Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 16, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000792
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Bloor Gold Residences Inc. and Bloor Gold West Residences Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit the redevelopment of the Subject Lands with three 13-storey residential buildings
Reference Number: 22 175298 WET 02 OZ
Property Address: 251-285 The West Mall
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-23-000792
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000792
OLT Case Name: Bloor Gold Residences Inc. v Toronto (City)
Heard: November 09, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Bloor Gold residences Inc. (“Applicant”)
Aaron Platt and Arti Sanichara
City of Toronto (“Toronto”)
Marc Hardiejowski
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY A. SAUVE ON NOVEMBER 9, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) of this matter whereby the Applicant is appealing the non-decision of the City of Toronto (“Toronto”) regarding their application to amend Toronto’s Comprehensive Zoning By-Law No. 569-2013. The Zoning By-Law Amendment (“ZBA”) is necessary for the redevelopment planned by the Applicant.
2The Applicant wishes to redevelop the subject lands located at 251-285, The West Mall, with three 13-storey residential buildings with a total of approximately 610 residential units. The existing 11 two and a half story apartment buildings and ancillary buildings would be demolished.
3The Proposal includes a total gross floor area ("GFA") of approximately 47,432.2 square meters (“m2”). The total GFA also includes 1,632.2 m2 of below grade residential GFA. In addition, the Proposal includes approximately 2,269.5 m2 of indoor/outdoor amenity space, and a total of 248 parking spaces across two underground levels.
4The Application was complete as of July 22, 2022. Toronto had failed to make a decision regarding the Application within the statutory timeframe, and the Application was appealed.
5The Tribunal confirmed receipt of the Affidavit of Service of Darlene Power affirmed on October 19, 2023, evidencing notice of this CMC. The Affidavit of Service was entered as Exhibit 1.
STATUS REQUESTS
6The Tribunal had not received any Party or Participant status requests prior to the CMC, however, several people attended the Hearing and stated that they wished to become Participants. There were no requests for Party status.
7As this matter was headed to a second CMC, as discussed below, the Tribunal ordered that all Participant status requests be submitted to the Ontario Land Tribunal by Monday, December 18, 2023, and their status would be determined at the subsequent CMC.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
8No draft Procedural Order (“PO”) or Issues List (“IL”) was submitted prior to the CMC. Counsel for Toronto informed the Tribunal that City staff are in the process of preparing an Appeal Report that will be provided to City Counsel for their next council meeting in February of 2024. Counsel for Toronto are unable to receive instructions regarding an IL until after the report is considered by Council. Counsel for Toronto was hopeful those steps could be achieved within that time frame as City staff are very busy.
9The Applicant asked that, if Counsel for Toronto did not have instructions for the next CMC, that they be barred from participating in the formation of the IL. They argued that their client should not have to be burdened with the extra cost of additional Hearing dates and the prolonging of the disposition of this matter because City staff are too busy.
10The Tribunal declined to set a firm date with a consequence for not adhering to a deadline, as this was only the first CMC, and it is unknown if there will be any delays. Also, the Tribunal believes that any potential consequences for missed deadlines should be decided by the presiding Member(s) as they will be in the best position to understand why the delay occurred. Counsel for Toronto was raising the issue as a potential one based on his knowledge of the workload of City staff.
MEDIATION
11The Parties informed the Tribunal that they are familiar with Tribunal led mediation. They indicated that there have been some initial discussions between themselves regarding the use of mediation, but nothing has been decided yet.
NEXT STEPS
12The Parties agreed that a second CMC should be scheduled for counsel to receive instructions from Toronto and to create a draft PO and IL. A second CMC date was set for Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at 10 a.m. by way of Video Hearing.
13A draft IL is to be provided by Toronto to the Applicant by Monday, February 12, 2024. A draft PO and IL is to be provided to the Case Coordinator by Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
14Parties 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:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293
Access Code: 656-004-293
15Parties 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: +1 (647)-497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The access code is as indicated above.
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 ORDERS its directions and rulings as set out above.
19There will be no further notice.
20This Member is not seized but remains available through the Case Coordinator should the need arise.
“A. Sauve”
A. SAUVE
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.