ISSUE DATE: August 10, 2021
CASE NO.: PL200617
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: David Ysselstein
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law (No# 07-2003-Z) - Refusal of Application by Township of Norwich
Existing Zoning: Special Limited Agricultural Zone (A1-11)
Proposed Zoning: Amended Special Limited Agricultural Zone (A1-11)
Purpose: To permit the construction of one new veal barn on subject lands and to increase the number of veal permitted as part of the existing livestock operation
Property Address/Description: 465065 Curries Road
Municipality: Township of Norwich
Municipal File No.: ZN3-20-14
OLT Case No.: PL200617
OLT File No.: PL200617
OLT Case Name: Ysselstein v. Norwich (Township)
C. TUCCI MEMBER Tuesday, the 10th day of August, 2021
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order, attached hereto, shall be in full force and effect.
“Becky Fong”
BECKY FONG
REGISTRAR
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.
Procedural Order
ISSUE DATE: August 10, 2021 CASE NO(S).: PL200617
The Tribunal orders that:
- The Tribunal may vary or add to these rules at any time, either on request or as it sees fit. It may alter this Order by an oral ruling, or by another written Order.
Organization of the Hearing
The video hearing (the “Hearing”) will begin on August 30, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
The length of the hearing will be approximately 2 days. The length of the hearing may be shortened as issues are reordered as settlement is achieved.
The Parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1 (see Attachment 3 for the meaning of these terms).
The Issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.
Any person who intends to participate in the Hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, are expected to review the Tribunal’s “Video Hearing Guide”, available on the Tribunal’s website.
Requirements Before the Hearing
A list of witnesses must be provided to the Parties and to the Tribunal by July 2, 2021. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before July 16, 2021 to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. The experts must prepare a list of agreed facts and the remaining issues to be addressed at the Hearing and provide this list to all of the Parties and the Tribunal by July 23, 2021.
An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in section 12 below. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file their entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.
Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in section 12 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in section 12 below.
By July 30, 2021 the parties shall provide copies of their expert witness statements to the other parties and to the Tribunal.
By July 30, 2021 a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the Parties and to the Tribunal. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
Parties may provide to the other Parties and to the Tribunal, a written reply to any witness or expert witness statement, as long as this reply is circulated on or before August 13, 2021.
By August 20, 2021, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other Parties and to the Tribunal.
Parties may provide to all other Parties and to the Tribunal a written response to any written evidence within seven days after the evidence is received.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal.
A Party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other Parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the Party notifies the Tribunal at least seven days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
All filling shall be electronic between the Parties, and both electronic and hard copy for the Tribunal. Electronic copies may be filed by email, file sharing service, or as directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.
Summary of Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 2, 2021 | Exchange witness list |
| July 16, 2021 | Meeting of experts |
| July 23, 2021 | Exchange Agreed Statement of Facts |
| July 30, 2021 | Exchange of expert reports, witness statements, written evidence or evidence outlines (for witnesses under summons) |
| July 30, 2021 | Exchange of participant statements |
| August 13, 2021 | Exchange of reply evidence/statements |
| August 20, 2021 | Exchange of visual evidence |
| August 20, 2021 | File joint document book |
| August 23, 2021 | Notify the Tribunal if a witness is not to provide oral evidence |
| August 30, 2021 | Hearing start date |
Attachment 1: Parties and Participants
| Party | Representation |
|---|---|
| David Ysselstein | Robert Scriven T: 519.576.7200 bscriven@watlwa.com |
| Township of Norwich | Peter Pickfield T: 519.837.0500 pickfield@garrodpickfield.ca Alex Ciccone T: 519.778.4247 aciccone@garrodpickfield.ca |
Attachment 2: Issues List
Is the Zoning By-law Amendment consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, including the following policies: a. 1.1.1 b. 1.7.1 c. 2.3 d. 2.3.3.3
Does the Zoning By-law Amendment conform to the County of Oxford Official Plan, including the following policies: a. 3.1.1 b. 3.1.2 c. 3.1.4
Attachment 3: Meaning of terms used in the Procedural Order:
Party is an individual or corporation permitted by the Tribunal to participate fully in the hearing by receiving copies of written evidence, presenting witnesses, cross-examining the witnesses of the other parties, and making submissions on all of the evidence. If an unincorporated group wishes to become a party, it must appoint one person to speak for it, and that person must accept the other responsibilities of a party as set out in the Order. Parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer, and may have an agent speak for them. The agent must have written authorisation from the party.
NOTE that a person who wishes to become a party before or at the hearing, and who did not request this at the case management conference (CMC), must ask the Tribunal to permit this.
A participant is an individual, group or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may make a written submission to the Tribunal. A participant cannot make an oral submission to the Tribunal or present oral evidence (testify in-person) at the hearing (only a party may do so). Subsection 33.2 of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act states that a person who is not a party to a proceeding may only make a submission to the Tribunal in writing. The Tribunal may direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions from the Tribunal on the content of their written submission, should that be found necessary by the Tribunal. A participant may also be asked questions by the parties should the Tribunal direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions on the content of their written submission.
A participant must be identified and be accorded participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC. A participant will not receive notice of conference calls on procedural issues that may be scheduled prior to the hearing, nor receive notice of mediation. A participant cannot ask for costs, or review of a decision, as a participant does not have the rights of a party to make such requests of the Tribunal.
Written evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing. These must have pages numbered consecutively throughout the entire document, even if there are tabs or dividers in the material.
Visual evidence includes photographs, maps, videos, models, and overlays which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing.
A witness statement is a short written outline of the person’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which he or she will discuss and the witness’ opinions on those issues; and a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.
An expert witness statement should include his or her (1) name and address, (2) qualifications, (3) a list of the issues he or she will address, (4) the witness’ opinions on those issues and the complete reasons for the opinions and (5) a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.
A participant statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submission of the participant on those issues; and a list of reports, if any, which the participant wishes to refer to in their statement.
Additional Information
Summons: A party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons. This request must be made before the time that the list of witnesses is provided to the Tribunal and the parties. (See Rule 13 on the summons procedure.) If the Tribunal requests it, an affidavit must be provided indicating how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the affidavit, it will require that a motion be heard to decide whether the witness should be summoned.
The order of examination of witnesses: is usually direct examination, cross-examination and re-examination in the following way:
- direct examination by the party presenting the witness;
- direct examination by any party of similar interest, in the manner determined by the Tribunal;
- cross-examination by parties of opposite interest;
- re-examination by the party presenting the witness; or
- another order of examination mutually agreed among the parties or directed by the Tribunal.