Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 06, 2021
CASE NO(S).: PL210262
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: 1984396 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment No. 26
Municipality: City of St. Catharines
OLT Case No.: PL210262
OLT File No.: PL210262
OLT Case Name: 1984396 Ontario Inc. v. Niagara (Regional Municipality)
Heard: September 24, 2021 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| 1984396 Ontario Inc. | Ronald M. Kanter |
| City of St. Catharines | Denise Baker |
| Region of Niagara | Katarzyna Sliwa Aaron Kurts |
DECISION DELIVERED BY CARMINE TUCCI AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
BACKGROUND
1Council for the City of St. Catharines (“City”) initiated a study after the closure of a large industrial use about the redevelopment of a vacant 21-hectare (51 acre) brownfield site on Ontario Street, in the middle of the City. Council directed staff to study the potential conversion of the industrial lands to allow for the redevelopment for future alternative uses (residential, mixed-use, etc.). The conversion requires an amendment to the City’s Official Plan (“OP”).
2Provincial policy requires that changes to the OP must conform or not conflict with Provincial land use plans, and that conversion of employment (industrial) lands must be addressed through a comprehensive Land Needs Assessment. The Assessment examines all employment lands and other land uses in the municipality and ensures that changes made to the OP support and facilitate the accommodation of projected population growth, housing need, and job growth by different sectors, that is forecast for the City to the year 2051.
3Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) No. 26 to the City's OP redesignates certain existing employment (industrial) lands to allow for alternative uses.
4OPA No. 26 was adopted by the City on November 30, 2020.
5Council for the Regional Municipality of Niagara (“Region) made a decision to modify and approve OPA No. 26 on March 26, 2021.
NATURE OF THE APPEALS
6Timberlee Glen Developments (now 1984396 Ontario Inc.) appealed the decision under s. 17(36) of the Planning Act. OPA 26 is appealed in its entirety, except for section 1. The Appellant states that the decision of the approval authority is inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (“PPS”) and fails to conform with an applicable official plan. Specific reasons for the appeal include:
Approving OPA 26 is premature prior to finalizing the Land Needs Assessment.
No assessment of municipal urban structure or residential needs analysis prior to adoption of OPA 26.
OPA 26 changes the planning horizon to 2031 and is not consistent with the PPS, 2020.
OPA 26 did not amend the population, household, and employment forecasts in section 2.3.2 of the OP.
Designation of land to institutional, which permit residential, is inconsistent with designation as employment land.
No rationale provided for requirement of employment areas in St. Catharines.
7The purpose of the Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was to receive status updates from both parties to organize the hearing of these appeals.
8The Tribunal received numerous applications within the required timeframes from groups seeking Party status.
| Name(s) | Counsel |
|---|---|
| 1. 2496582 Ontario Inc. (Movengo) | Jennifer Meader / Nancy Smith |
| 2. Families: Whitty, Pennachetti and Hunt | Thomas A. Richardson |
| 3. Elite Developments | Patrick J. Maloney |
| 4. Fermo Holdings | Thomas A. Richardson |
| 5. Heddle Marine Service Inc. | Patrick Harrington |
| 6. 340A Lakeshore Road Inc. | Patrick Harrington |
9The Tribunal canvassed the counsels for the Appellant, the City and the Region, and there were no objections to the granting of Party status to the groups.
10The Tribunal granted Party status to all that applied.
11Mr. Kanter informed the Tribunal that he was seeking a possible resolution through mediation and that he had reached out to the City with a settlement proposal. As of the date of this CMC, he had not yet received any feedback from the City.
12The Tribunal heard that Ms. Baker, Ms. Sliwa, Mr. Kurts and all other counsels for the parties other than Mr. Kanter, are of the opinion that mediation will not be able to resolve the issue.
13Ms. Baker asked the Tribunal for an additional CMC date of one day to update the issues list prior to moving forward to a possible 15 days hearing.
ORDER
14The Tribunal schedules a second CMC for one (1) day on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 10 a.m. by video hearing:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/357519493
Audio-only telephone line: Toll-Free 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 357-519-493
15Parties 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.
16Parties 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.
17Persons 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. The Access Code is as indicated above.
18Individuals 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 video hearing 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.
19The Tribunal hereby schedules a video hearing of these appeals on Monday, August 8, 2022, commencing at 10 a.m. Fifteen (15) days has been set aside.
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/621817437
Audio-only telephone line: Toll-Free 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 621-817-437
20The attendance instructions of paragraphs [15] through [18] above also apply here.
21No further notice will be provided.
22This Member is seized.
23So Orders the Tribunal.
“Camine Tucci”
CAMINE TUCCI
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: www.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.