Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 7, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-21-001345
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Flamborough Power Centre Inc.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan - Failure of the City of Hamilton to adopt the requested amendment
Existing Designation: District Commercial
Proposed Designation: Neighbourhoods
Purpose: To permit the development of a complete community on the subject lands with different residential building types including townhomes and multiple dwelling buildings
Property Address/Description: 30 Dundas Street East
Municipality: City of Hamilton
Approval Authority File No.: UHOPA-19-012
OMB Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001345
OMB Case No.: OLT-21-001345
OMB Case Name.: Flamborough Power Centre Inc. v. Hamilton (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Flamborough Power Centre Inc.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 05-200 – Neglect of application by City of Hamilton
Existing Zoning: District Commercial
Proposed Zoning: Downtown Residential (D6, xxx), Modified
Purpose: To permit the development of a complete community on the subject lands with different residential building types including townhomes and multiple dwelling buildings
Property Address/Description: 30 Dundas Street East
Municipality: City of Hamilton
Municipal File No.: ZAC-19-044
OMB Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001345
OMB Case No.: OLT-21-001355
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Flamborough Power Centre Inc.
Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision - Failure of the City of Hamilton to make a decision
Purpose: To permit the development of a complete community on the subject lands with different residential building types including townhomes and multiple dwelling buildings
Property Address/Description: 30 Dundas Street East
Municipality: City of Hamilton
Municipal File No.: 25T-2019005
OMB Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001345
OMB Case No.: OLT-21-001356
Heard: June 29, 2022 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Flamborough Power Centre Inc. (“Appellant”)
S. Mahadevan
City of Hamilton (“City”)
P. MacDonald
Conservation Halton
K. Stavrakos
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY T. PREVEDEL ON JUNE 29, 2022, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Introduction
1The matter before the Tribunal is a number of appeals pursuant to subsections 22(7), 34(11) and 51(34) of the Planning Act with respect to the City of Hamilton’s failure to deal with the Appellant’s proposed application for an Official Plan Amendment, a Zoning By-law Amendment and an associated Draft Plan of Subdivision within the prescribed timeframe.
2This is the second Case Management Conference, intended to finalize the Procedural Order and Issues List and get organized for the upcoming Hearing of the Merits.
3A mixed-use development is proposed on the group of properties located in the northeast and southeast quadrants of Highway 6 and Highway 5. The properties (hereafter the “Subject Lands” or “iConnect Lands”) are a collection of municipally unaddressed parcels of land with PINs 17 4980481, 17 4980724, 17 5630358, 17 4980010 and 17 4980010.
4The Official Plan Amendment seeks to amend the Urban Hamilton Official Plan to introduce a policy framework for the iConnect Lands including permissions for standalone residential uses.
5The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment seeks to amend the Zoning By-law to permit a range of standalone residential uses and provide zoning regulations relating to built form as well as holding provisions to address the phasing of development.
6The proposed plan of subdivision will create legally conveyable developable blocks, municipal roads and blocks for parks and stormwater management infrastructure.
Area Context
7The Subject Lands are approximately 25 hectares in size and will facilitate the development of a range of built forms ranging in height between 3 to 22 storeys. A total of 2,009 residential dwelling units are proposed along with 5.44 hectares of parkland. The proposed residential units are to be accommodated in various mixed-use and standalone built forms, including street townhouses, stacked, back-to-back townhouses, mid-rise buildings and high-rise buildings. A Seniors' Complex is also proposed.
Party and Participant Status
8The Tribunal received an additional request for Party Status from the Niagara Escarpment Commission (“NEC”) on June 16, 2022.
9Ken Hare (and Aashish Oberoi as co-counsel) appeared as counsels representing the NEC and submitted that, as a commenting agency, NEC has provided several sets of written comments about the application of the Niagara Escarpment Plan (“NEP”) to the proposed development since 2017.
10Mr. Hare stated that the NEC is waiting for the developer to submit a Phase 2 Visual Impact Assessment (“VIA”) which will inform the NEC with analysis of whether the proposed development is consistent with (does not conflict with) the NEP. The NEC inquired about the status of the outstanding VIA in February and again in June 2022.
11Mr. Hare further stated that NEC staff attended the Case Management Conference on March 21, 2022, to indicate they were awaiting further information (being the outstanding VIA) and were seeking instructions to obtain status in the proceeding. The NEC subsequently directed staff to seek party status to address the application of the NEP to the proposed development.
12The Tribunal canvassed counsel for the Parties and there were no objections to the granting of Party Status.
13The Tribunal granted Party Status to the Niagara Escarpment Commission.
Finalization of Procedural Order and Issues List
14Ms. Mahadevan advised that the Appellant, on a “without prejudice” basis, has recently submitted a revised concept plan and Official Plan Amendment to the City.
15The Parties advised that they will be meeting in July to work cooperatively on scoping the Issues List and finalizing the Procedural Order.
16The Parties requested that the Tribunal schedule a four-week Hearing in 2023 and a third CMC in early October 2022 to finalize the Procedural Order and Issues List.
Scheduling of the Hearing(s)
Case Management Conference
17A third Case Management Conference has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.
18Parties 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:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/344779885
Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free) 1(888) 299-1889
Access code: 344-779-885
19Parties 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 at: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
20Persons 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, indicated above.
21Individuals 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.
Hearing of the Merits
22A four-week Hearing has been scheduled to commence on Monday, June 12, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.
23Parties 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:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981
Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free) 1 (888) 455-1389
Access code: 909-787-981
24Parties 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 at: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
25Persons 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, indicated above.
26Individuals 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
27The Case Management Conference is scheduled to proceed by video hearing on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.
28The Hearing of the Merits is scheduled to proceed by video hearing on Monday, June 12, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. for four weeks.
29The Niagara Escarpment Commission is granted Party Status.
30The Member is not seized, however, may assist with case management, schedules permitting.
31No further notice will be given.
“T. Prevedel”
T. PREVEDEL
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.