Ontario Land Tribunal / Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 23, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000659
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Margaret Beaudoin
Subject: By-law No. 2023-051
Description: Reduction in rear yard setback
Reference Number: ZBA-09-23
Property Address: 256 Dalhousie Street
Municipality/UT: Amherstburg/Essex
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000659
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000659
OLT Case Name: Margaret Beaudoin v. Amherstburg (Town)
Heard: October 06, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Margaret Beaudoin ("Appellant") | Ed Hooker |
| Town of Amherstburg ("Town") | Thomas Porter |
| Black Dog Entertainment Inc. ("Applicant") | Analee Baroudi |
| Colleen Fox | Ed Hooker |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY D. CHIPMAN ON OCTOBER 6, 2023, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference ("CMC") respecting an appeal filed by Margaret Beaudoin on the Town of Amherstburg passing of By-law Amendment 2023-051 as an amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning By-law 1999-52 for lands known as 256 Dalhousie, in Pt. of Lot 8, Plan 1 (the "Subject Property").
2The purpose of this Zoning By-law Amendment is to change the zoning of the subject lands from the Special Provision Commercial General (CG-4) Zone to Special Provision Commercial General (CG-18) Zone. The lands are designated General Commercial in the Town's Official Plan. By-law 2023-051 would allow for a site-specific Commercial Zone to permit a zero metre ("0m") rear yard setback where a 7.5m rear yard setback is required. All other provisions of the existing site specific Commercial General Zone will continue to apply.
3The Applicant is seeking to redevelop the property into a five-(5)-storey mixed-use building including a restaurant at the street level, a bike-rental retail space on the lower level with access from the Town-owned laneway to the rear of the building, and a boutique hotel on the upper levels which will provide 15 rooms for overnight accommodation.
SERVICE OF NOTICE OF CMC
4The Parties agreed that there was no issue with regard to service of the Notice of this CMC, and no further notice is required. The Tribunal was in receipt of the Affidavit of Service of Christopher Aspila, sworn September 19, 2023, which was marked as Exhibit 1.
PARTY STATUS REQUESTS
5The Tribunal received the following three requests for Party Status.
6The first Party Status Request was received from Black Dog Entertainment Inc., which is the registered owner/applicant of the Subject Property. Ms. Baroudi, Counsel to the Applicant, stated that the owner is at this time wanting to ensure their interests by taking an active part in the hearing of the appeal. Receiving no objection from either the Appellant or the Town, the Tribunal conferred Party Status to Black Dog Entertainment Inc.
7The second request was received from Ms. Colleen Fox. Mr. Hooker, who represents the Appellant, spoke on behalf of Ms. Fox and informed the Tribunal that he had been retained to represent her interest in the matter. Mr. Hooker stated that Ms. Fox has been active in this matter and that she had written to the Town on several occasions to voice her concerns on the impact that the proposed development will have on the Salmoni Building, which is adjacent to the Subject Property, where she resides. Some of the concerns raised to the Town and now to the Tribunal were with regard to traffic, emergency vehicle access, and shadowing. Hearing no objections, the Tribunal granted Party Status to Colleen Fox.
8The third Party Status Request was received from Ms. Pam Davie, who also resides in the Salmoni Building adjacent to the Subject Property. Mr. Hooker, who also represents Ms. Davie, stated that Ms. Davie had not participated in any preliminary matters up until this request but shares the concerns raised by both Ms. Fox and the Appellant. The Tribunal inquired as to how Ms. Davie’s participation would assist the Tribunal in adjudicating the matter, to which Mr. Hooker responded that Ms. Davie did not intend to bring evidence nor witnesses to assist the Tribunal in making its determination. Having heard this, the Tribunal denied Party Status to Ms. Davie.
PARTICIPANT STATUS REQUESTS
9The Tribunal received two Participant Status requests. The first was from Mr. Donald Parks regarding concerns with egress for emergency services and parking. The second was from John Oltrop, who raised concerns with parking, delivery issues and the blockage of view and ventilation.
10Upon hearing no objections, the Tribunal granted Participant Status to Donald Parks and John Oltrop whose written submissions will be made available to the Parties and will be kept on file for the Hearing on the merits of this matter.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
11The Parties had each submitted several iterations of their Issues Lists prior to this CMC. The Tribunal having conferred Party Status to Black Dog Entertainment Inc. and Ms. Fox at this CMC, directed that Mr. Hooker to culminate the Issues of all Parties and provide a single Issues List and draft Procedural Order ("PO"), on consent, for the Tribunal’s consideration and for further discussion at the next CMC. Mr. Hooker was directed to submit the PO and Issues List to the Case Coordinator no later than Friday, November 03, 2023.
12The Tribunal directed the Parties to include possible common dates for a Hearing based on availability and the number of witnesses to appear at the Hearing, in order to expedite the second CMC.
MEDIATION
13The Tribunal informed the Parties that arrangements for mediation can be made by contacting the Case Coordinator.
SECOND CMC DATE
14The Parties requested that the Tribunal set a date for a second CMC in order to finalize the draft PO and Issues List.
15The second CMC will commence on Thursday November 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., by Video Hearing.
GoToMeeting: https://meet.goto.com/638422541
Access Code: 638-422-541
16Parties 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
17Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889.
18Individuals 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
19The Tribunal Orders that Party Status is granted to Black Dog Entertainment Inc. and to Colleen Fox.
20The Tribunal Orders that Participant Status is granted to Donald Parks and John Oltrop.
21The Tribunal Orders that a draft Procedural Order and Issues List be submitted to the Case Coordinator no later than Friday, November 03, 2023.
22The Tribunal Orders that a second CMC will commence on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., by Video Hearing.
23There will be no further notice.
24This Member is not seized but remains available through the Case Coordinator should the need arise.
"D. Chipman"
D. CHIPMAN 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.