Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 01, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000717
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: BPR Development Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit
Reference Number: 2022-02
Property Address: 68 Topham Boulevard
Municipality/UT: Welland/Niagara
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000717
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000717
OLT Case Name: BPR Development Inc. v. Welland (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(39) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: BPR Development Inc.
Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Refusal by Approval Authority
Description: To permit
Reference Number: 26CD-14-23001
Property Address: 68 Topham Boulevard
Municipality/UT: Welland/Niagara
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000718
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000717
OLT Case Name: BPR Development Inc. v. Welland (City)
Heard: October 19, 2023 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| BPR Developments Inc. | Sara Premi |
| City of Welland | Caitlin Woodsford |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. BOBKA ON OCTOBER 19, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) regarding appeals pursuant to sections 34(11) and 51(39) of the Planning Act (“Act”) by BPR Developments Inc. (“Applicant”) regarding the City of Welland’s (“City”) refusal of applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) and a Draft Plan of Subdivision (“Draft Plan”) for the property located at 68 Topham Boulevard (“Subject Property”) in Welland.
2The Tribunal received an Affidavit of Service, sworn by Bev Jong, confirming that Notice of this first CMC was given, and marked it as Exhibit 1. Upon review and consideration, and with no issues raised by the Parties, the Tribunal finds that Notice was appropriately given and that no further notice is required.
3The Subject Property is located at the terminus of Topham Boulevard and is generally flat with access to municipal services. It has a total area of 3,510 square metres and is currently vacant. Surrounding land uses adjacent to the property are mostly low density residential.
4The proposed ZBA seeks to rezone the Subject Property from Residential Low-Density 1 - RL1 to Residential Low-Density 2 - RL2 and would accommodate the proposed townhouse dwellings at a built density of 20 units per hectare.
5The proposed Draft Plan is to facilitate the creation of seven residential dwellings, consisting of four single detached dwellings and three townhouse units, all to be accessed by a private road connection from Topham Boulevard.
STATUS REQUESTS
6In response to the Notice, the Tribunal received three requests for Participant status from George Sportel, Linda Warren Camus and Michelle Pilote. Their concerns included the proposed increase in density, the potential increase in traffic, the inadequacy of the current road, parking, the safety of seniors and pedestrians, waste collection as well as the lack of fit of the proposal with the character and heritage of the neighbourhood. Upon review and consideration, and hearing no concerns from the Parties, the Tribunal granted each request for Participant status.
Tribunal-Led Mediation
7The Tribunal highlighted the availability of Tribunal-led mediation and advised the Parties to contact the Case Coordinator should they wish to pursue this option.
Update
8Counsel for the Applicant advised that discussions were on-going with the City and that her client was awaiting confirmation of the City’s Issues List. Ms. Premi suggested that a one-day Hearing would be sufficient for the matter and requested that one be set at the Tribunal’s earliest available date. Counsel for the City informed the Tribunal that instructions from Council were expected within the next two weeks and confirmed that a one-day Hearing would be sufficient.
9After some discussion and questions of clarification, the Tribunal determined that a second CMC would not be beneficial in this case and scheduled a one-day Hearing for Friday, December 15, 2023 at 10 a.m. by video hearing.
10Parties 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:
GoTo Conference Link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293
Access code: 656-004-293
11Parties 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
12Persons 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) 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373. The access code is same as above.
13Individuals 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.
14The Tribunal directed that the Parties would provide the Issues List to the Tribunal 30 days in advance of the Hearing and advised the Participants that any additions to their statements should be submitted to the Case Coordinator by Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
ORDER
15The Tribunal Orders that:
a) George Sportel, Linda Warren Camus and Michelle Pilote have each been granted Participant status;
b) A one-day Hearing has been set for Friday, December 15, 2023 at 10am by video hearing; and
c) There will be no further notice and the Member is not seized on this matter.
“S. Bobka”
S. BOBKA
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.