Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: September 30, 2022
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004102
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Leslie Elgin Developments Inc.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit a high density residential development comprised of two apartment buildings
Reference Number: D01-21008
Property Address: Block 51, Plan 65M-4668
Municipality/UT: Richmond Hill/York
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-004102
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-004102
OLT Case Name: Leslie Elgin Developments Inc. v. Richmond Hill (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Leslie Elgin Developments Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit a high density residential development comprised of two apartment buildings
Reference Number: D02-21016
Property Address: Block 51, Plan 65M-4668
Municipality/UT: Richmond Hill/York
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-004103
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-004102
Heard: September 26, 2022 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Leslie Elgin Developments Inc. | Ira Kagan (in absentia) Kristie Stitt Sarah Kahan (in absentia) |
| City of Richmond Hill | Carlton Thorne |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY BRYAN W. TUCKEY ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1The Tribunal convened the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) for the above noted matter. Leslie Elgin Developments Inc. (“Appellants”) filed appeals against the City of Richmond Hill (“City”) for failing to make a decision for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) pursuant to s. 22(7) and a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Planning Act. The property is located at the corner of Leslie Street and John Birchall Road in the City and is known municipally as John Birchall Road. (“subject property”)
2The effect of the OPA and ZBA is to permit the development of a high density residential development comprised of two apartment buildings of 27 and 31 storeys in height connected by a four storey podium. The proposed development consists of a total of 617 apartment and 33 townhouse dwelling units.
3The Affidavit of Service sworn September 12, 2022, is marked as Exhibit 1. No further notice is required.
4The Tribunal has no additional requests for party status.
5The Tribunal has 13 participant requests as follows:
- Fady Yossef
- Ayaz Abdulla
- David and Katia Yee
- Judy Au
- Meng Zhang
- Veronica Hui
- Haitan Ou
- Su Eng Tan
- Scott Rushlow
- Ada Leung
- Moyez Lalani
- Saeid Bokharaie; and
- Jade Wang
6The aforementioned participant requests are granted participant status with the consent of the City and Appellant.
7Ms. Stitt, counsel for the Appellant, provided background information with respect to the application for the benefit of the Tribunal and all present. A draft Procedural Order (“PO”) is presented to the Tribunal, but it lacks the detail of an Issues List. The Appellant and the City maintain a good working relationship with respect to this matter and are confident that an Issues List will be in a form to allow City Council to provide direction to their solicitor early in their new term.
8Mr. Grant, counsel for the City, generally agreed with Ms. Stitt’s description. He expects to have direction from his client early in 2023.
9Ms. Stitt requested that a twelve (12) day merits hearing be scheduled in the fall of 2023. She is prepared to take a leadership role in preparing the PO and will have discussions with the City in an effort to scope appeals.
10The Tribunal considering the public interest in this matter is prepared to schedule a second CMC in mid February 2023 to review, consider any changes and approve the PO.
11Tribunal-led mediation is offered and discussed. Both Parties were of the opinion that such mediation is premature as the Issues List has not been finalized. Potential mediation will be discussed at the next CMC.
12All Parties are in agreement with the suggested go forward strategy and are committed to make best efforts to scope issues in the PO.
TRIBUNAL DISPOSTION
13The Tribunal grants Participant Status as set out in paragraph five of this decision.
14The Tribunal is prepared to schedule a full day CMC commencing on Monday, February 13, 2023 at 10 a.m. The purpose of this second CMC is to review and approve a PO to come into full force and effect that will guide the merits hearing, establish if there are opportunities for settlement in this matter and determine if there are opportunities for Tribunal-led mediation.
15Given the commitment of the counsel of both the Appellant and City to finalize the PO and receive required direction, the Tribunal is comfortable to schedule a merits hearing commencing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 to Wednesday, November 1, 2023 for 12 days.
CMC AND MERITS HEARING TECHNICAL DETAILS
16A full day CMC will convene on Monday, February 13, 2023, at 10 a.m. by video hearing.
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
17Furthermore, a 12 day merits hearing will convene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 to Wednesday, November 1, 2023, by video hearing.
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/344779885
Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or (Toll-Free) 1(888) 299-1889
Access code: 344-779-885
18Parties 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.
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: 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, provided 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.
ORDER
22Accordingly, the Tribunal orders.
- A one day Case Management Conference is to convene on Monday, February 13, 2023.
- A 12 day Merits Hearing is to convene on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
- Fady Yossef, Ayaz Abdulla, David and Katia Yee, Judy Au, Meng Zhang, Veronica Hui, Haitan Ou, Su Eng Tan, Scott Rushlow, Ada Leung, Moyez Lalani, Saeid Bokharaie and Jade Wang are granted participant status.
23No further notice will be given.
24The Member is not seized.
“Bryan W. Tuckey”
BRYAN W. TUCKEY
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.