Stefan Huzan

The applicant appealed the municipality's refusal to amend the Zoning By-law to rezone the subject property from Light Industrial to Heavy Industrial to permit a recycling facility.

Following Tribunal-led mediation, the parties reached a settlement.

Based on the uncontested expert land use planning evidence, the Tribunal found the proposed amendment consistent with provincial policies and in conformity with the Official Plan.

The appeal was allowed in part and the Zoning By-law was amended in accordance with the settlement.

The appellant appealed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's refusal to grant provisional consent to sever a property on Two Island Lake to create a new lot for a recreational dwelling.

The Ministry refused the application because the lake was nearing or at capacity for phosphorus loading, and the appellant had not provided a required Lakeshore Capacity Assessment.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding that the appellant's hydrogeological and lake capacity evidence was critically flawed.

The Tribunal preferred the Ministry's evidence that the lake has no remaining development capacity and that the proposed severance would not be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement regarding the protection of vulnerable surface water and the avoidance of negative impacts from on-site sewage systems.

The applicant appealed the City of Thunder Bay's refusal to enact a zoning by-law amendment to permit a neighbourhood dental clinic in an existing residential dwelling.

Prior to the hearing, the City passed an official plan amendment to allow the use, leading to a settlement.

The Tribunal accepted uncontroverted expert planning evidence that the proposed amendment was consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement and conformed to the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario and the City's Official Plan.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal in part, directing the City to amend the existing zoning by-law, but declined to amend a newly adopted comprehensive zoning by-law that was not yet in force or formally before the Tribunal.