Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 11, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-001998
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Scardred 7 Company Limited
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit the development of an 11-storey mixed-use residential building containing 450 units designed in a U-shaped tier building that ranges in height from 2-storeys to 11-storeys
Reference Number: PLAN 21 120023
Property Address: 4038 & 4052 Highway 7 East
Municipality/UT: City of Markham/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-001998
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-001998
OLT Case Name: Scardred 7 Company Limited v. Markham (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Scardred 7 Company Limited v. Markham (City)
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit the development of an 11-storey mixed-use residential building containing 450 units designed in a U-shaped tier building that ranges in height from 2-storeys to 11-storeys
Reference Number: PLAN 21 120023
Property Address: 4038 & 4052 Highway 7 East
Municipality/UT: City of Markham/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-001999
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-001998
Heard: June 30, 2022, by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative* |
|---|---|
| Scardred 7 Company Limited | Jeffrey Streisfield* |
| City of Markham | Piper Morley* Meagan Cheung-Mader* |
| Unionville Ratepayers Association | Michael Gannon |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY BRYAN W. TUCKEY ON JUNE 30, 2022 AND INTERIM ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1The Tribunal convened the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) for the above noted matter. Scardred 7 Company Limited (“Applicant”) has filed an appeal against the City of Markham (“City”) for failing to make a decision for an Official Plan Amendment pursuant to s. 22(7) and a Zoning By-law Amendment pursuant to s. 34 (11) of the Planning Act. The property is known municipally as 4038 Highway 7 East in the City of Markham (“Subject Property”)
2The effect of the two planning instruments under appeal is to allow a mixed-use development with an increased height and density on the Subject Property. Presently existing on the Subject Property is a sales office, a one-story commercial building, and a surface parking lot.
3The Affidavit of Service sworn May 27, 2022 is marked as Exhibit 1. No further notice is required.
4The Tribunal is in receipt of one additional request for party status being the Unionville Ratepayers Association represented by Michael Gannon. There is one request for participant status from Brian and Suzanne Li. The Tribunal grants the requested party and participant status with consent of all parties. Parties are represented at the CMC, but the participants were not in attendance.
5Mr. Streisfield, on behalf of the Applicant, provided background information with respect to the application for the benefit of the Tribunal and parties. The Applicant is seeking to construct a mixed-use building development with a maximum height of 11 stories on the south portion of the applicants land holdings which is identified as Block 21 in an existing draft Plan of Subdivision.
6The Applicant proposes a tiered U-shaped with mid-rise building with heights ranging from two-stories to 11-stories, a landscape courtyard, and ground related retail along Highway 7. The building will contain approximately 450 residential units and 700 square metres of ground related retail along Highway 7 with a total Floor Space Index of 5.24. Access to the site will be accommodated by a series of new roads that are illustrated as blocks on the draft Plan of Subdivision.
7Mr. Streisfield noted that there may be refinements to the proposed development as it makes its way through the Tribunal process and the need to respond to market conditions.
8Mr. Streisfield provided to the Tribunal a draft Procedural Order (“PO”), but it was not sufficiently complete to review in detail and approve at this CMC. Therefore, all parties requested and consented to the scheduling of a second CMC with the purpose of reviewing and approving the PO and scheduling a date for the hearing of the merits. The Tribunal agrees.
9The Tribunal canvassed the parties with respect to using Tribunal-led mediation. All parties are of the opinion that Tribunal-led mediation is a consideration, but it is too early in the process to determine whether it would be worthy of pursuit. All parties committed to receiving instructions from their clients with respect to mediation and would be in a better position to determine this approach at the next CMC.
TRIBUNAL DISPOSITION
10The Tribunal is prepared to schedule a half-day CMC commencing on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 10 a.m.
11The Tribunal expects that all parties will get their Issues to be included in Issues List to Mr. Streisfield in a timely manner. He committed to coordinate the finalization of a draft PO. The final draft PO should be submitted to the Case Coordinator no later than Monday, August 8 2022 at 4:30 p.m.
CMC TECHNICAL DETAILS
12A half-day CMC will convene on Thursday August 11, 2022, by video hearing at 10 a.m.
13Parties 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/719383509
Access code: 719-383-509
14Parties 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
15Persons 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: +1 (647) 497-9373 or Toll Free 1-888-299-1889 The access code is 719-383-509.
16Individuals 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 events may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
INTERIM ORDER
17Accordingly, the Tribunal Orders:
a. A half-day Case Management Conference is to convene on Thursday, August 11, 2022.
18No further notice will be given.
19The Tribunal Member is not seized.
“Bryan W. Tuckey”
BRYAN W. TUCKEY
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.