Michael Witmer

The appellants appealed the City of Guelph's refusal of a Zoning By-law Amendment application to permit a residential development consisting of cluster townhouses and an apartment building.

The City subsequently withdrew its objections after being satisfied with the stormwater management strategy.

An adjacent landowner argued the development would landlock its property and requested a Holding symbol to force coordinated development.

The Tribunal found that the lack of access was a pre-existing condition and that the proposed development represented good planning.

The appeal was allowed in part and the Zoning By-law Amendment was approved.

The applicant brought a motion for directions under s. 41(3.7) of the Planning Act to deem its site plan application complete.

The City of Guelph had refused to accept the application, arguing it was incomplete due to missing external agency clearances, lack of conformity with the Provincial Policy Statement, and the retroactive effects of the Official Plan Adjustments Act, 2023.

The Tribunal found that the City conflated the requirements for deeming an application complete with the requirements for granting site plan approval.

The Tribunal held that the applicant had provided all prescribed materials and that the City's additional demands at the completeness stage were unreasonable.

The motion was granted, and the application was deemed complete as of its submission date.