Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: June 17, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-001606
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Eglinton Hoyle Realty Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit a 21-storey, 128-unit residential building
Reference Number: 21 191659 NNY 15 OZ
Property Address: 537, 539, 541 543 Eglinton Avenue East
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-21-001606
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-21-001606
OLT Case Name: Eglinton Hoyle Realty Inc. v. Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 22 (7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal of request
Description: To permit a 21-storey, 128-unit residential building
Reference Number: 21 232259 NNY 15 OZ
Property Address: 537, 539, 541 543 Eglinton Avenue East
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-22-002558
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-21-001606
Heard: June 9, 2022 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Eglinton Hoyle Realty Inc. ("Applicant") | Eileen Costello |
| City of Toronto ("City") | Joanna Wice, Jessica Jakubowski |
| Linda Ono | Jacqueline King |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY K.R. ANDREWS ON JUNE 9, 2022, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) respecting an appeal by the Applicant following the City’s neglect/failure to render a decision respecting an Application for a Zoning By-law Amendment and a refusal to allow an Official Plan Amendment to permit the redevelopment of the lands located at 537-543 Eglinton Avenue East with a 21-storey, 128-unit residential building.
Service of Notice of CMC
2There was no issue with service of the Notice of this CMC, and so no further notice is required. The Tribunal is in receipt of the Affidavit of Service, which was marked as Exhibit 1.
Requests for Status
3The Tribunal was in receipt of two Party Status requests and eighteen (18) Participant Status requests.
4The Tribunal began by addressing the requests for Party Status from local residents Linda Ono and Ann Cavoukian. Jacqueline King addressed the Tribunal on both of their behalf as their legal representative.
5Ms. King confirmed that she is engaged to incorporate an area residents’ group and to seek Party Status on behalf of the group. She explained that she has only recently been retained and that it will take at least a couple of weeks to obtain corporate status due to an administrative backlog of the process.
6The existing Parties and Ms. King agreed that it would be appropriate to deal with the request for Party Status on behalf of the group at a subsequent CMC (it was concurrently determined that a second CMC would be appropriate in the present case). Ms. King further requested that the Tribunal consider adding Ms. Ono as a Party on an interim basis, as a placeholder for the future incorporated group, to be substituted at the next CMC hearing at the discretion of the presiding Tribunal Member.
7The Tribunal found the request reasonable and therefore granted Party Status to Ms. Ono on an interim basis pending the incorporation of an area residents’ group, to be confirmed at the next CMC. The Tribunal notes, however, that this request is granted on the basis of an understanding that the future incorporated group will act broadly in the interests of area residents, including many or most of the individuals who submitted Participant Status requests. The reason that the Tribunal granted status to Ms. Ono is to facilitate a more efficient proceeding by having one group represent the interests of many or most area residents expressing concerns about the proposed development.
8To be clear, Party Status was not granted to Ms. Ono on the basis that the future group will only represent a small or select group of individuals, but rather, all residents whose views are aligned with the residents’ association proposed to be incorporated. It will be at the discretion of the Member presiding at the next to CMC to confirm Party Status of the incorporated group or, if the group is not incorporated, to confirm the Party Status currently granted to Ms. Ono on an interim basis.
9After the Tribunal dealt with the above-described Party Status request, the Tribunal turned its attention to the requests for Participant Status. The Tribunal was inclined to defer all of the Participant Status requests to the next CMC date because many or most of the individuals requesting Participant Status might find their interests being represented by the above-described future incorporated group.
10However, the Tribunal is also sensitive to the possibility that some prospective participants may be unavailable at the next CMC. The Tribunal therefore provided individual requestors with the option of having their request either dealt with at the present hearing, or at the next CMC.
11Almost all of the prospective participants indicated that they would prefer to have their request dealt with at the next CMC, the exceptions being Lianne Turner and Michael Petrucco. Ms. Turner and Mr. Petrucco were consequently granted Participant Status by the Tribunal as area residents with an interest in the matter.
12At this point in the Hearing, when the Tribunal was almost finished addressing the various Participant Status requests, Ms. King made a point of stating her opinion that all prospective participants should seek confirmation of their status at the present hearing, rather than wait until the next CMC. Unfortunately, this disrupted the hearing and the Tribunal began to receive messages from various prospective participants, who used the video hearing platform’s chat function, indicating that they had changed their mind and wanted their requests for Participant Status to be considered at the present hearing.
13As a result of this disruption, the Tribunal elected to defer all unresolved Participant Status requests to the next CMC hearing. The Tribunal has a duty to conduct efficient and orderly hearings, and it found that a deferral of all unresolved status requests was necessary to satisfy this duty. The Tribunal notes that the Party Status of Ms. Ono/the Incorporated Residents Group should also be resolved at the next hearing, one way or another, thus providing each prospective participant with a clearer understanding of how they may wish to have their concerns conveyed to the Tribunal (i.e., by way of individual participant statements, or as represented by a Residents’ Group).
14The Tribunal therefore heard no further requests for status.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
15The Tribunal explored the possibility of mediation and settlement with the Parties. However, given the remaining uncertainty with respect to the composition of the added Party, the Parties agreed that it is premature to consider mediation or settlement at this time. The Parties nevertheless agreed to provide an update on the prospects of mediation and/or settlement at the next CMC.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
16The original Parties indicated that they have been working on a draft Procedural Order, but that a final draft will obviously depend on input from the added party. As a result, the parties agreed that it is premature to provide a Draft Procedural Order and it should instead be dealt with at the next CMC.
17The Tribunal found this to be a reasonable approach but made it clear to all Parties that it expects a completed Draft Procedural Order at the next CMC, to be filed no later than 10 days prior to the hearing.
Second CMC and HEARING
18Upon request of the Parties, the Tribunal set a 1-day CMC commencing on Friday, September 16, 2022, at 10 a.m. by video hearing. No further Notice is required for the hearing.
19Parties 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:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/927921077
Audio-only telephone line: Toll-Free 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9391
Access Code: 927-921-077
20Upon request of the Parties, the Tribunal set a 13-day Hearing commencing on Monday, June 5, 2023, at 10 a.m. by video hearing. No further Notice is required for the hearing.
21Parties 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:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/979388733
Audio-only telephone line: Toll-Free 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 979-388-733
22Parties 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.
23Persons 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.
24Individuals 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.
ORDER
25The Tribunal Orders that:
a. The date and particulars of the second CMC and merit hearing are set out above;
b. The parties shall file a draft Procedural Order with the Tribunal no later than September 6, 2022;
c. Linda Ono is granted Party Status on an interim basis pending the incorporation of an area residents’ group, to be confirmed at the next CMC. The granting of Party Status to said group, or to Ms. Ono on a final basis, shall be at the discretion of the presiding Tribunal member at the next CMC;
d. Lianne Turner and Michael Petrucco are granted Participant Status. All other Participant Status requests shall be considered at the next CMC; and
e. The Member is not seized but may be spoken to through the Case Coordinator if any issues arise.
“K.R. Andrews”
K.R. ANDREWS
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.