Steven Frankovich

The appellant appealed the City of Hamilton's approval of an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendments that permitted a residential development of single-detached and townhouse dwellings.

The appellant argued the approvals were premature because the stormwater management strategy lacked coordination with adjacent lands and was not technically feasible.

The Tribunal preferred the evidence of the applicant's experts, finding that the preliminary stormwater management plans were sufficiently coordinated and that remaining technical matters could be addressed at the detailed design stage.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals in part to approve modified Zoning By-law Amendments that included appropriate holding provisions, concluding the proposal represented good planning and was in the public interest.

The appellant appealed the refusal of a minor variance application to permit the development of a four-storey, eight-unit apartment building.

The requested variances included relief for minimum lot area, maximum lot coverage, and minimum rear yard setback.

The Tribunal found that the lot area and lot coverage variances met the four tests under the Planning Act and represented good planning.

However, the Tribunal refused the rear yard setback variance because it permitted a minor penetration into the angular plane that would impact the light of surrounding low-rise residential uses, which was inconsistent with the City's Urban Design Manual and therefore failed to maintain the general intent and purpose of the Official Plan.