Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 22, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002259
(Formerly PL180947)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Build It Green Canada Inc.
Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Failure of the Town of New Tecumseth to make a decision
Purpose: To permit a plan of subdivision
Property Address/Description: Lots 31 to 33, Lots 34 to 37, et. al.
Municipality: Town of New Tecumseth
Municipality File No.: NT-T-1801
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-002259
Legacy Case No.: PL180947
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-002259
Legacy Lead Case No.: PL180947
OLT Case Name: Build It Green Canada Inc. v. New Tecumseth (Town)
Heard: April 25 and April 27, 2022 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Build It Green Canada Inc.
David Bronskill
Town of New Tecumseth
James J. Feehely
Colleen Butler
Nottawasaga Valley
James J. Feehely
Conservation Authority
Colleen Butler
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY T. PREVEDEL ON APRIL 27, 2022 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Introduction
1The matter before the Tribunal is an appeal under s. 51(34) of the Planning Act (the “Act”) by Build It Green Canada Inc. (the “Appellant”) regarding the failure of the Town of New Tecumseh (the ”Town”) to make a decision within the statutory timeframes on a proposed plan of subdivision.
Background and Area Context
2The subject property currently fronts onto an unopened road allowance, immediately south of Second Street, in the Village of Beeton.
3The subject property was historically described as eleven (11) single family lots on a registered plan of subdivision (RP-209), and the lots were subsequently merged on title into three (3) parcels.
The Hearing Day 1
4The Hearing of the Appeal was to have taken place over the course of five days, with the conduct of the Hearing being governed by a Procedural Order issued on June 1, 2021.
5The Tribunal, on consent of the Parties, was asked to stand down on the morning of the first day, to allow the Parties additional time to pursue settlement discussions in an effort to narrow issues further or even fully resolve matters.
6Mr. Bronskill advised the Tribunal that the County’s land use planner and the Appellant’s land use planner have reached an Agreed Statement of Facts (“ASF”), thus the County does not intend on calling its land use planner as a witness.
7Mr. Bronskill further advised that the Appellant’s planner and the Town ‘s land use planner have made considerable progress towards an ASF, and these discussions would benefit from some additional time to finalize the ASF and provide it to the Tribunal.
The Hearing Day 2
8Mr. Bronskill advised the Tribunal that, although a full settlement had not been reached, a number of issues have been resolved through productive discussions and an ASF has been prepared by the land use planners for the Town and the Appellant. The transportation experts have also started discussions, which may lead to further narrowing of the issues.
9He also advised that the Parties have prepared a revised Procedural Order (“PO”), updating key dates and paragraphs, and scoping the Issues List. The PO will provide flexibility to allow for filing of supplementary visual evidence if required.
10The Parties have jointly agreed on the Conditions of Approval, should the appeal be approved in whole or in part, and these Conditions will be forwarded to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator.
11Mr. Bronskill also advised that the Parties will prepare a Compendium of Documents as well as a Hearing Plan, and that these documents would be submitted no later than 30 days in advance of the upcoming Hearing of the Merits.
12Mr. Feehely and Ms. Butler advised the Tribunal that they were in full agreement with Mr. Bronskill’s submissions and Mr. Feehely, in particular, stated he was pleased that the issues had been reduced, scoped and targeted.
13Based on the scoped issues and reduced number of witnesses, the Parties requested a four-day Hearing, which has been scheduled for Monday, November 7, 2022 at 10 a.m.
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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981
Access Code: 909-787-981
15Parties 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.
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 into an audio-only telephone line: (Toll Free): 1 (888) 455-1389 or +1 (647) 497-9391. The access code is 909-787-981.
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 directs that the final Procedural Order and Issues List be submitted to the Case-Coordinator by no later than August 15, 2022.
19The Hearing is scheduled to proceed by video hearing on Monday, November 7, 2022, at 10 for four (4) days.
20The Member is not seized, however, may assist with case management, schedules permitting.
21No 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.