeal by the Niagara Home Builders' Association against the City of Thorold's Development Charges By-law No. 46-2019.

The order sets out the organization of the hearing, requirements before the hearing, the parties to the hearing, the issues list, the order of evidence, and a summary of filing dates.

In an appeal concerning an official plan amendment and zoning by-law amendment to permit a medical centre, the applicant brought a motion for directions to exclude three affidavits filed by the appellant Medical Centre.

The Tribunal found that the issues of conformity with the regional and municipal official plans were relevant, and therefore the affidavits addressing those issues were relevant and necessary.

The Tribunal ordered that the affidavits, along with responding affidavits from the Town and the applicant, be admitted as evidence for the hearing of the merits.

Following an unsuccessful motion for leave to appeal, the responding parties sought costs.

Tweed Farms Inc. sought partial indemnity costs of $36,701.06, arguing the moving party's unreasonable positions and the expedited nature of the proceeding increased costs.

The moving party argued the amounts were excessive.

The court awarded Tweed Farms Inc. $25,875 and 2470689 Ontario Inc. $5,940, finding these amounts reasonable and proportionate.

This endorsement addresses the costs arising from an unsuccessful motion for leave to appeal brought by The Corporation of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL).

The responding parties, Tweed Farms Inc. and 2470689 Ontario Inc., sought costs.

Tweed Farms claimed increased costs due to NOTL's abandoned positions, the expedited nature of the motion, and challenges related to virtual hearings during COVID-19.

NOTL argued the claimed amounts were excessive.

The court applied principles of proportionality and reasonable expectations, adjusting counsel rates and acknowledging the impact of NOTL's litigation conduct.

The court awarded Tweed Farms Inc. $25,875 and 2470689 Ontario Inc. $5,940, both on a partial indemnity basis.

The Conservation Review Board held a pre-hearing conference regarding objections to Notices of Intention to Designate four properties.

The community group SORE Association sought party status, which the objectors opposed.

The Board granted SORE party status, finding it had a genuine interest, would make a useful contribution, and its addition would not cause prejudice or delay.

The Board also ordered concurrent hearings for the four related proceedings and directed the scheduling of a pre-hearing settlement conference.

The appellant appealed the Niagara Escarpment Commission's refusal of a development permit application to construct a single dwelling and other structures.

At a pre-hearing conference, the Town of Pelham requested party status, arguing it had a genuine interest because the subject property was within its boundaries and it objected to the application on the basis that the lot was not created through a Planning Act process.

The appellant opposed the request, asserting the Town had already recognized the lot by collecting property taxes.

The Hearing Panel granted the Town party status, finding its interests could be directly and substantially affected by the hearing.

The appellants appealed the assessment for a proposed municipal drain under the Drainage Act.

They argued they were entitled to an allowance for an existing drain, that future maintenance costs for a culvert were improperly apportioned, and that their benefit assessment was incorrect.

The Tribunal dismissed the claims regarding the allowance and maintenance apportionment.

However, finding the engineer's explanation of the benefit assessment methodology inadequate, the Tribunal reduced the appellants' benefit assessment by $500 and increased the municipality's assessment by the same amount.