Matthew W. Rutledge

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals against the Regional Municipality of Halton's approval of the new City of Burlington Official Plan, as well as appeals against OPA 119 and ZBL 418.

The Tribunal granted non-appellant party status to Canadian National Railway Company, substituted Inaria Burlington Inc. for Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc., and scheduled a motion hearing to consider dismissing certain appeals and addressing potential settlements.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a Procedural Order to govern the upcoming 10-day hearing regarding appeals by Benny Stark Limited against the City of Toronto's failure to adopt requested Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments.

The amendments seek to permit a mixed-use development comprising seven buildings with 1818 units and a new public park.

The order establishes the issues list, order of evidence, and deadlines for the exchange of witness statements and other materials.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a first Case Management Conference regarding appeals by Gabriele Homes Ltd. against the City of Toronto's failure to make decisions on Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications for an 11-storey mixed-use building.

The Tribunal granted party status to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority on consent.

A request for party status by the Protect Our Ravines Initiative was denied, as their concerns aligned with those of the City and TRCA, but they were offered participant status.

Numerous individuals were granted participant status.

A 15-day merit hearing was scheduled for April 2026, and a Procedural Order was approved.

The City of Mississauga brought a motion to dismiss appeals of Official Plan Amendments 142, 143, and 144, which related to Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs).

The City argued that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction under s. 17(36.1.4) of the Planning Act because the appealed policies identified authorized land uses within a PMTSA.

The responding party, White Elm, argued that changing a land use designation from 'Mixed Use' to 'Mixed Use Limited' did not identify an authorized use.

Applying the modern approach to statutory interpretation, the Tribunal agreed with the City, finding that amending a land use designation inherently identifies and limits permitted uses.

The Tribunal granted the motion and dismissed White Elm's appeal, ruling the policy unappealable.

A status Case Management Conference was held regarding the remaining appeals against the City of Toronto's comprehensive Zoning By-law No. 569-2013.

The City provided updates on settlement discussions concerning various issue-specific and site-specific appeals, including those related to propane storage, school boards, parking, cemeteries, and places of worship.

The Tribunal scheduled a further one-day CMC for December 3, 2025, and directed the City to provide a written status update and an updated tracking chart of remaining appeals by November 26, 2025.

A case management conference was held to schedule the Phase 2A and Phase 2B hearings regarding appeals for a proposed 21-storey residential development in the City of Vaughan.

The Tribunal scheduled a 10-day Phase 2A hearing to address natural heritage and hazard land issues, and a 10-day Phase 2B hearing for remaining planning issues.

The Tribunal also approved the Procedural Order and Issues List on consent of the parties.

This was a status hearing regarding multiple appeals against the Region of Halton's approval of the new City of Burlington Official Plan, as well as appeals against Official Plan Amendment No. 119 and Zoning By-law Amendment No. 2020-418.

The Tribunal deferred a party status request from Canadian National Railway Company to the next Case Management Conference to allow parties time to obtain instructions.

The Tribunal scheduled a further Case Management Conference for July 16, 2025.

The Claimant sought compensation for the expropriation of its property by Metrolinx for the Ontario Line transit project.

The Tribunal determined the highest and best use of the property was a high-density two-tower mixed-use development.

The Tribunal screened out the impact of the Ontario Line announcement under section 14(4)(b) of the Expropriations Act.

It rejected Metrolinx's argument for a lease encumbrance deduction due to the common control of the tenant and claimant.

The Tribunal accepted the Claimant's appraiser's market value of $187 per square foot, resulting in a gross value of $88,825,000, and applied a $1,000,000 deduction for environmental remediation costs, awarding a net amount of $87,825,000.

The appellant appealed the City of Markham's refusal of official plan and zoning by-law amendment applications to facilitate a mixed-use high-rise development.

Prior to the hearing, the parties reached a settlement on a revised proposal for two towers of 36 and 41 storeys.

Based on uncontroverted expert planning evidence, the Tribunal found the revised instruments consistent with provincial policy and in conformity with applicable official plans.

The appeals were allowed in part on an interim basis, with final orders withheld pending the submission of final instruments and a Transportation Demand Management agreement.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals of the City of Brampton's Official Plan Amendments concerning Major Transit Station Areas.

The City requested that potential settlements be addressed via written hearings once council instructions are received, and that a party status request by Brampton Plan be deferred.

The Tribunal agreed, deferring the party status request and scheduling a further Case Management Conference for October 2025.

The applicant appealed the City of Brampton's refusal of a zoning by-law amendment to permit a 29-storey mixed-use building.

The subject property was designated Mixed-Use Two (MU2), which limits height to 20 storeys and density to 3.0 FSI.

The applicant argued that a secondary plan policy allowed for greater height and density with justification, without needing an official plan amendment.

The Tribunal found that the correct density calculation was 9.53 FSI based on net site area.

The Tribunal held that while the exception policy was permissive, it could not be used to 'leapfrog' the maximum height and density of the next higher designation, as doing so would undermine the foundational hierarchy of designations in the Secondary Plan.

The appeal was dismissed as the proposal did not conform to the official plan.

The Tribunal held a first Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the City's failure to make a decision on Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications.

The applications seek to permit a mixed-use development with 1,818 residential units and a new public park.

The Tribunal granted party status to the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and participant status to a local resident.

A 10-day merit hearing was scheduled for February 2026, and the parties were directed to submit a Procedural Order and Issues List.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the municipality's refusal of official plan and zoning by-law amendment applications.

The applications seek to permit a mixed-use development with two 40-storey residential buildings.

The parties advised that a settlement in principle had been reached and requested additional time to finalize the materials.

The Tribunal scheduled a third Case Management Conference and established procedural dates for the exchange of revised application materials and settlement documents.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Vaughan brought a motion for directions to phase the hearing of an appeal regarding a proposed 21-storey residential development.

The moving parties sought a Phase 2A hearing to determine natural heritage and hazard issues (the permissible building envelope) before a Phase 2B hearing on remaining planning issues.

The appellant argued the motion was barred by issue estoppel due to a prior review disposition.

The Tribunal found issue estoppel did not apply, as the prior disposition did not decide the phasing request.

The Tribunal granted the motion, finding that determining the permissible building envelope is a threshold issue and that phasing the hearing would provide the most fair, just, and expeditious resolution of the appeals.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Vaughan brought a motion requesting a phased hearing for appeals concerning a proposed 21-storey residential development on lands with environmental designations.

The moving parties sought a Phase 2A hearing to determine the permissible building envelope based on natural heritage and hazard issues, followed by a Phase 2B hearing for remaining planning issues.

The appellant opposed the motion, arguing it was barred by issue estoppel due to a prior review disposition.

The Tribunal found that issue estoppel did not apply, as the prior disposition did not decide the phasing request.

The Tribunal granted the motion, concluding that the environmental issues are threshold matters and that a phased approach would provide the most fair, just, and expeditious resolution of the appeals.

The Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the Upper West Side Landowners Group Inc. against the City of Hamilton for failing to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment application for an urban boundary expansion.

The parties submitted a draft Procedural Order and Issues List and requested an eight-week hearing.

The Tribunal scheduled the hearing to commence in April 2026 and issued the finalized Procedural Order and Issues List to govern the proceedings.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals from the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment application for the Centrepoint Mall site, and appeals of the City-initiated Yonge Street North Secondary Plan (OPA 615).

The Tribunal granted party status to the City of Vaughan without objection.

The parties agreed to schedule a 10-day merit hearing and submitted a draft Procedural Order, which the Tribunal approved and appended to its decision.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding an appeal by the applicants against the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment application.

The Tribunal granted party status to the City of Vaughan without objection.

The parties agreed to finalize a Procedural Order and schedule a 10-day merit hearing commencing in April 2025.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a revised Procedural Order for an appeal by Greenline Renovations Plus Ltd. concerning the City of Toronto's failure to adopt a requested Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment.

The appeal relates to a proposed development of two midrise mixed-use buildings at 65-81 McCormack Street.

The revised Procedural Order replaces the previous order issued on November 28, 2024, and sets out the revised dates and procedures leading up to the video hearing scheduled to commence on November 18, 2025.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a procedural order governing the hearing of an appeal by Litwillow Holdings Ltd. regarding the City of Brampton's failure to make a decision on a zoning by-law amendment application.

The application seeks to permit a high-rise mixed-use building with 330 units.

The order sets the hearing dates, procedural steps, and issues list for the upcoming video hearing.