Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
December 01, 2021
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-21-001071
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant:
Format Queensway Limited Partnership
Subject:
Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 320 – Refusal or neglect of City of Toronto to make a decision
Existing Zoning:
Avenues
Proposed Zoning:
Site Specific (To be determined)
Purpose:
To permit a 14-storey mixed use building containing 183 dwelling units
Property Address/Description:
875 The Queensway
Municipality:
City of Toronto
Municipality File No.:
20 229385 WET 03 OZ
OLT Case No.:
OLT-21-001071
OLT File No.:
OLT-21-001071
OLT Case Name:
Format Queensway Limited Partnership v. Toronto (City)
Heard:
November 16, 2021 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Format Queensway Limited
K. Jennings
Partnership (“Format”)
J. Kagan, Student-at-Law
I. Kagan (in absentia)
City of Toronto (“City”)
A. Suriano
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
J. Hoffman
(“Costco”)
R. Houser (in absentia)
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. JACOBS ON NOVEMBER 16, 2021 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1Format wishes to redevelop a former car wash site at 875 The Queensway in Toronto with a 14-storey mixed-use building, containing 183 dwelling units and ground floor retail. It applied to the City for a zoning by-law amendment (the “ZBA”) to facilitate the proposed development. Because the City failed to make a decision on Format’s ZBA application within the time period set out in the Planning Act, Format appealed to this Tribunal.
2The Tribunal convened this first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) to determine the parties to the appeal, and to discuss the issues and scheduling of the appeal.
3The Tribunal received one request for party status from Costco, which owns and operates a warehouse membership club near the proposed development. Costco’s interest is limited to the proposed development’s compatibility with its business and other nearby employment uses. Having considered Costco’s interest in the appeal, as well as the submissions from Format and the City, who raised no objection to the request, the Tribunal granted Costco’s request for party status.
4Counsel advised the Tribunal that they agree that a seven-day hearing will be required for the appeal. They have not finalized an issues list because they are expecting a direction report from City council to refine the issues. However, they discussed with the Tribunal the preliminary issues detailed by City planning staff in its review of the ZBA application. These include concerns related to height, massing, and compatibility, primarily with respect to the City’s Official Plan and related guidelines. Mr. Suriano explained that though this is primarily a built form case, there are three categories of issues from the City’s perspective:
Planning policy issues related to the desired mid-rise form of development on an Avenue;
Urban design issues including height, massing, and setbacks; and,
Access to the site.
5Accordingly, Format intends to call a land use planning witness and, potentially, a witness to address the proposal’s architecture. The City also expects to call a land use planning witness, as well as an urban design expert and, potentially, a transportation expert. Mr. Hoffman advised the Tribunal that, given Costco’s narrow concern around compatibility, if it calls a witness, it will be an acoustical expert.
6Counsel also advised the Tribunal that they anticipate the direction report from City council on March 9, 2022, which will enable them to finalize their Procedural Order and issues list by March 25, 2022, or arrive at a settlement of the appeal.
7Based on the Tribunal’s review of the identified issues and each party’s intended witnesses, the Tribunal agrees that a seven-day hearing is appropriate. The Tribunal also agrees that it is reasonable to allow the parties time to further scope the issues following the City’s direction report, with a view to making the hearing more efficient or to settling the appeal. Accordingly, the Tribunal will schedule a second CMC to either finalize the Procedural Order, including issues list, or to hear a settlement. Directions for both scenarios are provided in this Decision and Order.
8The next CMC is scheduled by Telephone Conference Call (“TCC”) at 10 a.m. on April 20, 2022.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 10 a.m. Conference Line Code: 4779874# Conference Line Number: (Toll-Free) 1-866-633-0848 or +1 (416) 212-8012
9Individuals are directed to connect to the event on the assigned date at the correct time. When prompted, enter the code mentioned above to be connected to the call. It is the responsibility of the persons participating in the TCC to ensure that they are properly connected to the call at the correct time. Questions prior to the TCC may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
10The parties shall provide to the Tribunal a draft Procedural Order, including issues list, on or before March 25, 2022. Should the parties disagree on the issues list, they shall each provide their proposed list of issues and identify the specific issues that require the Tribunal’s adjudication.
11Should the parties intend to present a settlement at the CMC, they shall advise the Tribunal on or before March 25, 2022. They shall submit a land use planning Affidavit in support of the settlement and a draft Order at least two weeks before the CMC.
12The hearing of the appeal is scheduled for seven (7) days starting on October 3, 2022 at 10. a.m. and the Tribunal will not sit on October 10, 2022.
Monday, October 3, 2022 at 10 a.m. (Seven day hearing) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/914098901
Access code: 914-098-901 Audio-only line: (Toll-Free) 1(888) 299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373 Audio-only access code: as indicated above.
13Parties and participants are asked to log into the video hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections.
14Parties and participants are asked to access and set up the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at GoToMeeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
15Persons who have technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line.
16Individuals are directed to connect to the event on the assigned date at the correct time. It is the responsibility of the persons participating in the hearing by video to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the hearing events may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
17No further notice of the CMC nor hearing is required.
18This Member is not seized.
19This is the Order of the Tribunal.
“S. Jacobs”
S. JACOBS
VICE-CHAIR
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.