Eileen Costello

The Conservation Review Board issued a procedural order following a pre-hearing conference regarding an objection by the property owners to the Township's Notice of Intention to Designate the property at 221 Mary Street.

The order sets the hearing dates, identifies the parties and their counsel, and outlines the requirements for document exchange and expert witness evidence.

Beechridge Farms Inc. sought leave to appeal a decision of an Ontario Municipal Board Review Panel that ordered a new hearing.

The Review Panel had found that the original hearing member breached procedural fairness by refusing to grant the respondents a short adjournment to consider the implications of the newly enacted Places to Grow Act and its Growth Plan.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, finding no reason to doubt the correctness of the Review Panel's conclusion that the refusal of the adjournment was unreasonable and a denial of natural justice.

The appellants appealed the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice.

The parties filed minutes of settlement with the court.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal on consent in accordance with the minutes of settlement, noting that it was not passing judgment on the merits of the lower court's decision.

The City of Oshawa appealed a decision of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) that repealed an interim control by-law prohibiting the establishment of methadone clinics in the Central Business District.

The by-law was passed following ratepayer resistance to the respondent's proposed clinic.

The OMB found no legitimate planning rationale for the by-law.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the OMB had jurisdiction to determine the planning rationale and that its decision, reviewed on a standard of reasonableness, was supported by the evidence and established policies.