Anamika Dilwaria

The Town of Fort Erie brought a motion seeking partial approval of Official Plan Amendment No. 56 (the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan) and Zoning By-law No. 144-2021, bringing them into force except for the specific properties under appeal.

The Tribunal applied the four-part test from Casertano and found that the planning evidence supported the secondary plan, the remaining appeals were scoped to site-specific properties, the draft order protected the remaining appeals, and partial approval was in the public interest to allow other development applications to proceed.

The motion was granted.

The appellant appealed the Town of Fort Erie Committee of Adjustment's decision to deny a minor variance application for a property.

The application sought variances for rear yard setback, flood elevation setback, and accessory structure height to permit the expansion of a detached dwelling and construction of an accessory building.

Prior to the hearing, the appellant and the Town reached a settlement, but a neighbouring property owners' association opposed it, requesting an additional condition to restrict the dwelling's use.

The Tribunal found that the requested variances met the four tests under section 45(1) of the Planning Act and were consistent with provincial and municipal planning policies.

The Tribunal rejected the association's proposed condition, finding it outside the intent of the Zoning By-law, and allowed the appeal subject only to the condition agreed upon by the appellant and the Town.