Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
CORRECTION NOTICE
OLT CASE NO(S).:
OLT-23-000373
DECISION ISSUE DATE(S):
November 30, 2023
CORRECTION NOTICE ISSUE DATE:
December 07, 2023
RE: Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. v. York (Region)
Correction to: The second-to-last digit in the audio-only telephone line number displayed near the bottom of the GoToMeeting information in paragraph 7.
(See specifically page 2 of this notice.)
Originally:
Corrected to:
7For the two-day Video Hearing, commencing at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 07, 2024 and continuing to Friday, March 08, 2024, the Parties are asked to log in to the Video Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/765631861
Access code: 765-631-861 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9371 or Toll-Free 1-888-455-1389 Audio-only access code: 765-631-861 (as above)
7For the two-day Video Hearing, commencing at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 07, 2024 and continuing to Friday, March 08, 2024, the Parties are asked to log in to the Video Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/765631861
Access code: 765-631-861 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or Toll-Free 1-888-455-1389 Audio-only access code: 765-631-861 (as above)
“Euken Lui”
EUKEN LUI
REGISTRAR
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.
Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement
du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
November 30, 2023
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-23-000373
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 22(2) of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27
Appellant:
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc.
Description:
Determination of the development charges
Reference Number:
DC By-Law 2022-31
Property Address:
23675 and 23965 Woodbine Avenue and 2596 Glenwoods Avenue
Municipality/UT:
Georgina/York
OLT Case No.:
OLT-23-000373
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-23-000373
OLT Case Name:
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. v. York (Region)
Heard:
November 7, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. (“Appellants”)
Narmada Gunawardana
Regional Municipality of York (“Respondent”)
Bola Ogunmefun
Samantha Whalen
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY ROBERT G. ACKERMAN ON NOVEMBER 07, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Proceeding is an Appeal, pursuant to Section 22(2) of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. D.27, (“the DC Act”) from the non-decision of the Respondent’s Regional Council on a Complaint by the Appellants for a refund of overpaid development charges.
PROCEDURAL ORDER
2Counsel advised the Tribunal that the Parties were content with the pre-Hearing timelines and provisions of a draft Procedural Order (“PO”), Issues List and Order of the Evidence which had been circulated to the Tribunal prior to the CMC. Counsel advised the Tribunal that they were prepared to set a date for a Hearing on the merits and that a two-day Hearing would be required.
3Following consultation respecting the Tribunal’s calendar and the availability of the Parties, counsel and witnesses, a two-day Hearing on the merits by video conference, was agreed upon, and was set to commence upon Thursday, March 7, 2024 and to conclude upon Friday, March 8, 2024.
4The fixed dates for the Merit Hearing and for the pre-Hearing timeline are now provided in the PO appended to this Decision, and the coordinates for the Hearing are set out below in this Decision.
5Appended to this Decision as Schedule 1 is the PO, which will now govern all further pre-Hearing procedural requirements and the hearing of the appeal.
6Appended to this Decision as Attachment 2 and Attachment 3 are the Issues List and Order of the Evidence, which shall govern the conduct of the Merit Hearing.
HEARING – March 07, 2024 TO March 08, 2024
7For the two-day Video Hearing, commencing at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 07, 2024 and continuing to Friday, March 08, 2024, the Parties are asked to log in to the Video Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/765631861
Access code: 765-631-861 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9371 or Toll-Free 1-888-455-1389 Audio-only access code: 765-631-861 (as above)
8Parties, witnesses and observers 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
9Persons 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 the audio-only telephone line provided above.
10Individuals 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
11THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the Procedural Order appended as Schedule 1, the Issues List appended as Attachment 1, and the Order of the Evidence appended as Attachment 2 to this Decision shall govern the conduct of this proceeding.
“Robert G. Ackerman”
ROBERT G. ACKERMAN
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.
SCHEDULE 1
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000373
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 22(2) of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27
Appellant:
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc.
Description:
Determination of the development charges
Reference Number:
DC By-Law 2022-31
Property Address:
23675 and 23965 Woodbine Avenue and 2596 Glenwoods Avenue
Municipality:
Georgina/York
OLT Case No.:
OLT-23-000373
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-23-000373
OLT Case Name:
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. v. York (Region)
Procedural Order
- The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.
Organization of the Hearing
The video hearing will begin on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. via videoconference. No further notice shall be required.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 2 days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence in chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.
Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.
Requirements Before the Hearing
A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before December 7, 2023, and in accordance with paragraph 20 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Acknowledgement of Expert’s Duty Form, Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.
An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 12 below. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.
Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 12 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 12 below.
On or before January 9, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co‑ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 20 below.
On or before January 31, 2024, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required. If the parties agree that no hearing dates are intended to be released from the Tribunal’s calendar, no party is required to advise the Tribunal of anything further in this regard.
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence February 3, 2024, in accordance with paragraph 20 below.
February 20, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 20 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before February 24, 2024.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before February 24, 2024, with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross-examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.
A party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.
A summary of the various procedural dates is contained in Attachment 4.
This Member is not seized.
So orders the Tribunal.
Attachment 1
LIST OF PARTIES
- Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc.
Alex Lusty and Narmada Gunawardana
Davies Howe LLP
425 Adelaide Street West, 10th Floor
Toronto, ON M5V 3C1
alexl@davieshowe.com and narmadag@davieshowe.com
Tel: (416) 977-7088
Fax: (416) 977-8931
- The Regional Municipality of York
Bola Ogunmefun and Samantha Whalen
17250 Yonge Street
Newmarket, ON L3Y 6Z1
bola.ogunmefun@york.ca and samantha.whalen@york.ca
Tel: 1 (877) 464-9675 ext. 71459
Attachment 2
ISSUES LIST
- Did the determination of the Region’s Development Charge, which included the application of the Region’s Interest Rate Policy, lead to an error in the determination and application of the Region’s Development Charge By-law due to:
a. A contravention of s. 5(1)(4) of the Development Charges Act?
b. A contravention of s. 2(1) of the Development Charges Act?
c. A contravention of s. 5(1)(9), 5(6)(1), and 5(6)(2) of the Development Charges Act?
Does s. 26.2(3) of the Development Charges Act authorize imposing the Region’s Development Charge as determined and applied under the circumstance?
Should Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. be granted a refund pursuant to s. 25 of the Development Charges Act? If so, what is the correct value of the refund?
Attachment 3
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc.
York Region
Greycan 12 Properties Inc. and 12501252 Canada Inc. (if any)
ATTACHMENT 4 SUMMARY OF PROCEDURAL DATES
Date
Hearing Event
December 7, 2023
Exchange of list of witnesses and the order in which they will be called
January 9, 2024
Exchange of witness and expert witness statements/written evidence, evidence outlines for witnesses under summons
January 31, 2024
Confirm with tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
February 3, 2024
Exchange of written response to evidence/statements (if any)
February 20, 2024
Exchange of visual evidence (if any)
February 24, 2024
Completion of joint document book
February 24, 2024
Parties to prepare and file preliminary hearing plan
March 7, 2024
Hearing begins