Bill Van Ryn

The Township of Georgian Bay brought a motion for directions regarding the Ontario Land Tribunal's jurisdiction to determine the terms of a condominium agreement required as a condition of draft plan approval under section 51 of the Planning Act.

The appellant developers argued that an impasse had been reached and the Tribunal should intervene to resolve the implementation of the condition.

The Tribunal held that while it has the authority to assess the reasonableness of a condition and amend it, it lacks the statutory jurisdiction to dictate the specific contents of a subdivision or condominium agreement or to compel a municipality to execute such an agreement.

The Tribunal also struck portions of an affidavit from the record on the basis of settlement privilege.

The Township's motion was granted and the issue regarding the content of the agreement was struck from the issues list.

The Tribunal held a settlement hearing regarding appeals by the appellants concerning the respondent's Community Planning Permit By-law, Development Permit By-law, and a Draft Plan of Subdivision.

Based on the uncontroverted expert planning evidence, the Tribunal found that the proposed amendments and redline revisions represented good planning and were consistent with the applicable planning regime.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals in part, approving the amended planning instruments and delegating final approval authority to the District Municipality of Muskoka.

The applicant appealed the failure of the Township of Lake of Bays, the Town of Huntsville, and the District of Muskoka to make decisions on applications for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendments, and a draft Plan of Subdivision to permit a 32-lot seasonal residential development on Langmaid's Island.

The Tribunal found that the proposed development, supported by extensive environmental, cultural heritage, visual impact, and engineering studies, was consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement and conformed to the applicable Official Plans.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals in part, approving the planning instruments subject to conditions, including the protection of natural heritage features through conservation easements and the refinement of mainland parking and access facilities.