Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: April 06, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-21-001252 OLT-21-001750 (Formerly) PL210325
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Conex Canada Inc.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 1507 - Refusal or neglect of Municipality of Central Elgin to make a decision
Existing Zoning: Open Space 3 (OS3), Industrial Zone 1 (C1) and Residential Zone 1 (R1)
Proposed Zoning: Site-specific Residential Zone 2 (R2), General Residential Zone 1 (R1) and Open Space 3 (OS3)
Purpose: To permit a fourteen-unit townhouse development
Property Address/Description: 377 Warren Street, Port Stanley
Municipality: Municipality of Central Elgin
Municipal File No.: ZBA 2609
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001252
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001252
OLT Case Name: Conex Canada Inc. v. Central Elgin (Municipality)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 53(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Mark Hall
Applicant: Margaret Berry
Subject: Consent
Property Address/Description: 377 Warren Street, Port Stanley
Municipality: Municipality of Central Elgin
Municipal File No.: E14/21
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001750
Legacy Case No.: PL210325
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001750
Legacy Case No.: PL210325
OLT Case Name: Hall v. Elgin (County)
Heard: March 29, 2022 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Mark Hall
Self-represented
Conex Canada Inc. and Margaret Berry
P. Lombardi
County of Elgin
N. Loeb
Municipality of Central Elgin
A. Baroudi
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. TOUSAW AND S. BOBKA ON MARCH 29, 2022 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was convened for two separate appeals to planning applications affecting 377 Warren Street (“site”) in the community of Port Stanley.
2Conex Canada Inc. and Margaret Berry (together, the “Applicant”) obtained Consent from the County of Elgin (“County”) to address the land ownership and rights-of-way associated with a proposed residential development of the site. Mark Hall, a nearby neighbour to the site, appealed the Consent to the Tribunal.
3The Applicant applied to the Municipality of Central Elgin (“Municipality”) for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) to permit 14 townhouses on the site. The Municipality did not make a decision on the ZBA within the statutory timeframe and the Applicant appealed the non-decision to the Tribunal.
4The Applicant’s Affidavit of Service for Notice of this CMC was marked as Exhibit 1.
HEARING MATTERS TOGETHER
5The Parties agree that the substantive issues are those raised by Mr. Hall to the Consent and that a resolution or decision on those issues will then enable the ZBA to be considered. On the Parties’ request, the Tribunal Ordered that these appeals will be heard together, with the Consent heard first, followed by the ZBA.
PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS
6No requests for Party or Participant status were received on the Consent or ZBA appeal files.
7The statutory Parties to the Consent are the County and the Appellant. While not raised at the CMC, on the general submissions of the Municipality and the Applicant that they wish to address the Appellant’s issues, the Tribunal now grants Party status to the Municipality and the Applicant on the Consent file, given their obvious interest and involvement.
8The statutory Parties to the ZBA are the Appellant (being the Applicant) and the Municipality. Neither the County nor Mr. Hall sought Party status on the ZBA file.
MEDIATION
9The Parties are not opposed to Tribunal-led mediation but anticipate that, upon finalization of the Issues List (“IL”) for the Consent and the ZBA, the outstanding matters will be focussed and readily addressed. They request the opportunity to pursue the IL before further consideration of mediation. The Tribunal directed the Parties to contact the Case Coordinator should mediation be sought.
NEXT STEPS
10The Parties agree to commence finalizing the IL, beginning with Mr. Hall circulating his primary issues and related documentation. The Applicant will lead the drafting of the Procedural Order (“PO”) with input from all Parties. Should the Parties not arrive at a completed PO with IL on consent, the outstanding matters may be addressed at the next CMC. The Applicant is asked to file the draft PO, with any outstanding issues noted, to the Tribunal five days before the next CMC.
11Although the Parties anticipate that the hearing will require three days or fewer, the Tribunal directed the development of a PO with IL, with consent of the Parties, given that Mr. Hall’s issues require clarity and focus, and he is a self-represented Appellant to the Consent.
12The Parties noted that, should a fundamental matter, such as the Tribunal’s jurisdiction on a proposed issue, not be resolved through the Parties’ discussions, a Motion may be filed seeking an Order of the Tribunal. The Tribunal directed that a Motion may be heard at the next CMC if circulated in advance in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (including Rule 10).
13The next CMC is scheduled for Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 10 a.m. by video conference as set out below. No further notice will be given.
14Parties 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:
https://meet.goto.com/914098901
Access Code: 914-098-901
15Parties and Participants are asked to set up the video hearing 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.
16Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The Access Code is indicated as above.
17Individuals 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 event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
ORDER
18The Tribunal Orders its directions and rulings as set out above.
19The Members are not seized but remain available through the Case Coordinator should the need arise.
“S. Tousaw”
S. tousaw
MEMBER
“S. Bobka”
s. Bobka
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.