Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: June 23, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002187
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: BJL Properties Inc.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law Nos. 438-86 and 569-2013 – Neglect or Refusal of application by the City of Toronto
Existing Zoning: CRE (x12) and CRE (x23)
Proposed Zoning: CR SS1 (x339)
Purpose: To permit the development of a 19-storey mixed use building on the Lands
Property Address/Description: 102 Berkeley Street
Municipality: City of Toronto
Municipal File No.: 21 221292 STE 13 OZ
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-002187
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-002187
OLT Case Name: BJL Properties Inc. v. Toronto (City)
Heard: June 6, 2022 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
BJL Properties Inc.
Mark Flowers
City of Toronto
Mark Crawford and Michael Mahoney (in absentia)
MPCT 49 Ontario Street LP and Whiterock 49 Ontario Street LP (“MPCT & Whiterock”)
Rodney Gill and Joe Hoffman (in absentia)
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY BITA M. RAJAEE AND S. BRAUN ON JUNE 6, 2022 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1On June 6, 2022, the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was heard in relation to appeals brought under s. 34(11) of the Planning Act (“Act”) by BJL Properties Inc. (“Appellant”) against the City of Toronto (“City”) for failure to make decisions within the statutory timeframes on applications for Zoning By-law Amendments (“ZBLAs”) in relation to a property known municipally as 102 Berkeley Street in the City of Toronto (“Subject Property”).
2The purpose of the ZBLAs is to amend current City Zoning By-law Nos. 438-86 and 569-2013, as amended, to permit the development of a 19-storey mixed use building on the Subject Property, with 357 square metres of retail space on the ground floor and 12,653 square metres of residential floor area consisting of 181 dwelling units (“Proposed Development”).
3The Tribunal marked as Exhibit 1 the Affidavit of Service of Christina Fracassi, confirming that Notice of this CMC was properly given.
REQUESTS FOR STATUS
4The Tribunal received a Party Status Request from MPCT 49 Ontario Street LP and Whiterock 49 Ontario Street LP (“MPCT & Whiterock”), the developer of a nearby property located at 49 Ontario Street and 72-94 Berkeley Street. The Tribunal also received a Participant Status Request from Queen Ontario LP, the developer of a nearby property located at 261 Queen Street. As both MPCT & Whiterock and Queen Ontario LP have a direct interest in the matter, with the consent of the Parties, the Tribunal granted their respective requests for Party and Participant Status.
5In response to the Notice, the Tribunal received no other requests for status (Party or Participant). Accordingly, the appeal will proceed with the involvement and participation of the Parties and Participant identified above.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
6The Tribunal raised the issue of opportunities for settlement, including the use of Tribunal-assisted mediation. The Parties advised that they are not in a position at this stage to engage in such discussions, but remain open to the possibility of settlement at some point in the future and are aware of the availability of mediation.
7The Parties are directed to advise the Tribunal in writing should they reach a settlement with respect to some or all of the issues prior to the hearing and, should they wish to pursue Tribunal-assisted mediation, they may reach out to the case co-ordinator for assistance in this regard.
PROCEDURAL ORDER/ISSUES LIST
8The Parties produced a draft Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List (“IL”) prior to the CMC, but advised that the IL had not been finalized. The Appellant requested additional time to work with the Parties and refine the IL.
9The Appellant undertook to revise and re-submit for the Tribunal’s approval, by Friday, June 24, 2022, a revised PO and IL in accordance with the Tribunal’s directions.
HEARING
10Despite a final PO and IL not being available at today’s CMC, the Tribunal is satisfied, on the advice of all counsel, that the final IL is likely to include issues in relation to planning, urban design and servicing.
11Given the number of parties and the number of issues, the Tribunal agreed that a ten (10) day hearing was required. Accordingly, a video hearing will commence at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 until Tuesday, June 13, 2023 for ten (10) days.
12Parties 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/519389173
Access Code: 519-389-173
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: (Toll Free): +1 (647) 497-9373. The access code is 519-389-173.
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 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.
OTHER MATTERS
16The Tribunal inquired as to whether there were any other matters to be addressed which might assist in the fair, just and expeditious resolution of this matter. The Parties indicated there were none.
ORDER
17The Tribunal Orders that:
a) MPCT 49 Ontario Street LP and Whiterock 49 Ontario Street LP (“MPCT & Whiterock”) is a Party in this proceeding;
b) Queen Ontario LP is a Participant in this proceeding;
c) The Parties shall submit a revised draft Procedural Order and Issues List for the Tribunal’s review and approval by Friday, June 24, 2022;
d) A 10-day hearing will commence at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31, 2023;
e) There will be no further notice and this Panel is not seized but may be available for case management, should scheduling permit.
“Bita M. Rajaee”
B. RAJAEE
MEMBER
“Shannon Braun”
S. BRAUN
MEMBER
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.