Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: June 08, 2021
CASE NO(S).: PL200481
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Larry Hughes
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment No. OP02-2019
Municipality: Separated Town of St. Mary’s
LPAT Case No.: PL200481
LPAT File No.: PL200481
LPAT Case Name: Hughes v. St. Mary’s (Town)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Larry Hughes
Subject: By-law No. Z04-2019
Municipality: Separated Town of St. Mary’s
LPAT Case No.: PL200481
LPAT File No.: PL200482
Heard: March 23, 2021 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative* |
|---|---|
| Larry Hughes | Self-represented |
| Randy Warkentin | Paula Lombardi* |
| Town of St. Mary’s | Ken Strong* |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY M.A. SILLS ON MARCH 23, 2021 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) in the matter of appeals by Larry Hughes (the “Appellant”) from the adoption by Council of an Official Plan Amendment and the passing of a Zoning By-law Amendment for the property owned by Randy Warkentin (the “Applicant”) and located at 665 James Street North, in the Town of St. Mary’s (the “Site”).
2The Site is located at the northeast corner of James Street North and Glass Street, and comprises an area of approximately 4,186.5 square metres (“sq m”). The Site currently maintains a single storey commercial building and surface parking area.
3The original application proposed to demolish the existing building and construct a 46-unit, five-storey apartment building featuring ground floor commercial space, with parking being provided at grade (36 spaces) and underground (20 spaces).
4The development proposal was subsequently revised, resulting in the following changes:
- a reduction of the number of residential units from 46 to 35;
- a reduction in building height from five to four storeys;
- a reduction of approximately 3.5 metres (“m”) in the length of the building;
- an increase in the setback of the building from the east property line to 7.03 m;
- the addition of doors and patios for all ground floor units;
- removal of the ground floor commercial space;
- removal of the underground parking and access ramp (all parking now to be provided at grade/surface); and,
- the relocation of the garbage room and external garbage pick-up area to the west side of the building entrance.
5The hearing was well attended by residents of the community.
6The Tribunal received a Party Status Request Form accompanied by several random and unrelated documents from local resident, Christopher West, in advance of the CMC. The Applicant does not consent to the request by Mr. West for party status.
7In the case of appeals filed pursuant to s. 17(24) and s. 34(19) of the Planning Act, a non-appellant party must shelter under the issues raised by an appellant party. This stipulation is set out in Rule 8.3 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Rules of Practice and Procedure:
8.3 Non-Appellant Party A party to a proceeding before the Tribunal which arises under any of subsections 17(24) or (36), 34(19) or 51(39) of the Planning Act who is not an appellant of the municipal decision or enactment may not raise or introduce a new issue in the proceeding. The non-appellant party may only participate in these appeals of municipal decisions by sheltering under an issue raised in an appeal by an appellant party and may participate fully in the proceeding to the extent that the issue remains in dispute. A non-appellant party has no independent status to continue an appeal should that appeal be withdrawn by an appellant party.
8Mr. Hughes is the only appellant party and his issues have not yet been fully identified. In the circumstances, the Tribunal will defer consideration of the party status request by Mr. West until after the Appellant’s issues are identified and deemed to be acceptable by the Tribunal. Alternatively, the Tribunal will grant Mr. West participant status.
9The parties anticipate that three days will be sufficient for the hearing. However, the Applicant and the Town agree that, in this case, a Procedural Order (“PO”) to guide the hearing processes would be of assistance. Counsel have agreed to take the lead in preparing a draft PO for the consideration of the Tribunal at the next CMC.
10In that regard, Mr. Hughes is directed to provide his draft issues list to the Tribunal, Counsel to the Applicant and the Town, and Mr. West by no later than April 7, 2021.
11The Tribunal has scheduled a second CMC by video on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 10 a.m. and a three-day video hearing beginning Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/419334405 Access code: 419-334-405 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or (Toll Free) 1 (888) 455-1389 Audio-only access code: 419-334-405 Wednesday, October 6 to Friday, October 8, 2021 at 10 a.m.
(three-day hearing) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/250667829 Access code: 250-667-829 Audio-only line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or (Toll Free) 1 (888) 455-1389 Audio-only access code: 250-667-829
12Parties 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.
13Parties 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
14Persons who experience 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.
15Individuals 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 hearings by video to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the hearing event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
16No further notice is required.
17This Member is not seized.
“M. A. Sills”
M. A. SILLS 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.